Thanksgiving...poem for Esperanza Martell and Leonard Peltier

thanksgiving* by ‘bro.zayid’

( for esperanza martell and leonard peltier**)

on this day

at this ritual hour

baptized in the blood of genocide,

at this feast

celebrating the plenty of the few

at the expense

of the famine of the many,

at this ceremonial bludgeoning

of ideas and of traditions

and of continents

we say ‘ase...

and we give thanks

thanks for being able to see

this perverse communion

of dominance and exploitation

for what is truly it really is,

thanks for being able to see

this obscene rejoicing

of their blond bearded ancestors

who cut off the hands and the heads

of those who fed them

and then took their land,

for being able to see thru all of this

we give thanks and we say ‘ase…

and we give thanks...

thanks for those who got us here

to this moment,

thanks for those who survived the holocausts

that birthed this paradox of plenty

with the blood sweat and tears

of their captive labor

and we say ‘ase…

for those with lionhearts and ancient memories

who refocus the painful confusion

confronting our eyes,

for those who teach us to envision the earth

free from those who wd even colonize corn,

 

for those who teach us that we are different

from those who wd open sores in the sky

and turn the sun against our skins

we say ‘ase…

who teach us that we shd want

to be different  from those

who fed the atlantic our ancestors flesh and bones

and who then polluted it with their own filth

on top of all that

we say ‘ase…

and we give thanks

for those who got us here,

who endured the atrocities

that accompanied their sacrifices

and we say ‘ase…

for those of our prize-eyed elders

who remind us of even worse times

and who tried to keep our families together

against the savage agendas of the butchers,

for their anchor

we say ‘ase…

for the worry and love and pride

we see in the eyes of our elders

whenever we question

the folly of their adaptations at their dinner tables

we say  ‘ase…

for those who mourn and fast

while the conquerors’ descendants feast

we say ‘ase…

and for those who resist

and who continue to engender resistance

we give thanks and we say ‘ase…

and so

at this hour,

at this instance of institutionalized

gratuitous pity on the feastless,

we too give thanks...

thanks for those who endured,

thanks for those who got us here

thanks for enabling us

to see this charade for the farce that it truly is

and we say ‘ase…

and we live for the day

when no children are hungry anywhere in the world,

when war is reduced to museum wax,

when all forms of oppression,

are buked and scorned in all places,

and we live for the day

when the sun is again on our side,

when the earth is reclaimed for everybody,

when the sea is cleansed,

when the sky is healed,

and when justice is served…

and we say ‘ase

‘ase

‘ase

‘ase

‘ase

‘ase…

*thanksgiving…is a day of mourning, a holocaust memory marker for those indigenous to this land, as it should also be for the  descendants of afrikan  slaves…they don’t feast on turkey; they fast...

and mourn the loss of 100 million of their ancestors instead…

**Leonard Peltier, Native American political prisoner. In prison since 1976...

‘ase… meant here to be done in call and response fashion, used in the Ifa Tradition it is Yoruba for ‘so be it'…a traditional Afrikan forerunner to ‘amen'…

©1993 all rights reserved

Proud to be Oglala, Leonard Peltier

SelfPortrait, Leonard Peltier

Day of Mourning Plaque, Plymouth, Massachusetts

Gye Nyame-A New Afrikan Alternative To Thanksgiving Whose Time Has Come, by Baba Zayid Muhammad

 

GYE NYAME!

Background of a Cultural Concept "whose time has come!"

By Baba Zayid Muhammad*

 

This New Afrikan holiday is called 'Gye Nyame.' Pronounced 'Gee-Nah-May' or 'Geen-Yah- May,' it means in the beautiful Akan language spoken throughout Ghana "None is greater than God the Creator." It is a central symbol among the rich, treasured Adinkra symbols of the regal Akan people. 'Gye Nyame' is not an Akan holiday, however. It is a New Afrikan holiday that synthesizes rich principles of faith found in several traditional Afrikan spiritual traditions, most especially the Akan and Ifa traditions, and of course, Ma'at.          Resplendid in its colors of black and gold and being pure water sweet, this New Afrikan cultural holiday alternative was given to us by the immortal Khallid Abdul Muhammad.

            Bro. Khallid developed Gye Nyame in November 1995. It was first celebrated on November 27, 1997 in Cleveland, Ohio by some 500 Pan-Afrikanists of a study circle called Egbe Nyame. Bro. Khallid's youngest son, Farrakhan lit the candle in the first Gye Nyame ceremony.

            Gye Nyame is New Afrikan in that it was forged to help Afrikans captive here in amerikkka return to the Afrikan philosophy and the original Afrikan way of thinking and doing. It is also New Afrikan in that it consciously seeks to 'separate' us from participating in the violently hypocritical holocaust holiday unique to the amerikkkan nation state known as 'Thanksgiving.' It is Pan-Afrikan in that it invites every man, woman and child of Afrikan descent to participate.

