Sankofa is an
Akan adinkra symbol that represents the notion of going back to fetch what was
lost. Among its more prominent depictions is that of a bird moving forward in
preparation for flight while looking back with an egg in its mouth. Wade Nobles
has suggested that much of what is useful in African (American) culture is often overlooked
or misunderstood due of our inability to understand the role and function of
symbolism in African (American) culture.
The beauty of
symbols, aside from their aesthetic grace, reside their power to convey multiple meanings, their ability to speak to
and reveal multiple truths that can be convergent or divergent, their ability to
engage in an act of reciprocity—the more understanding we bring to the symbol,
the more information and knowledge it reveals to us. Much like these curvatures
we call letters, symbols in the form of artistic representation form meanings
individually and collectively when placed along side of other symbols for words
and the words depending on how they are arranged tell various kinds of stories.
In order for one to read the story at the most basic level one must possess the skill of literacy.
Often in
African iconography a bird represents flight, ascendency— the ability to rise. In ancient KMT (Egypt), for example, the Bennu bird was a symbolic representation of the sun, creation, rebirth.
With the depiction of Sankofa (below) we have a bird with and egg in its mouth. The
egg represents the primordial source of creation, the point at which both
potential and kinetic energy exist as one reality, as divine possibility or Àṣẹ.
In other words, the bird and
the egg are not separate essences, they are merely two different expressions of
the same essence, spirit, moments pregnant with divine possibility. Just as a watermelon seed is a watermelon that has
yet to express its destiny, to ascend. The bird with the egg in its mouth
looking back forms a circle, representing the notion that the past, present and
future are not separate moments, but a continuum in which the past, present and
future, just as the bird and the egg, are all one. This conception of time can
best be expressed not in terms of linear time (notion the even some elements of western physics like quantum mechanics are slowly beginning to rethink) or a flat circle, but a
spiral with a moving center that is not obedient to linear notions of time.
The bird is not
simply looking back at an egg, it is looking back at the very moment of its
creation: It is engaged in a conversation with the divine that comprises not
just its personal past but a collective past—all the events that has made its
birth possible—as well as its present and its future, all of which helps locate
itself and remember its destiny. And it is in the Sankofa bird remembering its personal
and collective destiny that it remembers who it is—a bird—why it is here and what it was meant
to do—soar—which in turn inspires it to flight, to ascend. It is in this sense
that looking back is actually looking forward.
As
precept for human understanding the message of Sankofa is clear: We come here with a
divine purpose—a destiny—but along the way life knocks us around a bit, we can become
grounded, lose our confidence and lose sight of our destiny, of who we are, of
whose we are and why we are here. And it is in looking back (forward) and engaging in a
conversation with the divine about our purpose that we are reminded of who we are and can begin to ascends while keeping our focus on the source. But some of us need help remembering.
This is where Black
Psychologists as healers can be powerfully efficacious because Sankofa also
operates as psychological precept--that elements of the past hold keys to present behavior that can unlock future possibilities that free us to have the courage to try and fly. In a sense Black Psychologists (as different
from Black folks trained in the discipline of psychology) serve as a kind of
secular priesthood, engaged in the spirit work of reigniting that divine spark
in the souls of Black folk, to help us remember and fly.
The goal
of Àṣẹ is to explore, inspire and illuminate paths and
possibilities for us to consider and pursue as a community in an effort to
complete our spiritual, mental and physical emancipation. We hope to do this through an exploration of
art and ideas, popular culture and politics, public health and social and
behavioral science, social ecology and spirituality and the fertile connections
that lie at the intersections of Black life, love, and liberation.
It is my hope
that over the next year this blog will serve as a communal space where we remember that
the goal is help our people move closer to achieving spiritual and mental liberation from the
legacy of white supremacy, that we remember that the most essential role of a
healer is to first do the work of healing thyself even as we work to help others find their healing space, that we regularly remind each other in our interactions of our ability to fly, and in the process move our ancestors to smile pure sunshine.
In life, love
and liberation,
Àdisà
Àdisà
