This website is dedicated to people of the African diaspora, wherever they may be. It rests on the recognition
that we are, still, an oppressed people, and it is intended to serve, in some small way, the larger objective of
setting ourselves free as a people. The website takes as its twin patrons the gods Heru
and Shango. Our motto is: to teach,
to heal, to build.
Heru
Heru is shown in the graphic as he was symbolized by the Kamau (ancient Egyptians), as a hawk wearing the red
and white twin crowns of upper and lower Egypt.
In the
ancient Kamitic (Egyptian) mythic metaphor, Auset (Isis to the Greeks) seeks to
restore her husband, the good and righteous king Ausar (Osiris), who has been slain by Set, to the throne.
She is immaculately conceived by the deceased Ausar, and brings forth their son Heru, whom she nurtures and raises
to reclaim the throne from the usurper, Set. When he attains manhood, Heru engages in many battles with Set, winning
some and losing some, before securing final victory. Heru is thus the Christ prototype, and Set is the protoype
of the Christian concept of Satan, and the metaphor refers to the resurrection of the kingdom of God within, the
triumph of good over evil in the individual soul. But the metaphor works at the other level as well, specifically
re-establishing the kingdom of God in society at large. The ancient African concepts of social, political, and
economic organization -- in a word, civilization -- are what need to be restored, both to save the African himself,
and as well the planet, which is threatened -- spiritually, socially, and materially -- by the unrighteous and
ungodly prevailing world order.
Shango
The Yoruba deity Shango is depicted in the painting shown right, by His Holiness Credo Mutwa, Zulu
Sanussi of South Africa. Shango is also symbolized in the logo (top left) in the odu, Irosun Meji, one of the verses of which has Shango rising from defeat
and near-death to become king. But here too, as with Heru, the mythic metaphor operates at many levels.
The kingship to which Shango is elevated may be seen also as that of justice and righteousness -- God's kingdom.
(In the logo, this is represented in the center by the Gye Nyame
symbol of the Akan people of Ghana, which represents "that which was before the beginning, and will be after
the end," a poetic way of referring to God, similar to the Christian "the Alpha and the Omega".)
Redemption
That from which the African must be resurrected is above all an enslavement of the mind. As Bob Marley sang
in his Redemption Song: "emancipate yourself from mental
slavery, none but ourselves can free our own mind."
To Teach, To Heal, To Build
Therefore, in this website, we set out to teach. Heru achieves victory over
Set only after seeking and following divine counsel, the wisdom of the oracle, Tehuti.
To this end, the website offers an online magazine called Africans Unbound,
which will examine topics relevant to our condition as a people, from religion to race, from economics to entertainment,
from politics to culture to history to... The magazine will be published monthly. However, letters to the editor
will be published daily, along with replies from the editor to selected letters, in the regular column called Backtalk.
We set out to heal, because, our oppressed condition is an ailment not only
of mind, but also of body and spirit
-- these three interact upon each other in a very real way. Therefore, this website will feature information about
healing, and access to holistic healing services --
traditional African holistic healing that treats body, mind
and spirit as interpenetrating and interacting aspects of a single whole. An advice
column will be featured as a regular department of Africans Unbound magazine.
Our healers would also be available for spiritual and psychic consultation over
the telephone.
Finally, this website sets out to build, because, ultimately, knowledge without
action is like a mortar without a pestle, it transforms nothing. There is a need to build institutions, because
the life of a community rests on the institutions of community. Conversely, the surest way to enslave a people
-- as we saw with the African Holocaust of the slave trade, from which our people still suffer -- is to destroy
and/or subvert its institutions. As we go about setting ourselves free, it will be necessary to knit back together
the torn fabric of African community. This must take place in all spheres of activity that define life and living:
spiritual, social, political, economic, entertainment, education, etc. This website proposes an economic forum,
and will run an online Shop, featuring initially herbal products
from our healers, and books.
An Invitation
We propose to become an online retailer of goods produced by Africans anywhere in the diaspora, and invite suppliers to list their products with us. A search engine
has been provided to facilitate your search for products, services, and information. We welcome offers to advertise
on the site, also offer free listings to businesses serving the community. So,
come on in, look around. Drop us a line via email, and let us know what you like and don't
like about the site. Also, tell your friends to look in on us. We want this to be an interactive website.
Sincerely,
Your Host
Grisso
