In Touch With Who We Are

By Betty Miller Buttram
FWIS Contributing Writer

The word Ubuntu means “I AM Because WE Are.” These words pack a powerful meaning for descendants of the Africans held in bondage during that part of American History. What were the cultures, languages, religion, and customs of these Africans?

African and African American history is one and the same because it is connected. The history of the descendants from Africa cannot be erased from America in a twisted telling of untruths. It is a history that cannot be denied because the truth did happen.

We learned in elementary and secondary school that Africa is the world’s second largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia. It covers an area more than three times that of the United States. It comprises of 48 countries that share the area of mainland Africa, plus six island nations that are a part of the continent. All in all, there are 54 sovereign African countries and two disputed areas, namely Somaliland and Western Sahara (occupied by Morocco and claimed by the Polisario). What is Polisario? An independence movement opposing Moroccan control of the Western Sahara, a former Spanish territory that Morocco annexed in stages beginning in 1976. Let us go to one of those countries in Africa for a history lesson.

The Akans of the Ashanti kingdom are a family of people from Ghana on the West African Atlantic Coast. Their ancestors founded the Ghana Empire. They number about 20 million and are among the African tribes that have maintained indigenous languages with minimal influence from Western languages. The history of the Akans can be found by searching Goggle and a more detailed history of their culture, customs, and languages will be there for anyone who wants to digest the richness of their ethnicity.

The Akans had a way of communicating through what is known as the Adinkra writing system. It is much like the system of alphabet letters that represent sounds except Adinkra symbols stand for complete ideas instead of sounds. There are approximately 63 symbols in this writing system and each symbol has its meaning. Each symbol has a proverbial meaning that sends a message and serves as guidance to the people. People create patterns that are printed on cloth using different kinds of symbols to relay messages.

“Asase Ye Duru” symbol (pictured above) is one of many of the Adinkra symbols and means “the Earth has no weight.” It is a symbol of power, providence, and the divinity of Mother Earth. It emphasizes the importance of the earth and its preservation. People must respect and nurture the Earth and should never act in ways that might directly or indirectly harm the earth.

There are some African American quilters who detail escaped descendants’ paths to freedom with symbols on the cloth from the beginning of the journey until the end. The West Africa Atlantic Coast traders brought captured Africans to the United States.

The Ubuntu Learning Lab, Historic Turner Chapel A.M.E. Church in Fort Wayne, has began its second year in teaching lessons on African culture, language, and customs. Classes are held every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month, and the last class will be on December 7th. All classes are 4:30-6:30 PM. Classes will resume in January 2024. There will be lessons that will be well worth your time and your family.

ASHANTI AFRICAN PROVERB: The ruin of a nation begins in the homes of its people.