Conscious Conversations with Mmabatho Montse

African cultural heritage and digitisation

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 04:00:00 GMT

The African continent is rich with diverse cultures, indigenous knowledge systems, and technologies. Our culture involves our social behaviour and norms, our languages, knowledge, beliefs, traditions, arts, capacities, and habits.
Over decades, we have seen the deliberate alienation and marginalization of African cultural values and traditions by the designs of colonialism and apartheid, which have resulted in the misrepresentation and disorientation of some of the most fundamental aspects of our African culture. In an era of rapidly changing technologies digital solutions become critical for the application of holistic and knowledge-based approaches to societal problems.

In this conversation, we speak to Russel Hlongwane in an effort to identify the key touchpoints we can engage with in reclaiming and restoring our history and cultural heritage; finding pathways to expand our reach and digital presence, and preserving Africa's rich cultural heritage.

Russel Hlongwane is a cultural producer based between Cape Town and Durban, South Africa. His work is located at the intersection of Heritage/Modernity and Culture/Tradition as they apply to black life on the continent and the diaspora. His said practice includes cultural research, film, creative producing, design theory, curatorship, writing and performance – often taking the form of installation.
He has curated exhibitions and art platforms locally and abroad, and his artistic work has been shown extensively across Europe and Africa. His experimental film, Ifu Elimnyama: The Dark Cloud’ received the Jury Prize (2019) at the Sharjah Film Platform. Visit our website · Follow on Instagram

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An African view: Agriculture & Spirituality

Fri, 21 Apr 2023 04:00:00 GMT

African people were uprooted from their long-standing indigenous agricultural way of life which involved maintaining a harmonious relationship between communities, nature, and traditional religious practices. These practices involved ceremonies, festivals, and rituals in alignment with the cycles of the seasons. Embodied, enacted, and reinforced in these traditions were sacred values communicated between communities and mother earth. The community rituals often included agricultural rituals designed to persuade the gods and ancestors to deliver rains, and successful harvests, and to guarantee healthy livestock. Through colonisation and urbanisation, African people were removed from their way of life, adversely affecting their ability to nurture and protect natural resources in order to ensure food production and sustainability at a local level.

In this conversation with Dr Pama, we aim to gather insight into how the abandonment of African traditional religious practices among Africans has negatively impacted our abilities to connect with the earth, nurturing a symbiosis between communities, nature, and God. Dr Bonile Pama, known to many as Baba Songindaba, is an agricultural economist and a business strategist by training with an MSc Agric, MBL and PhD degrees. Visit our website · Follow on Instagram

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Finding alignment through Astrology

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 07:00:00 GMT

Astrology in Africa, as in other societies, has for many years been considered a form of divination that involves forecasting earthly and human events through the observation and interpretation of the Sun, the Moon, the fixed stars, and other planets. According to ancient practices originating from Mesopotamia, astrology shaped the perceptions and particular practices of society; informing their understanding and experiences of the world.
Astrology has for many centuries been considered an important form of intelligence, helping humanity know the truth, explaining cosmological alignments around the time of birth of people, and foretelling events, at times preventing negative foreseen events from taking place. Due to the marginalisation of peoples, and ancestral and societal trauma, much of this intelligence has been suppressed. As a result, many people suffer from low self-worth, esteem and disempowerment.
In this conversation, we speak to Makhosi Maïlé Moon about how understanding astrology and one's personal astrological DNA can help individuals and communities heal, shifting their energies from powerlessness to self-empowerment.
Maïlé Moon (Makhosi Ngonakame) is an Evolutionary Astrologer, Healer, and Musician. She has been working with cacao and sound as well as rose medicine for the past 8 years, living in between the Mayan lands of Guatemala and the mountains of Europe. Visit our website · Follow on Instagram

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Reframing and reclaiming black narratives in the media

Fri, 07 Apr 2023 04:00:00 GMT

African people have for many years lived having to suppress who they were, whether it be through the expression of their languages, traditions (enforcement of Christianity), culture (dance, song, style)... simply, their way of Being.
There exist deep connections between Black South Africans and Americans because of our shared long history of racial segregation and white supremacy. Where entire societies were structured against the Black community, which meant no economic, social, or cultural power. The cultural legacies of this history have influenced how the stories of black people have been portrayed in the media, which has often meant "being inferior" and unacceptable. While institutionalised racial segregation ended in 1964 in the United States of America, and in 1994 in South Africa - we see how media, ideology, and popular culture continue to portray Black people as inferior, with certain stereotypes that propagate controversial and misconstrued images of what it means to be Black.

