3.2 The philosophical challenges of tribal cultures
95. For reasons we will expose here briefly, certain peoples known as “tribal” in nature did not develop elaborate philosophical systems similar to the Eastern or Western ones. Elaborate here means: encompassing all layers of human perception, from legend to reason to religion. If you want to go deeper and find out why, consider enrolling in our Evolutive Mythology class.
96. The denomination “tribal,” “first tribes” or “first nations” has been used for various historical, political, and economical purposes and propaganda. Early Western anthropologists in the 60s/70s like Émile Durkheim or Marcel Mauss have used those terms in an attempt to describe a group of tightly-knit people sharing blood ties, language, land and culture, and organized in a clan, with a chief-like figure ruling over the group’s life.
97. Many of these African, Oceanian, American, and Asian indigenous tribes may now be relatively Westernized and modernized, with some retaining tribal structures or codes underneath westernization. Let’s illustrate this with historical elements from modern-day Central and southern Africa to understand this phenomenon.
- Understanding tribal structures in today’s world
98. The Republic of Congo, home to more than fifty tribes, is organized in a political north-south division with 3 linguistic groups speaking a variety of languages stemming from Bantu, Pygmean, and Ubangian-Sudanic roots. Ethnic groups from the north are usually better educated, closer to power centers, and wealthier than southern ethnic groups. The most educated and wealthiest individuals from the south are usually closer to those of northern descent or married to members of northern tribes. Settling in or interacting with the Congolese within or without their land without understanding these social dynamics means missing an essential, formative aspect of the society. Here’s another example: the Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi in the 90s, a civil war motivated by ethnic identity politics and tribal resentment.
99. Ethnic structures tend to persist in traditional societies which rely heavily on ancestry lore, folklore and mythology as vessels to guard the history of their peoples. Traditional societies of the world are animistic in nature. Animism is a form of religion where transcendence, the absolute or the Divine is nature exclusively, the land, the elements or animals, which must be propitiated to benefit humans, their families and ancestors.
Source: Wikipedia / Wikimedia commons. Author of the cosmogram: unknown. The language in the Bakongo Cosmogram is “Kikongo,” or Kongo language, a Bantu language spoken in various parts of Central Africa.
Left: The Bakongo Cosmogram (Congo / Central Africa) represents the cycles of life in a monad-like schema. While circles in symbolic schemas and mandalas tend to represent oneness and suggest non-duality, the Bakongo Cosmogram is animistic in nature, not because it is strictly elemental but because the experiencer of nature is absent from it.
In ancient cosmogonies from Greece to India, nature is made up of five elements. The fifth element is usually ether, also called skies, heavens or space. Ether is the transcendental aspect present in nature, a divine element connecting nature to the individualized consciousness: the observer/experiencer, the divine self, a portal to the Divine.
When the ether element is absent from the inception of a philosophy, it tends to be animistic, that is, extremely dualistic and local, relying on legend, lore, ancestor worship and mythology solely, like witchcraft and sorceries (voodoos, etc), for example, which are widespread in north and southern Africa.
This may explain why these philosophies did not evolve into fully-fledged religions. Organized religions develop theologies, philosophical discourses on the Divine, and esotericism. Esotericism defines millenary spiritual lineages where masters initiate seekers of Truth (disciples) into divine knowledge.
Gurus, messiahs, saints, disciples or apostles constitute the pillars of esoteric traditions. This form of organization makes them universal, that is, relevant to people beyond their place of birth or culture. Mainstream religions illustrate this fact, to some extent. Though born in the East, monotheistic religions have been adopted by all.
Among the initiatic traditions prevalent on Earth, Yoga stands out drastically. It expands beyond cultures, nations, and ethnicities with non-violence (a philosophy called “ahimsa” in Sanskrit), contrary to most monotheistic or polytheistic religions and philosophies, which have resorted to violence over the ages to convert people.
In addition to African cosmogonies, Zoroastrianism, First Nations of America, and Sumerian cosmogonies are also based on a 4-element philosophy. To understand the relationship between philosophy and the five elements, read Plato or enroll in our Evolutive mythology course. Link in bibliography.