Published in The East African Standard August 14, 2006
By Maore Ithula
5(a) Renown author David G Maillu and other traditional African religious experts set out to document African worship and create a base for the neglected religion.
5(b) Theologians and religious scholars long established that traditional African religion was the basis of Christianity and by extension Islam. But African spirituality itself seems to have failed the test of time. African religion, it is said, is easily replaceable by other faiths because it has been an oral Social edict. Indeed, the lack of written worship manuals or Scriptures reduces African beliefs to mere interesting but incredible folklores or myths, with no reference or scriptural base. .
5(c) Nevertheless, supporters and followers. of African religion will soon heave a sigh of relief when the first broad scripture of African spirituality rolls out of press next month in a 600-page scripture under the tide of KA, The Holy Book of Neter.
5(d) Last week The Big Issue spoke to Dr David Maillu, the leading author of the landmark text. Maillu says, KA is the base of African religion, comparable to the Bible for Christians and the Quran for Muslims. He says authorship of the book was inspired by the fact that Africans have unreservedly spent the last two centuries struggling to cast off their culture in favour of western ways of life. The African traditional religion, says the author, has been at stake owing to its lack of scriptures. It has not bothered many Africans that spirituality is the comer stone of any civilisation and that indigenous religion plays a crucial part in societal identity and cohesiveness. Religion directly enhances political maturity and economic growth of a nation. Based on this fact, pundits partially attribute economic stagnation and political instability bedeviling many African states to religious confusion reigning in the continent. The name of the eminent scripture, Maillu says, is borrowed from ancient Egyptian beliefs.
5(e) “Ka, in ancient Egypt, is the soul, said to be able to reside in a statue of that person after death,” says the renowned writer and scholar who has authored over 60 tides. He says Neter is the name of God in African religion as it is espoused in the same ancient Egyptian beliefs. Neter and Ka, he says, are borrowed from a title by Wallis Budge”s The Egyptian Book of the Dead, which is based on ancient Egyptian beliefs. Compiled by six. experts in linguistics, sociology and African religious studies with Maillu as the executive chairman and editor, the intelllectua1s include Prof Osaga Odak(late), Mr Seba Masubo Magoiga, Mr James Kangwana, Prof Ochola Ayayo (late), and Prof Sam Munywoki.
5(f) But how does KA compare with the Bible, the Quran and other mainstream religious scriptures? Maillu says: “The Bible and by extension the Quran, borrow heavily from African religion. How else can we explain the similarities in the Bible”s Old Testament, the Quran and African religion?”
5(g) The writer also points out that the Ten Commandments in the two scriptures (Bible and Quran are borrowed from the 57 laws contained in the African religion illustrated in KA. “Moses, the giver of the law was born and raised in Africa where the 12 tribes of Israel were bred in 400 years. Moses and the Israelites are, therefore, Africans to the bone. They did not know any other religion apart from African beliefs before they decided to leave us. The only difference therefore, is that Jews were able to document and evangelize the faith (African religion), which has been westernized over centuries gone by. Those compiling KA felt obliged to document, package and therefore immortalize the original religion in its true form. This is what inspired us to write scripture,” says Maillu.
5(h) Indeed every African community is known to observe its unique culture (religion) in isolation. Each tribe deliberately attempts to avoid interfering with a neighbour”s cultural sovereignty although they are all basically alike. To support his argument that Christianity is indeed borrowed from African beliefs, Maillu quotes the theologian Prof John Mbiti works where the writer established that the creation story in Genesis 1-10 was borrowed from the legends of the pygmies – a Congolese forest tribe.
5(i) According to the KA, Neter (God) is a force. This Supreme Being in African beliefs, Maillu says, has no physical form and exists as a spirit that is neither male nor female. “Therefore, Ka is Neter and Neter is Ka. In African religion, Neter is the conscious force behind existence in the universe. All creatures are equal in front of Neter, because no creature is responsible for the creation of the other. This explains why Africans believe Neter manifests in its creations such as mountains, craters and forests among other worldly features. I therefore habour no doubts on the holiness of any shrine considered sacred by whichever community in the continent,” he says.
5(j) “To ensure that KA is acceptable by all communities in every comer of the continent and the diaspora, Maillu says authors of the scripture have looked onto the broader perspective of African religion ignoring tribal variations in practice. “For example, there is no mention of ”Njuri Njeke for Meru, King’ole for Akamba and the like,” he says.
5(k) The researcher says African religion does not advocate life after death thus negating the existence either hell or heaven. “When people die, they might or might not exist as spirits depending on their actions in the world. Good people are reborn through their namesakes within the nucleus or extended families while those involved in evil actions are better off forgotten – thus their spirits are killed or cut off when they are not reincarnated in their kin”s children,” he says.. Neterian worship,. as authors of the faith have beliefs similar to those of Hinduism and Buddhism on how followers are repaid for whatever they do. The authors say evil is promptly followed by suffering of equal. magnitude to the transgression committed, while in contrast, good deeds. are also followed by equally satisfying outcomes in the world.
