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The 77 Percent visits Essen's Soul of Africa Museum and its unique Mami Wata altar. We explore why a new generation of young Africans is rediscovering traditional medicine and pre-colonial spirituality.
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00:05Africa is a continent rich in culture tradition and history for many years this knowledge has
00:11been passed on through generations but how much of this knowledge is still being embraced by
00:15the young people in today's episode this is exactly what we're looking at welcome to the
00:2077 percent i am okay this is the soul of africa museum here in essen germany and is home to
00:31something very special it houses a collection that focuses on african traditions with a particular
00:36focus on central and west africa we're here with mr christoph who is the founder of the soul of
00:48africa museum here in essen this exhibition is called the voodoo rainbow why rainbow because
00:55voodoo has different colors depending on where you are in the world west africa caribbean south
01:02america or north america what do you think voodoo is oh gosh the first thing that always comes to mind
01:09is kind of um either rituals or worshiping or sacrifices stephan being honest because also
01:16coming from a christian background i always kind of associated voodoo in general with um spirituality
01:21and also just like ancestry yeah you're better than most most people say zombies and dolls with pins
01:28oh no but that was a picture that hollywood created in a time when the americans occupied haiti
01:34and the second picture people always have a doll made out of wax stuffed with pins
01:41used in british witchcraft still today but it has nothing to do with voodoo
01:51ghana is full of festivals that celebrates its diverse traditions and now one that the 77
01:56was fortunate to attend was one in the ashanti kingdom which was the inauguration of the queen
02:02mother in kumasi now the youth are not left out of this tradition so we followed a young artist called
02:07afia and she showed us how she uses her art to keep the ashanti culture alive
02:19traditional drums and songs echo through menshia palace in kumasi the heart of the ashanti kingdom
02:28a special moment is unfolding a new queen mother known as the asante hima is being introduced to the ashanti
02:37people
02:41for centuries she has been one of the most important figures in the ashanti kingdom
02:47culture is on full display as people gather to witness this historic occasion
02:52among them is a fear prempa a young artist with royal roots for somebody like me as an artist i'm
03:01so
03:01interested in our culture and in our tradition because it inspires my artworks a lot and then gradually i'm
03:08trying to promote ashanti culture and then tradition to my audience efia uses the art to tell ashanti stories
03:15in a way that resonates with young people as both a young person and someone with royal heritage she
03:23believes culture and modernity can exist side by side i feel so proud even doing this and then i realized
03:32that with time people connect to it in as much as um the old people gradually the youth are also
03:40aligning
03:41with it and then they enjoy seeing things like this i mean they know the stories um they've heard of
03:47it
03:47but then when they see it in pictures it also motivates them so i mean i believe that like this
03:53is a quality for me to do it back at the palace the asante hene arrives to honor the new
03:59queen mother
04:00following her appointment this highlights something deeply important in ashanti culture the powerful
04:06role women play in leadership and society and it resonates with young women like a fear all the
04:13chiefs came here to greet her and then offer her the congratulatory messages and you know we are all
04:19so excited and then um the other queen mothers are also here you know she is the main queen mother
04:26of
04:26the whole ashanti kingdom as a young artist and as a young ashanti girl i'm also here to see the
04:32tradition
04:33going on learn more about culture as well across africa some traditional practices sometimes struggle
04:41to connect with younger generations but here in menshiya palace there is a growing effort to change that
04:50perception we encourage young people who are from royal families to embrace our culture and avail themselves
04:58to serve and not consider our culture and rituals as fetish if they do it well it attracts blessings
05:07from the ancestors and already some young people are embracing the idea personally i'm very proud of my
05:18culture because you go somewhere that's your identity and the more you promote your culture that's how
05:24people come to the country and they would want to see more of your culture old aged will be fading
05:30out
05:30so we are going to replace them or who are those going to take after them we the youth ones
05:35that we
05:35are going to engage in them so definitely there is natural longer than is very i would still encourage