In this conversation, we speak to Joy Donnell about how we, as black people, can reframe the narrative around what it means to be black by telling our stories in an authentic way, ultimately redefining what it means to be black. Joy is a producer and writer dedicated to creating media that builds cultural legacy. She believes in owning your power and for Joy, power is owning your voice, image, narrative, influence and intentions. Joy’s work actively combines publicity, content strategy, and media to build legacy and expand awareness. Visit our website · Follow on Instagram

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Healing through family constellations

Fri, 31 Mar 2023 04:00:00 GMT

Family constellations as an area of research can be found in modern psychology and in the indigenous ancestral reverence practices of the Nguni people. Family constellations is therapy based on the belief that energy, both negative and positive, can be found in familial bonds and can manifest as patterns of mental health concerns, illness, and potentially destructive behaviours within families. In this conversation, we speak to Ryan Klette about how constellations can be applied as a key intervention in resolving issues around identity crisises, anxiety, and depression in individuals and communities. Visit our website · Follow on Instagram

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The nexus between African family structures & spirituality

Fri, 24 Mar 2023 04:00:00 GMT

Dr Baba Buntu is a Community Scholar and Decolonial Practitioner. He is also the founding director of eBukhosini Solutions, a people-centred company specializing in African-Centered Education. As a Pan-African educator, writer, researcher, mentor and counsellor, Baba Buntu has more than 30 years of experience in conceptualizing and implementing programs on cultural literacy, social/epistemic justice, innovative entrepreneurship, youth empowerment and indigenous knowledge – particularly suited for African applicability.
Dr Buntu’s areas of expertise include research, training facilitation, counselling/therapeutic processes, and curriculum development. In 2010 he initiated the SHABAKA - MEN OF AFRICA; a platform for activity-based mentoring of Black Men in a process of self-knowledge, restoration and empowering their role within the African family and community. He mentors young, emerging leaders and has designed train-the-trainer programs for entrepreneurs and community organizations. Based in South Africa and working across the different provinces of the country Baba Buntu has had several international working engagements in parts of Africa, Europe and the Americas.
His articles have appeared in academic journals and anthologies published in South Africa, Namibia, Nigeria, Norway, the UK, and the USA. He holds a Doctoral and a Masters Degree in Philosophy of Education from UNISA. Visit our website · Follow on Instagram

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Reframing Education for the African Context

Fri, 17 Mar 2023 06:30:00 GMT

Quality education is said to promise highly developed and empowered individuals who can explore the peculiarities of their environment to obtain expertise and knowledge that will lead to innovation and advancement within a society. The word education is often referred to in the context of deliberate effort to equip the unequipped with facts, knowledge, skills and competencies that will enable them to function as adults in a specific society.
For decades, education in Africa has been disseminated through different colonial entities, such as missionaries, merchants, and governments - each with their own purpose. While African countries have been liberated from colonial rule for many years, the legacies and biases of colonialism on the education systems and its sub-components such as the curriculum and research fields continue to influence local knowledge systems, philosophies and perspectives.

