I am glad to see you back Fodye.
I shall try to answer your questions and in so doing try again to present my central thesis about culture and its foundation. My take on the issue at hand was and still is that we have not demonstrated what Soninke Culture was or is. A lot was written about individual thoughts about the culture that to me appeared not clear. And the second part deals with what we think about the culture. The views I have presented are not meant to be popular. Their intend is to present the central issues surrounding the demise of the Soninke Culture.
I am a Gambian Soninke born and raised outside of the Upper Reaches of the River Gambia, the home base of the Soninko of the Gambia. My Father is a Kamara and my mother too is a Kamara. What I have understood about being a Soninke I have learned from my father. We lived in Kombo Gunjur, a Mandingo town, in Jola territory.
The questions posed presuppose that we have a common ground, a common culture that we all understand as Soninke Culture. This was a facet of the discussion that I had wanted to clarify. Centuries after the dispersal of the Soninko, what is Soninke Culture? I suppose if we are going to adequately address this subject of Soninke Culture, we should clarify its parameters and its contents and then proceed to state what we think about it and whether it has a future.
Have I read the Quran? Many times over the years and I have also read the gospels and the Jewish Tanakh-the Old Testament. Fodye, I went further to Ancient Egypt to learn what Moshe-Moses-Musa could have been taught by the priesthood of the Land of the Gods. I thoroughly investigated the origins of three religions. I also studied some Sufi literature. Suffice it to state that I am not a stranger to religion, be it pagan or revealed.
It is a fact that Islam is of recent vintage because it was revealed in the seventh century. Nas wanted to claim a longer birthday for the religion and I pushed it as far back as the original monotheistic religion which is Islam's foundation. Remember that human beings have been on earth for hundreds of thousands of years if not millions.
My Friend, if the Conservatives Hoore would refuse a nyaxamala to lead a prayer service, how can we state that they support equality in the house of Allah?
I was hoping that the components or elements of culture will be thoroughly stated and then we would enter into a dialogue on the condition of each element and finish it up with an overview. This is not likely to happen.
What is happening is that you and many others are in France and I am writing from California, USA. Tens of thousands of the finest of the Soninke youth are risking everything to get out Soninkara. If the flowers of the Soninke Country flee, how could we even talk of a future? The present is what we have to deal with.
In my view of the situation, the Soninke politico-social structure coupled with Islam as practiced and taught (among the Soninko) are the two principal causes for the inadequate Soninke Cultural response to the modern era. If I were to be a history doctorate candidate, these would have been my thesis. Even during the centuries when the Europeans were consolidating their power in Afrika, the Muslim leaders were busy waging war against their pagan Brethren down into late nineteen century early twentieth century. Of course, the Europeans enjoyed this for they could supply both parties arms for them to slaughter each other and then subdue the now weakened victor. The victor has now got to serve a new master who does not share his religion or culture. This solidified the conservative nature of the Old Order now forced to serve new regimes from Europe.
I see the impact of religion on culture. Religion defines how we live and how we relate. So, therefore, it marks the contours of culture. It gives culture its validity. It is the very definition of culture as its tentacles pervade every element of culture. If the people are under performing, we have to inquire into the culture. The people fail when their culture is inadequate to the challenges and demands of the present.
And now the descendants of Waga are fleeing their motherland. Soninkara is being hollowed out. Meanwhile, we continue to cling to the failing culture that is no longer giving us adequate guidance into the art of living. There has to be fundamental change, otherwise, there is no need to wonder what will become of the culture. Soninkaaxu is dead. We only pray that it rises again out of the dead, like the phoenix, to usher in new life.
As you and many others are not comfortable about radical views on organized religion, I would suggest that you erase my "anti-Islamic" posts. I shall not be offended by this. The views I pose will have their time under the Great Sun very soon.
You are doing a great job, providing a forum for those connected to the inter-web. If these postings cause pain among your readers, it means that they are not ready to take in radical views. I find belief to be totally unnecessary. Only the Truth matters. And I do not need organized religion to tell me what the Truth is. I can find my own way in that land.
Thanks again. I shall be visiting Soninkara.com regularly to read what young Soninko are writing and are concerned about.
May the prophesies of the Dausi come true soon.


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