05:40and then to to get involved in such a traditional and then culture things preserving culture is not just
05:48about history it's about ensuring future generations remain connected to their roots
05:53as celebrations continue at menshiya palace hopefully more young people will choose to carry the ashanti
06:00spirit forward there is always this big question on how to keep culture and tradition alive whether it is
06:08speaking the language wearing traditional clothing or keeping the stitchings in schools now places like
06:14this museum for example they keep telling the stories and also preserving that culture but it is up to us
06:20you and me and also to engage with us now in our next report edith kimani asked young ugandans if
06:27african tradition is slowly dying or if it's still being preserved by us
06:38hello and welcome back to the 77 street debate this week we are back in uganda's capital of kampala today
06:44we're asking are african cultures at risk of being erased in the quest for globalization and who better
06:50to answer this question for me than ugandans i just want to understand you know because not everybody
06:55lives in a cultural home but you have a very different interpretation of it tell us a little
06:59bit about that i've grown up in a home that's very very traditional you have to kneel when you greet
07:03you
07:03have to kneel when you serve you have to do certain things the way they are meant to do your
07:08clothes are
07:09supposed to be a certain height you're supposed to speak your language you're supposed to it's so
07:14cultural to a point that there even gender roles attached to men and women because of culture you
07:20know culturally a man is like a god we see him as he's up there and so if i'm talking
07:25to a man i'm
07:26going to be kneeling growing up i used to see my grandmother refused to protect of chicken because you
07:31know it's meant for the men but then growing up i feel like he's misinformed okay all right all right
07:36before
07:36we make this a debate about men versus women let me come to you andrew because when we were speaking
07:41you made the point that look what are we even defending what culture like these laws and rules
07:48that we are following who came up with them how far back do they go tell me a bit about
07:52that uh
07:53personally i believe culture is the way of life you look at africa today what exactly are we trying to
07:59preserve like i mean we're having this conversation in english for starters and one fiber of culture
08:05one fiber of culture is language if we are having this conversation in english
08:12if most of us are wearing these gaps which we do not even know where they came from
08:17not wearing the hides and skins what are we still trying to defend you know when we talk about culture
08:23it's just the general evolution of our people so when you say previous cultures when does the previous
08:28culture end and begin now the previous culture i would say is how they used to behave in the past
08:33days
08:33right now it's an evolutionary error the season is there's an evolution happening right now so as
08:40africans you shouldn't stop the blame game of the western culture is influencing us we have these very
08:44resources we have the internet we have all these things how many times will we hear of an african
08:49fashion gala an african fashion show then maybe you're eating your traditional food among your fellow
08:56africans maybe you're eating greens they want you to eat chicken exotic they want you to eat chips which
09:02they didn't know before when you bring your greens africans be like what is that they start mocking you
09:08you see it's africans who are contributing to these things you can be modernized at the at the same time
09:13observe yeah okay i like that all right so you don't have to choose stay traditional but also stay
09:19modern uh some voices at the back here the modern world is set in that it's it works for you
09:25quick
09:25if i'm sick i'll go to the hospital they're giving me tabs but way back in the days my granny
09:31would just
09:31go to the bush pick something that would work for him there's no one i'm going to wake up and
09:34go to
09:35the bush and pick that because i have to go to the hospital and do that sometimes we even feel
09:39like
09:39now going back to the because me i'd love to stay in kampala because kampala is so good i have
09:44everything
09:45i'll go to the cinema i'll get everything i feel like i need but then when you tell me go
09:49back to the
09:50village meet granny granny is going to tell me to go to the garden okay so this is interesting so
09:56in order for culture to exist there has to be hardship too much modern conveniences is not good for
10:00culture kinder kinder all right i think maintaining culture starts with you the person it starts with
10:08each and every one of us we all have cultures we've seen growing up and if we want to maintain
10:14these
10:14cultures as we carry them on you and your family should practice your culture the way you want to
10:20but as you're practicing your culture you should also remember that the world is going modern right