            As a ceremony, Gye Nyame was designed to be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November and to give Afrikan people captive here in the united states a conscious and cultural choice or alternative instead of being confined to Thanksgiving...

Gye Nyame's Symbols and Rituals...

Gye Nyame is marked by a ritual ceremony, which includes the recognizing of the ancestors, the libation, the affirmations of thanks (the Adura prayer) and an altar which features the nine cardinal cultural and spiritual symbols:
1)The fitila (the Black Gye Nyame candleholder and the white 2 1⁄2-3in. candle)...This is Gye Nyame's chief and most central symbol representing spiritual illumination and the binding energy of our prayers emitted into the universe;...
2)The Eni and Aseea (the mat and the national flag)...The mat represents the elders who stand on the threshold of the Ancestral Realm; The flag, the Universal Afrikan Liberation Flag, the red, black and green, represents us being a 'nation within a nation' whose time has come to be truly independent and to return to the wisdom of our original statecraft traditions;...
3)The Ife Irepo Ase’(the communal unity cup)...'the unity cup' is central to the ritual. Once the ritual is initiated, whoever lights the candle first sips (or so gestures) from the unity cup's water and then passes it on to the elders and then around the circle. To acknowledge the sacredness of the gesture, it should be held with both hands as it is being passed around;...
4)The Takanda Egungun (the ancestral scrolls)... 'the ancestral scrolls' are family documents of family ancestors that are placed on the altar. These can be important records, such as the family bible or a collection of history telling family photos, or the family tree. They are to be opened and shared in the ritual. Bro. Khallid insisted that this is "should be a solemn and sacred moment" in the ritual. Classic documents in our broader tradition can also be used, especially in a community setting. For instance, in our recent regional Gye Nyame ceremonies, we used The Philosophy And Opinions Of Marcus Garvey and a picture of Khallid Abdul Muhammad, Gye Nyame's founder, to serve this important function. The ritual is then marked by the Etutu, or 'the libation' for all those ancestors represented. It is then that the unity cup is passed around for everyone to share;...
5) The Omi Tutu and Ododo (the water and the flowers)...water is the "mighty medium of spiritual purification." This Gye Nyame symbol is also representative of the growth state, the protective and nurturing state of the mother's womb; The flowers are an offering, a sharing of sweet fragrance, love, bountiful beauty, freshness and a new beginning;...
6) Itile Ashe Sankofa and the Gareta (the golden Sankofa staff and ancestral mask)...A prominent symbol throughout Afrika, most especially used by the elders, 'the staff' is the marker, one of the spiritual symbols by which 'the call' to the ancestors is made. The golden Sankofa atop the staff "enlightens and instructs us to reach back into our past, in order that we can go forward into the future." This staff should be held by the presiding elder of the circle throughout the entire ceremony. 'The ancestral mask' represents our spirituality as a people and the spirituality of our ancestors;
7)The Guguru (the popcorn)...popcorn represents 'the continuum principle,' or the principle of 'being and becoming,' the necessary developmental tension and motion between the elders and the youth...This symbol is two part. The fully popped corn represents the state of being, or us, especially our youth, as they are now, beautiful and robust in their energy and forms, but very unfinished. The unpopped kernel represents their potential, their 'becoming,' where we hope they go with their energy. The bowl represents the community, our people, the free and independent Black nation "which is where our progress and brightest hope for the future can best be realized, enjoyed and presented to the world" and how our collective well-being depends on the health of this continuum;...
8)The Koro and the Didun (the bitter and the sweet)... 'the bitter' can be any fruit or oil known for its bitter taste quality. Much like the place of bitters in our naming and wedding ceremonies, the bitter represents our need for strength to deal with adversity; 'the sweet' can be any fruit or oil known for its very sweet taste quality. Honey is the first example that Bro. Khallid, the conceiving and convening ancestor, suggested. But he said that it can be anything wholesome of that character that we choose;...
9)The Ipese (the daily bread)... 'the daily bread' is a symbol which serves to remind us to appreciate "being blessed with the basics of life,...to never take God for granted, to be mindful and thankful for the small things as well as the great"...
The Adura, the affirmation of thanks, are to be said last before the Ayeye, the feast of appreciation, for the sacrifices of all who gone before on us. This should include the family's or the circle's favorite wholesome dishes...Give thanks...

