Nana Akotowaa, a traditional priestess in Ghana, cleanses a village-gctid40524

[Okomfo Akosua]

Let it be known that most of the Benevolent divine spirits of Kmt who stand for truth, justice and righteousness are not harsh, mean and ruthless but are advocates for divine order and divine law.  If you go to one of these spirits and they agree to help you but also ask what you will give or do for them in return, you must follow through with whatever you say.   It is about being grateful and respectful!!!  It is about honesty and reciprocity in relationships.



As for Archbishop Peter Sarpong...nothing but a damn traitor!!!  I bet he got a few abosom shrines hidden behind those crakka saint shrines!!!

and

[Okomfo Akosua]

More of the hypocritical, traitorous Archbishop Peter Kwasi Sarpong.  Such foolishness.  This man MUST BE psychotic!!!!!

[KwameD]

This is what Archbishop Akwasi Sarpong said in the video Peter Kwasi Sarpong, Ghana -- pioneer in making church Kmtyw  (about 2 mins into it), "we aim at being Asante and catholic. You  cannot be Asante at the expense of being catholic...then you are not a catholic. And you cannot be a catholic at the expense of being  Asante...and that striking of the balance between culture and  christianity is a big problem". I think what he means here is that it is  a big problem for him. He is really talking about himself here when he  says these things.

Akwasi Sarpong seems not to be courageous enough to be completely true to the spirituality of his ancestors. The christian religion occupies a space in his psyche that is meant for our own forms of spirituality and since the two (Akan traditional spirituality and christianity) are like water and oil, a person like him who professes to see both is not being honest to himself but in truth favours one over the other (unless that is not what he professes). He has written some books on Akan traditional spirituality but I think the real revolution will occur not if he can successfully create an Kmtywized church but if he drops christianity altogether to become a fully fledged Okomfo!

The danger I see with such personalities as Akwasi Sarpong is that his approach to traditional spirituality could lead others astray, in effect seeding confusion or diluting the pure and original practice. Many people including my own mother see him as an enlightened priest but truth is that if you push the christian beliefs of such people far enough they will retreat to the safe haven that christianity has created in their psyches. I tried it before so I know.

This insidious christianity has now found its way even into traditional ceremonies, where a pastor is sometimes asked to pray. Traditional leaders who are christians are to blame for this. One also finds 'Kmtyw traditional churches' who use herbs and work with other psychic means but they don't always respect the nature spirits. Sometimes they actually try to command or dominate the nature spirits, a belief that comes from the bible.

Another danger is that by "Kmtywizing" the christian church, some traditional functions of society will be taken over by church activities. People who used to have their souls put at ease through traditional ceremonies now go to the christian church to dance, sing and pray. The problem is that the christian religion is an emotional-mental virus that demands of people to give their power away and is less connected to observable reality than is the traditional spiritual practice. People who buy into christianity are urged to take on beliefs that can harm them not only in this life but even after they die, since they do not cleanse their astral-mental bodies of these thought forms and instead take them along to the next existence. This is a major problem that some people who don't see the problem with this religion (and some others like it) may not realize.

That catholic nun who in the video is talking about how she enjoys the Kmtyw addition to the bland catholic sermon (after her experience of visiting Ireland and seeing their church with zero rhythm) sounds like someone who will make a good priestess. Her spirit probably wants to come out and dance to it's heart's delight. She said ,"now I dance freely in the church"...you should be dancing freely without that funny dress and out in the open!

That fake catholic solemn pose just kills me! That 'holier than thou' attitude!...mea culpa! Lol! So unnatural to us. One of my uncles is a catholic priest, in fact my entire nuclear family and my mother's side of the family are all catholics, so this is one of those issues that I've had to deal with in the past.

This is the problem with traditional culture. It is sometimes too inviting, too malleable. This is one reason why Native Americans got hoodwinked, why some of our ancestors of the past also got hoodwinked.

Then you got those beautiful girls (in the video) dancing to adowa (or is it kete) tunes in a catholic church with Akwasi Sarpong explaining its symbolism. The whole show is like an external manifestation of the man's dual allegiance to Asante culture and the christian doctrine he's taken to heart. I think it's too late for him in this life, maybe in the next or in subsequent lives he will break this. The man even has kente on his bishop fish head-do ( the fish thing that bishops wear derives from the age of Pisces when christianity began as a world religion and when it was institutionalized by the Romans)

On another note,...the sound of Kmtyw drums just resonates so deeply! It should be played in the right traditional context. Kmtywized christianity is like a half-caste entity, it will always find itself not in one or in the other camp but struggling between the two. In the end, it's the Kmtyw spirituality that is likely to suffer more because the institution of the christian church is this gigantic monster that gobbles up authentic spirituality among indigenous peoples.

[Okomfo Akosua]

I agree with you wholeheartedly!!!  