5(l) It took the group three rears to compile KA. Text materials were derived from extensive research and excerpts from existing books and reports written by various scholars on African religion over time. The scripture is composed of 10 books said to be the equivalent of the Bible”s 66 books. The comparison of Genesis in KA is The Book of Prayers. This is followed by the books of Law, Initiation, Messages, Parables, and Prophesies. Others are the books of Kings and Queens, Beginning, Proverbs and Songs of Slaves.
5(m) In direct contradiction of the Bible, KA says humans are born without sin, rather everybody is born innocent and gets a full measure punishment for the sins committed against others. “That people are continuously assessed by Neter for their deeds, is an indication that Neter is with the people at all times. Rewards and punishment do not have to wait. People are being judged after every deed,” says Maillu.
5(n) The worship of Neter according to KA is based on issues at hand or every day happenings in society. There is no day set aside for worship in, say a week, as is the case with other existing religions. Rather Neter can be worshipped as demanded by a season of a particular rite(s) observed by a community. Occasions that call for worship include marriage, circumcision, harvest, planting, weeding, burial, the birth of a child and when conducting a curse or blessing among others ceremonies. Just as they are free to worship God at their convenience and according to need, Africans are also free to call Neter, by whatever name they deem fit to them, says Mailu.
5(o) The cost of compiling the book, says the author cannot be cumulated because volunteers compiled the book. Nevertheless, a copy of the first edition of KA, he says, will have a shelf price of Shillings 2,000 (3 dollars). The text is published by African Comb Books and printed by the Jomo Kenyatta Foundation. A Kikamba translation (Maillu’s mother tongue) of KA will be released in due course.
5(p) “It took me nine months to come up with a Kikamba version,” Mailu says waving a copy of the scripture. He continues: “We are hunting for a team that will help translate KA into Kiswahili and other international and local languages appropriate to Africans in the continent and the diaspora.”
5(q) The symbols of the new religion include the crucifix, which symbolizes Christianity; the Star of David that stands for Judaism and a star inside the crescent moon, which is an internationally recognized logo for Islam. There is also the ANKH, which symbolizes African religion. The ANKH is a symbol that stands for the KEY OF LIFE in ancient Egyptian artwork and in traditional beliefs of natives of Western Africa where, also, ANKH symbolizes the god of fertility. Maillu says the symbol was chosen on the realization that African beliefs and practices mainly revolve around the family. More than 90 per cent of prayer and worship in African culture concentrates on the safety and well-being of the nucleus and extended family.
5(r) In traditional Africans beliefs any wrongdoing can affect not only the offender but also dose relatives and sometimes a whole clan can suffer for the sins committed by one of their own, therefore the entire kinfolk participates in any rite that serves to absolve them and keep away such calamities.
5(s) To those who still follow African religion, petty offenses against anybody in the society can bring about sickness on the family, explains Maillu. Serious offenses are seen as responsible for many physical or mental disability. “What is dear under this observation is that African religious philosophy is based on the family and the continuation of life. Sin therefore threatens the existence of one”s descendants – the most dreadful calamity to befall an African,” he says.
5(t) People who willingly do not procreate are viewed as close to the dead than to the living. Even Africans who subscribe to Western and Eastern religions hold dear to this view. “This underscores the facts that African religion does not believe in the lifeafter,” says Maillu. In a nutshell, Maillu believes the book is a perfect representation of the general African tradition. He says those in touch with their culture are sure of being comfortable with KA, while those born and bred in the diaspora have something to fall back to.
5(u) But how does author David G Maillu strike a balance between writing sexually explicit literature and serious religious materials meant to guide” others into spiritual living? “This is a question that I have been asked by many people since I embarked on writing the KA. Nevertheless, the answer is simple. I am a writer and scholar on social and political matters. Religion and sexuality is just part of this subject. My fictitious work is actually based on real life situations and I stand to be corrected on the same,” says Dr Maillu.
5(v) And if you imagine that leadership and evangelism structures are separate from Neterian worship, you have terribly underestimated Maillu”s ingenuity. The author has left nothing to chance. The writer has prepared a blue print on how he envisions the organization to be expanded and managed. According to a copy of the print, the headship of Neterianism will be divided into seven departments. At the top is the SUPRE PRIEST, followed by the SUPREME COUNCIL, high priest and provincial priests. On the lower scale will be the Council of Elders, Council of the Youth and Representative of the Infant Soul. It is suggested that the official language for Neterian worship be English.
5(w) The SUPREME PRIEST will be the world Neterian Supreme leader and
the top authority in the executive of the Neterian Worship including all other
undertakings related to the Neterian body. The person will also be the
Chairman of SUPREME COUNCIL. He will be elected and will serve for a
lifetime, so long as he does not suffer physical or mental impairment. The
person should also be between 50 and 75 years of age.
