The African Hidden Voices Scholar Conference on African Spirituality

On June 8, 2024 African Hidden Voices (AHV) hosted its first scholars conference in Johannesburg at the African Center of Excellence (ACE) auditorium. The event was attended by acclaimed scholars from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) emerging from various academic fields.

African Hidden Voices (AHV) is a research organization which was established in 2015 by Imboni Dr. uZwi-Lezwe Radebe an African Indigenous Spiritual Guider who gets spiritual revelations and experiences as a physical spiritual central being, whose vision and mission is to retrace the steps and works of gallant African indigenous spiritual guides with a view to resuscitating the authenticity of their gifts, past and present, within the continent.

The primary goal of the conference was to bring together like-minded individuals to engage in discussions about African Indigenous Spirituality. The objective was to unmask African spiritual truths, challenge Western narratives, and revive the ancient spiritual ways that have guided and enriched the African continent. This collaborative effort aimed to retrace the steps of past and present African spiritual kings, IImboni, and traditional leaders resuscitating the authenticity of their gifts and contributions and the speakers presented insightful papers based on the theme.

Dr. Jongi Joseph Klaas, PhD from Cambridge UK, addressed the conference on the theme “Does African Indigenous Spirituality Exist?” and discussed how African indigenous spirituality can be used to reclaim dignity, heritage, and resources. He emphasized the significance of African perspectives in the decolonization of history, referencing his book “Triangle of One Hundred Years Wars” as a groundbreaking work in this domain. Klaas stated, “The inaugural conference on the exploration of African hidden voices is a worthwhile effort in the pursuit of the critical interrogation of spirituality from the African perspective.” He highlighted that the conference occurred at a crucial time when there is a call to review the Eurocentric curriculum that dominates South African education.

Dr. Joy Ndwandwe, Doctor of Education from UNISA, shared her insights on unmasking African truths, indigenous spirituality, and the roles of kings, queens, and chiefs. She recounted her spiritual and academic journey, beginning with her studies on King Sobhuza’s legacy and culminating in her doctoral research. Ndwandwe argued that African kings, queens, and chiefs are the custodians of indigenous governance and spirituality. She stated, “Indigenous governance rules begin with understanding the African Constitution… guided by kings and chiefs who are custodians for and on behalf of the people.” She referenced Hoppers’ work, which emphasizes the interrelatedness of spiritual, natural, and human worlds, to support her points.

Lusanda Madikane, a master’s student from the University of Free State, explored African spiritual practices before the arrival of European imperialists. She highlighted the diversity and depth of these practices, rooted in cultural and environmental ties. Madikane noted that spiritual guiders and traditional leaders played pivotal roles in African societies. She cited various scholars, including Wiafe, Olupana, and Farrar, to support her points. Madikane explained, “Before the arrival of European imperialists, African spiritual ways were diverse and deeply rooted in the continent’s cultural and environmental ties.” She concluded that the arrival of missionaries and imperialists led to significant changes but did not entirely erase the indigenous spiritual practices.

Prof. H. Ramantswana from the Department of Biblical and Ancient Studies discussed the colonial impact on African spirituality, particularly the imposition of foreign names for God. He argued that renaming and translating God using indigenous languages was part of a broader colonial effort to reshape African spiritual identities. Ramantswana called for a revival of indigenous names for God, focusing on the Tswana, Sotho, Pedi, and Tshivenda languages. He stated, “The process of decolonizing God’s names is incomplete and, in some cases, has not even begun.”

African Hidden Voices provided compelling evidence affirming the existence of African spirituality. They emphasized that Africa, historically referred to as Alkebulan, has always been a spiritual continent. They argued that the indigenous spirituality of Alkebulan was disrupted by those who misunderstood its spiritual depth, thereby distorting and replacing it with foreign elements. They passionately stated, “Spirituality does exist based on the compelling evidence provided in this presentation; moreover, it is worthy to note that Alkebulan was never a dark continent nor was she a continent without spirituality. The indigenous spirituality of Alkebulan and her people was disturbed by people who did not understand her as a spiritual foreground, thus distorting everything that was indigenous, supplementing it with foreign things in the process deeming the spirituality of Alkebulan nonexistent.”

Furthermore African Hidden Voices presented quantitative evidence showing a significant increase in search interest for “African Spirituality” following revelations by Inkosi Yomoya. This data underscores the tangible impact of spiritual revelations on public consciousness and supports the existence and relevance of African spirituality in contemporary society. They concluded, “The consistently high levels of search interest indicate ongoing public interest and support for the African Revival Revelation.” The conference concluded with a call for continued scholarly engagement and exploration of African indigenous spirituality. The African Hidden Voices aims to host future conferences, fostering unity among African scholars and developing strategies to enhance the lives of African people.

The conference ended with a thought-provoking question for participants to consider for the next local scholar conference: “Why is it important to explore African indigenous spirituality in a world faced with so many challenges?”

African Hidden Voices has conducted field study missions in Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia, to mention a few. Furthermore, the novelty of the study approach and spectacular discoveries have piqued the interest of worldwide research organizations such as CESNUR, resulting in AHV’s findings being published on major international research platforms. African hidden voices have, over time, held events under the motto, “Birds of a feather flock together” to bring together like-minded people. AHV has also hosted the Commemoration of African Indigenous Spiritual Guiders, which draws people from different fields from around the country and around the world.

The African Hidden Voices remains committed to uncovering and celebrating the Indigenous spirituality of Africa, ensuring that the ancient spiritual wisdom of past generations continues to illuminate the path forward.