10:24thank you very much well we did ask if the african culture is being erased or being threatened by
10:29westernization and the answer today is that culture is a process of giving and taking but what i did here
10:35as well is that much amila nim tumwa said in another way he who leaves their culture is a slave
10:41thank you
10:42for watching
10:50there are also a lot of elements here that have to do with like healing um either from the chili
10:55peppers
10:56here that i see or different um ointments as well how exactly do you come about that well i know
11:02a lot of
11:03healers and there was one old man he was called papa ogunula and he had developed skin cream made of
11:11shea
11:11butter and three different plants and very very good it's for all sorts of dermatosis exam and any skin
11:21problems what would the chili peppers be used for then from benin just for food okay i thought there was
11:29like some like herbal medicine behind it but this is very very good chili if you're sick in the wudon
11:36religion it's either categorized with two things it's a natural sickness and you need to go to a
11:40doctor or is something spiritual and you would need a traditional healer for that that is where they
11:46also resort to natural remedies or even perform a ceremony for you in northern nigeria for example it
11:52is easier to find herbal medicine because it is not only trusted because of faith and tradition
11:58but it's also more accessible than conventional medicine now my colleague samson adeleke went down
12:03on the ground in cano state to find out why these practices are still common today have a look what
12:09do young people think about abba medicine today in my religion it is sunnah for you to even take herbal
12:16medicine habatisauda the black seed um like the funny greek that's the gulba some of them are almost from
12:23islamic something surprisingly many young people are not abandoning it i had serious malaria my mom
12:30because she believed in it a friend just came and said okay please just mix abatisauda and honey for him
12:37so after the mixture with some medication with leaves some leaves she bought everything and added to me
12:43together and i was okay i would not choose herbal medicine over conventional medicine but then
12:50i use herbal medicine some are using it some are questioning it it's not that the medicine is not
12:58working the medicine is working but it needs a prescription and for you to prescribe a medicine
13:04it has to go on certain processes for generations traditional medicine has remained part of health care
13:13across northern nigeria according to the world earth organization nearly 80 percent of nigerians use traditional medicine
13:24i am in cano state nigeria to better understand why this ancient practice still exists so let's go to kumi
13:35market
13:35yeah so you were born into this business and you've seen your parents doing it now i want to know
13:41what
13:42does it take to be an islamic and traditional medicine practitioner firstly if a person wants to start
13:50this business they are expected to inherit the practice or go to school to learn how to practice
13:55traditional herbal medicine there are schools that provide education in islamic medicine
14:03they teach people how to gain medical knowledge and how to learn from people in the field
14:12like from us who have 20 years of experience or others who have more than 40 years of experience
14:20for many practitioners here healing is not only physical it is deeply connected to faith some islamic
14:29healers use forms of prophetic medicine known as al-tib al-nabawi including black seed
14:36honey and pajama also known as coping therapy now for many patients trust in the healer is closely tied
14:47to trust in religion i personally don't like hospital so this question i i prefer migraines honestly
14:54i don't like hospital in this 21st century we have a lot of hospitals why do you think nigerians i
15:02mean
15:0280 percent of us still believe in abba medicine because our beloved prophet muhammad taught us about
15:12healing and medical knowledge and other related stuff that is why we relate to these practices and have
15:18experience in them and sometimes even getting medication going to hospital you might need to buy
15:25a hospital card then they will write a prescription for you they will take blood samples all of that
15:30you will spend a lot of money but when a patient comes to us from the way they explain their
15:37problems
15:37such as back pain or any other illness then we will prescribe medicine at a minimal cost
15:46but this growing industry also faces criticism medical experts one about fake healers wrong dosage
15:54and dangerous claims there are also some dangers attached to you know taking some of these herbal
16:01medicines because some of them they just know okay it's easy to get it's in in the forest you can
16:08grow
16:09it and all of that so they mix whatever they can saying okay it's trees nothing can go wrong right
16:14yeah
16:14but i just feel like there should be a regulatory body that would tell that these people are doing the
