SNE NGCOBO
When we observe the way other continent's view Africa, we could all agree that their view perspective is coming from a westernized single story generated and perpetuated by the West. The West has successfully created a narrative that the African continent is destitute, and if it was not for the Western Powers taking over the land and colonizing the indigenous people of Africa at that time, our continent wouldn't be as developed as it is now, hence the supposition is that we as Africans are to the regard in the west as our Saviour.
Western Powers saw African civilization as primitive, unsophisticated and simple and to them this was something unfamiliar thus the concept of othering, they thought of themselves as superior and created the them versus us narrative which supported them separating westerners and Africans off of the ideology that they are nothing like Africans.
to further dehumanize Africans, they propagated a stereotyped image of Africa, an example made by Binyavanga Wanaina in 'How to Write About Africa' Wanaina says that "Any work you submit in which people look filthy and miserable will be referred to as the REAL Africa" these are instructions given to the distributers of media to further feed the Westernized stereotype of Africa.
An exoticized image of Africans walking around bare foot and naked, with big breasts bottoms and genetalia ,who only eat food they have physically hunted and grown and spend their day under the African sun interacting with wildlife, is to evoke the feeling of pity or the poverty-stricken Africans.
The aim is to try keep Africa viewed as an impoverished society so they can be looked at as rescuers an continue to extort and take advantage of Africans resources and people.
Teachings and beliefs that shape my world view
17 May 2024, 22:48
I was brought up by a black South African grandmother and as the eldest family member as well as my primary caregiver throughout my whole life, her beliefs and her teachings are something that I have had easy access to and which would obviously help shape my view of the world, as someone who came from a big family herself she believes that everyone needs someone, induvial need some sort of community because on the journey of life everyone is inevitably going to go through hardships ,that will require you to have a support system or having people around you that know and accept you for who you are without judgment ,but not only for hard times but for the good times as well , so you can celebrate your achievements with the people who love you the most .As someone who’s more on the introverted side I usually debate about this topic with her and the conclusion is always that he cannot fathom why I would rather live life alone than have people around me constantly. Respect the black community is held at a high regard it is extremely important to show respect to everyone especially your elders because they carry blessings and wisdom that they can give to you but if you lack respect they won’t give you any of those gifts and you won’t have much of a great life, the interpretations of this may vary from culture to culture but across the board respect is crucial. The significance of the connection between people and nature isn’t a teaching that came from my grandmother but rather a realization I came to through my exploration into South African spirituality, more specifically the healing and cleansing agents of nature such as the water and plants/herbs and occasionally even animals, different cultures in the black ethnic community have different ceremonies and rites of passage that utilize this for example, cleansing of bad omens In moving waters such as the beach or a river as a spiritual practice.