Ubuntu
It is funny how concepts and words become a significant part of one's counsciousness.
Several years ago, I read Desmond Tutu's No Future Without Forgiveness, which is his personal reflections and memoir of the reunification of South Africa. It was a very compelling book, and one that I need to revisit, as the themes of peace, unity, and reconciliation are significant to all people in a time where we are as divided and polarized as we are.
It was in my reading of this book that I was first introduced to the concept of Ubuntu. . .and had since forgotten the word, but not the concept. Ubuntu is a word from the Bantu language of South Africa and refers to the interconnectedness and interdependence of all people, great or small. Literally it means "humanity towards others," or "I am because we are," or "A person 'becomes human' through other persons," or also, "A person is a person because of other persons." It talks about how we as people are inexorably intertwined with the rest of humanity, and that the well being of the entirity of mankind reflects on our personal humanity. Tutu puts it this way:
A person with ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed.
Elsewhere he states:
…It is the essence of being human. It speaks of the fact that my humanity is caught up and is inextricably bound up in yours. I am human because I belong. It speaks about wholeness, it speaks about compassion. A person with ubuntu is welcoming, hospitable, warm and generous, willing to share. Such people are open and available to others, willing to be vulnerable, affirming of others, do not feel threatened that others are able and good, for they have a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that they belong in a greater whole. They know that they are diminished when others are humiliated, diminished when others are oppressed, diminished when others are treated as if they were less than who they are. The quality of ubuntu gives people resilience, enabling them to survive and emerge still human despite all efforts to dehumanise them. - Archbishop Desmond Tutu
“God Has A Dream” © 2004 Published by Doubleday
And also:
You know when ubuntu is there, and it is obvious when it is absent. It has to do with what it means to be truly human, to know that you are bound up with others in the bundle of life. - Archbishop Desmond Tutu
“God Has A Dream” © 2004 Published by Doubleday
This concept is so needed in this day and age. . .in a time when it seems as if the whole world is either polarized in absolute views, or is totally apathetic and self absorbed. . completle wrapped up in their own worlds. . .how can we move away from that into Ubuntu? How can we embrace ubuntu and become something more. . .
Our leadership, specializing in partisan self-interests are no role model. Nor are our celebrities, a picture of selfishness, irresponsibility, and materialism. For the most part, our religious leaders TRY to embody a spirit of kindness (in many cases), but unfortunately, the very nature of religion is to adhere to one view rigidly, thus creating barriers.
We can pray for peace, but how will God give us what we refuse to embrace? Can we truly come to a place of understanding and regard for all people, seeking to end hunger, disease, poverty, war, oppression, and tyranny? All of these things diminish me, because they diminish my brother man. All of these things degrade me, because they degrade others. If I am not working to promote ubuntu, then I am working against it.
Several years ago, I read Desmond Tutu's No Future Without Forgiveness, which is his personal reflections and memoir of the reunification of South Africa. It was a very compelling book, and one that I need to revisit, as the themes of peace, unity, and reconciliation are significant to all people in a time where we are as divided and polarized as we are.
It was in my reading of this book that I was first introduced to the concept of Ubuntu. . .and had since forgotten the word, but not the concept. Ubuntu is a word from the Bantu language of South Africa and refers to the interconnectedness and interdependence of all people, great or small. Literally it means "humanity towards others," or "I am because we are," or "A person 'becomes human' through other persons," or also, "A person is a person because of other persons." It talks about how we as people are inexorably intertwined with the rest of humanity, and that the well being of the entirity of mankind reflects on our personal humanity. Tutu puts it this way:
A person with ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed.
Elsewhere he states:
…It is the essence of being human. It speaks of the fact that my humanity is caught up and is inextricably bound up in yours. I am human because I belong. It speaks about wholeness, it speaks about compassion. A person with ubuntu is welcoming, hospitable, warm and generous, willing to share. Such people are open and available to others, willing to be vulnerable, affirming of others, do not feel threatened that others are able and good, for they have a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that they belong in a greater whole. They know that they are diminished when others are humiliated, diminished when others are oppressed, diminished when others are treated as if they were less than who they are. The quality of ubuntu gives people resilience, enabling them to survive and emerge still human despite all efforts to dehumanise them. - Archbishop Desmond Tutu
“God Has A Dream” © 2004 Published by Doubleday
And also:
You know when ubuntu is there, and it is obvious when it is absent. It has to do with what it means to be truly human, to know that you are bound up with others in the bundle of life. - Archbishop Desmond Tutu
“God Has A Dream” © 2004 Published by Doubleday
This concept is so needed in this day and age. . .in a time when it seems as if the whole world is either polarized in absolute views, or is totally apathetic and self absorbed. . completle wrapped up in their own worlds. . .how can we move away from that into Ubuntu? How can we embrace ubuntu and become something more. . .
Our leadership, specializing in partisan self-interests are no role model. Nor are our celebrities, a picture of selfishness, irresponsibility, and materialism. For the most part, our religious leaders TRY to embody a spirit of kindness (in many cases), but unfortunately, the very nature of religion is to adhere to one view rigidly, thus creating barriers.
We can pray for peace, but how will God give us what we refuse to embrace? Can we truly come to a place of understanding and regard for all people, seeking to end hunger, disease, poverty, war, oppression, and tyranny? All of these things diminish me, because they diminish my brother man. All of these things degrade me, because they degrade others. If I am not working to promote ubuntu, then I am working against it.
posted by Thomas J. at 8/06/2006 08:24:00 AM
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