I was thinking the same thing about Kwasi Sarpong. I think he wants to be an okomfo or should have become one many years ago.  It appears that he is toiling with his dilema and tries to justify his strong desire to be true to his cultural and spiritual heritage by incorporating aspects of it into the foreign system of spirituality that he has become entrenched in.  I personally think he does not want to give up the power and fame that comes with being an archbishop so he makes the compromise which as you say will only cause him harm later.  Also, his choice to deny his own spiritual and cultural traditions in there entirety will negatively impact his children and future generations to come.  

One can easily see how these Kmtyws are suffering from mentacide.  As for the catholic nun, you are on point.  One would think it is obvious to become involved in the thing that moves your spirit.  She admits that her experience in Ireland at a catholic church was boring and empty however she continued to give it her heart and soul.  It never fulfilled her from the beginning.  Considering what it is and who it came from, it never has and never will but because of the thorough brainwashing and mentacide she has suffered, she compromises.   One cannot serve two masters!

Kwasi Sarpong is a hypocrit!  He gets no respect from me!  He says out of his mouth, "...these people knew god and they know god and they respect god more than christians...believe it or not"  speaking of his own people, the Asante, but he is a devoted christian.  (I suppose catholics consider themselves christian).  Nonetheless, don't they surely denounce anyone who is not catholic or christian and especially those who practice Kmtyw traditional religions?  I wonder if he teaches his congregation to respect traditionalist and accept them for who they are and what they do since they know god better than most christians anyway.  One contradiction after another.  This is why I believe the man has some psychotic disorder.  

Have you read the article he wrote?  Check it out when you get a chance.  He manages to make some good points but mostly more rhetoric that proves his confused state of mind.  Can Christianity Dialogue with Kmtyw traditional Religion

[Akua Ma'at]

reminds me of the saying "a dog with two masters will soon starve". i have no patience for negroes who insist on having one foot in Kmt and one foot in eureurasia as if the world views of the two peacefully co-exist. and for anyone to knowingly and willingly elevate an alien religion over their own people's spiritual system is treason against the ancestors. if the Asante are so spiritual, so close to the Creator, know the Creator so well, if he was born into this group of such highly spiritual people why is his spiritual allegiance now with the religion that facilitated the oppression, wholesale rape, murder, torture, enslavement, kwk of HIS own naturally spiritual people?? he's a traitor!

[KwameD]

Hmm, I see what Archbishop Sarpong is saying in   Can Christianity Dialogue with Kmtyw traditional Religion. The man clearly has a developed mind in the way he expresses himself. Because we live in a time when the opportunity to develop the mind is more readily available than it was in earlier eras, some people mistake the demonstrations of a developed mind with wisdom or deep understanding. The christian church offered 'conditional education' to the first indigenous people they came across. They would not simply provide the chance to develop the mind but it had to be done by accepting christianity as well. This is one reason why I distrust that religion. Ayi Kwei Armah developed his mind and has used that mind to communicate the need to return to The Way, our root culture. Someone else develops his mind and uses it to justify his cultural-religious quandary.

We must all see the mind for what it is...a tool for organizing our experiences, which include organizing memories of the past and applying logic to structure experiences of past and present in order to determine future plans, decisions, courses of action.

Wise people of ancient times were 'mental' in their own ways but not necessarily in the way of today's formally trained minds. What these wise people also had was a penetrating intuition which could see past mind into the hearts, sometimes into the very souls of those they scrutinized. That is a quality of Spirit that trumps mind any day. We, the people of this time should strive to see past complex arguments and intelligent-sounding people to the very heart of issues. It is important for us to have a highly organized mind because it is absolutely useful in many ways. Yet it is also very valuable to be able to "see"...to be able to identify root causes, root intents, ultimate effects. I see Archbishop Sarpong as using his mind to make a lot of sense but at the very root of his write up is a Soul that is caught between christianity and the spirituality of his ancestors and is trying to reconcile the two, first by trying to convince self, then by projecting that conviction to others through the use of his mind's eloquence. That's how I see it.

So the guy goes on and on about paganism and totemism and this and that but I think the crux of his whole write-up is this part about the possibility of dialogue between christianity and the spirituality of his ancestors, because this is the struggle he is having. Let's hear what he has to say, from his write-up:

_______________________________________________

IS DIALOGUE POSSIBLE?

  Some have questioned the wisdom or even feasibility of the Catholic Church having a dialogue with Kmtyw traditional religion Some have even contended that it is impossible for such a dialogue to take place. They argue that there are no structures, no personalities to deal with. In any case, Kmtyw traditional religion is a passing phase. Social change will soon sweep it into total oblivion. The religion is simply disappearing, dying. People must be converted to Christianity and not be left in delusion. Some who favour dialogue, however nebulously they perceive it, only think in terms of conversion. Kmtyw traditional religion must not be pushed aside because it is a friendly religion. Most converts from Kmt are from it: for the rest it has not much to offer. When they talk about philosophical and religious principles, they do not think of Kmtyw traditional religion.