In this conversation, we speak to Yandiswa Xhakaza about the relevance of local knowledge, culture and spirituality in reframing and implementing educational change in Africa to build a continent that is more representative of itself. Visit our website · Visit our website · Follow on Instagram

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Africa - the ties that bind us

Fri, 10 Mar 2023 04:00:00 GMT

African culture is vast, vibrant and colourful. Africans are known for their warmth, vibrant culture, traditions, religions, food, art, dance, and music among many things. While it has been decades since African countries gained their independence from colonial rule and oppression, the legacies of colonisation continue to permeate society through different institutions and economic structures, which have had a major role in the unprogressive and unproductive ways and forms of being African people have taken up.
In this conversation, we speak to Thebe Ikalafeng about the ties that continue to bind us as Africans and the ways in which we can be more deliberate in uniting the continent and its people, reimagining solutions that steer us into collective action, rebuilding an Africa alive with possibilities for all who live on it. Visit our website · Follow on Instagram

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Motherhood, singlehood and love

Fri, 07 Oct 2022 03:00:00 GMT

Authenticity: the courage to be yourself.

In this conversation, we talk about embracing motherhood, singlehood and love. How we can be happy in our individuality rather than be stuffed into a predefined mould?

Gomo Manche shares her experiences around staying grounded and authentic and honouring herself as a woman. Visit our website · Visit our website · Follow on Instagram

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Healing Your Inner Child

Fri, 30 Sep 2022 03:00:00 GMT

Reparenting Your Inner Child.

In this conversation we speak about healing the inner child, and how this work can be used to address the roots of internal conflict and struggle, unmet needs from childhood and the attachment wounds developed over time, and how these can be transformed into positive and productive behaviours helping us to thrive in our lives. Visit our website · Visit our website · Follow on Instagram

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Touch therapy, a healing tool

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 03:00:00 GMT

A touch of God is a natural therapy applied to heal the body, mind and spirit.

In this conversation, we speak to Matthew Rademan, founder of Kahe Hands Massage Studios.

Kahe Hands apply a Hawaiian healing approach to touch therapy which distinctively focuses on and recognises the inherent integrity of the whole person, facilitating healing for the mind, body, and spirit. Visit our website · Visit our website · Follow on Instagram

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The Heart of Africa

Fri, 16 Sep 2022 03:00:00 GMT

In this conversation, we speak to Bokka du Toit about Africa, its humility and wisdom.

Bokka has spent decades of his life in film production, doing design work and building sacred temples in Africa. Through his spiritual journey, he has learned about African indigenous knowledge and spirituality, which is enriched by his long mentoring relationship with Baba Credo Mutwa. Visit our website · Visit our website · Follow on Instagram

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Oneness

Fri, 09 Sep 2022 03:00:00 GMT

Finding the meaning of connectedness through Oneness.

In this conversation, we speak to QuingRa, founder of Eanna Temple of Light and Wisdom.

We chat about the power of Oneness to gain insight into collective consciousness and how understanding principles of oneness can help us to live more profoundly in good health. Helping us see that everything in life is connected - our creativity and our challenges. Visit our website · Visit our website · Follow on Instagram

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Umsamo - the family tree

Fri, 02 Sep 2022 03:15:00 GMT

The soul of a family tree: Ancestors.

In this conversation, we speak to Neo Mavuso Magabane, a strategy management consultant and Ngaka.

We speak to Neo about Umsamo, a sacred place within a home where families and individuals communicate with their ancestors, an anchor for the bloodline, a place where everyone within the family has a place, a place of belonging. Visit our website · Visit our website · Follow on Instagram

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Mindfulness

Fri, 19 Aug 2022 03:00:00 GMT

How mindfulness can positively influence the quality of your life.

In this conversation, we speak to Channelie van Staden, a spiritual guide and entrepreneur, about mindfulness.

She speaks to us about the opportunity mindfulness provides us with, an opportunity to be aware, to be present, to pay attention, and that paying attention intentionally influences the nature of our life experiences... Visit our website · Visit our website · Follow on Instagram

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Values

Mon, 15 Aug 2022 10:12:00 GMT

Understanding your personal values helps you live an authentic, happy life.

In this conversation, we speak to Lerato Gunguluza, a published author, life coach and entrepreneur about the importance of knowing and understanding our personal values in our pursuit for authentic and happier lives. Visit our website · Visit our website · Follow on Instagram

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