The Seven Steps of the Gye Nyame Ceremony

1. The presiding elder pounds the Sankofa Staff, calling the gathering to order;
2. The youngest able person is directed to light the Candle, the Fitila on the Gye Nyame altar;
3. Libation is then poured for the ancestors;
4. The Unity Cup, the Ife Irepo Ashe, is then communally sipped, passed and shared;
5. The presiding elder pounds the Staff again, directs the explanation of the symbols and commences the dialogue on the family's history. (It should be noted that the family Sacred Scrolls, the Takanda Egungun, should be the last symbol addressed. Remember, the opening of the Scrolls is a sacred and somber moment in the ceremony, and it is also the bridge to the dialogue on the family history);
6. At the conclusion of the discussion, the presiding elder again pounds the Staff and calls for the Adura, the closing affirmation, to be done;
7. Once the Adura is done, the presiding elder pounds the staff one last time, ends the ceremony and begins the Ayeye, the feast...

Adura Affirmation*(The audience repeats after the ritual leader)

I am of good health, happiness, love, success, sisterhood, brotherhood, familyhood, nationhood, prosperity
and a mega-medium of exchange, for which I say 'Adupe,' give thanks;
I have food to eat, water to drink; I am awake from sleep and slumber, still able to breathe the air; I am in control of all of my faculties; I have use of all of my limbs and presence of mind, for which I say 'Adupe,' give thanks; I am grateful to be able to witness the might of the ocean, the push of the river, the treasures of the earth and the sweet fragrant smell of the flowers; I am grateful to be able to witness all of the Creator's wonderous creation to behold, for which I say 'Adupe,' give thanks; We are striving to live our lives daily in Truth, Justice, Righteousness, Harmony, Balance, Order and Reciprocity, and we say 'Adupe,' give thanks; In spite of all that our people have been through, in spite of all that we still face, we have come a long way, and so for this we say 'Adupe,' give thanks...

            Why Not Just Thanksgiving? Why Gye Nyame?

            Of course this all begs a question 'If we have Thanksgiving already, then why is Gye Nyame necessary?Why is it so important to have this choice?

            First, Gye Nyame is an act of cultural self-determination, in which we seek to distinguish ourselves and separate ourselves from the traditions of our oppressors which celebrates their ancestors who affirmed their world at the bloody expense of our ancestors, Thanksgiving just being one.
            Two, Thanksgiving as a holiday is one that actually exults the rise of the amerikkkan state, and the rise of that state as one based on white supremacy. While it symbolically acknowledges the indigenous ancestors of this land, in practice, the forgers of the amerikkkan state in no way saw anything special, respectful or sacred in the lives and traditions of the people who were here first. To be sure, to conscious Indigenous people, Thanksgiving, as well as that other holiday rooted in genocide, Columbus Day, is in fact, a Day of Mourning and Fasting. To these regal people both the coming of the Columbus and the first projections of Thanksgiving represent 'the beginning of their end'!

 

            American historian David Stannard in his work, The American Holocaust, asserts that between 1492 and the closing of the western frontier in 1892, some 100,000,000 people indigenous to the Americas lost their lives. The greatest lost was in what we now refer to as the united states. The escalation of that genocide took place in the 1600s after the Pilgrims instituted and celebrated Thanksgiving and turned on the very people who saved their lives.
            Just as horrific, as those proud peoples were being decimated, the settlers then turned to Afrika to supply them with cheap labor to develop and harness the vast natural wealth of these lands. So with the destruction of the Indigenous peoples of this land, there then came the escalation of that other mammoth atrocity, the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, or as the late master teacher Dr. John Henrik Clarke rightfully called it, 'The Afrikan Holocaust! This supreme barbaric atrocity costed our people 100,000,000 lives in just 'the Middle Passage' alone! Even though the rest of humanity has just acknowledged that "the TransAtlantic Slave Trade was a crime against humanity" at the recently convened UN World Conference on Racism, not once has the united states government ever even seriously engaged in a meaningful discussion about the virulent legacy of racism that emerged from that genocide, a legacy that is still very much with us. It is time for our people to separate themselves from cultures and cultural practices that have that kind of very genocidal luggage. We believe that we must do that in order to insure the emergence and the maintenance of a good, wholesome and liberated national mental health. Right now, just a few of us are practicing this enriching tradition in the bleeding shadows of Thanksgiving. We live for the day, however, when it becomes so popular among our people that it ultimately supplants it!

            Come! It is time for Gye Nyame!...Help our people 'return to the way'!...

 

'Baba Zayid' Muhammad...Was the former Chief of Staff for the late Khallid Abdul Muhammad in the New Black Panther Party. He became the National Minister of Culture upon Khallid’s passing. He is a prized ‘cub’ of the legendary NY chapter of the Black Panther Party. He has an organizing profile of over 40 years. He is a poet-stage actor-storyteller-freelance writer and lecturer. Interested in Gye Nyame? Contact him at babazayid@gmail.com and at 973 202 0745...'baba' is also on facebook at www.facebook.com/baba zayid...

 

©2019