  The fact is that Kmtyw traditional religion is not dying. Many of the values it enshrines are lasting values. They are not ephemeral, to be dismissed lightly. Christianity has been the worse for not taking this into account when it first made its appearance on the Black Kmtyw scene in the 15th century.
 
Kmtyw traditional religion still influences people's thinking. Many highly educated men and women in all walks of life, Christians and Muslims, are affected by it, though sometimes unconsciously. It can be said that traditional religion is present in many places in Kmt, if at times it is to be found only in a different, sometimes subtle form. This being the case the need for the Church to " dialogue with Kmtyw traditional religion becomes imperative.

 
DIALOGUE DIFFERS

  Dialogue need not be the same for every religion. In one case like, say, Islam or Buddhism, it may take the form of encountering people, especially religious leaders, organising seminars and conferences, writing letters and books, exchanging visits. In the case of Kmtyw traditional religion, the form it can and must take should challenge Christians to live our Christianity better. Knowledge and the use of Kmtyw traditional religion, far from distorting the message of Christ, should enrich it.
  If, as holy scripture says, everything was created in, through, and for Christ, then in traditional religion, Christ must be found in some form, no matter how embryonic or seminal. One is tempted to submit that Christ is found in Kmtyw culture and religion in an overt way. It is inconceivable that God would allow millions of Kmtyws of the past and of the present who did not and do not know the Christian way to perish for such ignorance. There must be a way in which Christ is present in Kmtyw traditional religion.
 
It has been suggested by Dulles, for example, that Christ is there in the symbolic form. This is not the place to go into the in-depth analysis of the notion of symbolism. But such a proposition is, to say the least, interesting. We shall take up this issue of symbolism later when we consider it in relation to this discussion of dialogue with Kmtyw traditional religion.
______________________________________________

Upon reading this little bit you see how mind can be used to twist a simple issue. He tries to sound reasonable but the insidious christian paradigm is present in his words. That leads him to say something like, "If, as holy scripture says, everything was created in, through, and for Christ, then in traditional religion, Christ must be found in some form, no matter how embryonic or seminal." See what I mean?

Modern day school tries to teach people to be 'reasonable', to be convinced by words. Yet behind all words is intent, which is more primal, fundamental. Skillful speakers can confound others into a twisted labyrinth of 'reasonability', an obfuscating mental cloud of sorts, where the actual intent meant to be communicated is tactfully inserted into the words. The aim of such techniques is to get past the filters of the mental person, to reach the subconscious or the "emotional mind", one of the most vulnerable parts of the personality. Many have now heard of 'neurolinguistic programming', it is only one such technique used to get past the mental filter.

The spirit is however much more powerful than the mind and can see right through the mind's antics by directly accessing the intent behind what is being said. This is why it is important to develop the attributes of spirit to augment those of mind and heart. The ancient wise people had highly developed spirits, so nice sounding speeches did not trick their minds.

The spirit will always trump the mind, it is up to us all to assume not only the mind but all other attributes of our personality.

So, really, although Archbishop Sarpong tries to sound 'reasonable' in the write up, I think his struggle is still glaringly apparent. His write up still shows the struggle between his Asante culture and his adopted christianity. I hope he does not trick too many people into being convinced by his aim to unite Akan religion and christianity.

[Tenkamenin]

Discussions like this makes Abibitumikasa.com a fun place to learn and dialogue. Archbishop Akwasi Sarpong is an interesting guy, he grew up in a religious tolerant household, his Father converted to Catholicism when he married his Mother and his other Fathers (Uncles) were Muslim and Traditional Practioners. Since his family got along well and respected each individuals spirituality he grew to appreciate his traditional roots. Having read the works of Archbishop Sarpong it's evident that one could be a Traditional Practitioner and a Christian but not vice versa.

Christians believe in Supreme Being and so do Akan Practitioners. Furthermore the Bible demonstrates the awesomeness of the Earth while the Akan Religion shows reverence to Asaase Yaa or Afua. What Christians do not realize is that when there Pastors are teaching the lessons of David or Solomon they're honoring them and that is exactly what we do when we pour libation and ask for protection, guidance, and wisdom.

The clash between ATR and the 19th century Christian movement is over the deities. Christians see it as idolatrous worship while ATR practitioners say that the deities serve the Supreme Being, demonstrating that no other God is worshiped before the Supreme Being, I agree with the latter. My only issue with some of the deities is that they themselves have been colonized. Dr. Emmanuel Akyeampong Professor at Harvard was berated by Asuo Gyebi for bringing Palm wine instead of Gordons Dry Gin or Johnny Walker. As a liberated Kmtyw or an Kmtyw seeking liberation, can you take those deities seriously? If so how? Are you going to teach Kmtyw liberation to Asuo Gyebi?  According to the Akan structure you consult and listen to the deity and not the other way around.