16:19right thing they're putting out the right stuff out there you know in canos ancient markets
16:24other medicine is more than just business for some its culture and also for others it's fit and for
16:33many families here it remains one of the most accessible forms of health care but as the younger
16:40generation step into this centuries old practice bigger questions remain we regulate it who protect
16:49patients patients and lastly can traditional medicine truly evolve alongside modern medicine my name is
16:58samson adeleke keep following dw the 77 percent
17:11yo as i walk through this museum i'm reminded just how diverse african spiritual traditions are
17:16and many communities use them to understand the world and their place in it but how many traditions
17:22are there my colleague sk went to explore that christianity and islam arrived in africa long before
17:28colonialism but before churches filled africa's cities before the call of prayers echoed from the
17:33mocks who did africans pray to it's a question more young africans are beginning to ask africa already
17:39had its own religions and spiritual traditions and different societies had different beliefs among the
17:45yoruba there's olodumari the supreme creator and orishas or divine spirits like shango or shun and ogun
17:52linked to nature power and different aspects of life in ghana the akan people believe in nyame the
17:58supreme sky being in senegal the gambia and mauritania the serai people believe in rock the source of all
18:04life even throughout zulu history religion was deeply woven into every aspect of traditional zulu life
18:10from ceremonies and warfare to farming and personal milestone ancestors were believed to provide
18:16guidance and support and were honored through prayers and sacrificial offerings and despite what
18:21many think these belief systems never completely disappeared they simply became less visible today
18:27some people still practice them openly while others preserve them through culture festivals and traditions
18:32for many african societies spirituality wasn't separate from everyday life nature ancestors and community were all
18:39deeply connected the core belief is simple you are part of something greater than yourself but
18:45colonialism and missionary influence pushed many of these traditions to the margins christianity and
18:50islam became the most dominant religions across much of africa now more young africans are asking
18:55about the religions that existed before all of this not necessarily to reject modern religions but
19:00better understand where they come from because understanding your roots is also understanding yourself
19:05so here's the question should the african traditional religion become part of africa's identity today or are they
19:11simply part of its past ancestors play a big role in african tradition for example growing up in namibia
19:19i often saw this where elders would go back to our ancestors and seek advice because that was a reminder
19:25that even though they were not alive they still held a lot of wisdom and that's what we see in
19:30our next report
19:31we meet two young south africans who went back to ancestral healing and found a deeper sense of
19:36purpose and identity here in soweto south africa traditional healing still holds meaning to many
19:43young people we meet zuko and tumi for both of them it has become something deeply personal a way of
19:50finding their place in the world there's no gender equality between uh boys and girls because of
19:58they will say uh you're a girl you're supposed to wash dishes you must know how to cook
20:04in this picture i think that one day i could have a chance to see again in a real motion
20:14to me has brought a young client to kwezi a spiritual site in soweto he is about to finish school
20:20and hopes
20:20his ancestors can help guide his next steps something has to help him if i don't create no communication
20:30it's going to happen between me and them right so i want to learn how to take accountability first day
20:39and stop like procrastinating stephan do you hear those birds that are singing those are my ancestors
20:50they go with me everywhere i go
20:52to me believes this place helps her connect kwezi with his ancestors on the other side of soweto
21:03zuko helps to bear muti a mixture of plant and animal ingredients used in traditional healing
21:09he found his way here after losing direction as a teenager
21:13grade nine first first first year grade nine i failed because of the the the wrong game that i was
21:22training after school when taking off the uniform i don't wash it i just leave it there go outside and
21:29go
21:29smoke and go chill with the guys zuko says drugs helped him avoid a deeper pain his mother left when
21:38he was still a baby and never contacted him again i can't remember my mother's face not knowing her face
21:45means that i didn't have a mother that's what makes me that i feel rejected on this world
21:59to me's journey began about six years ago with intense dreams and visions
22:06in them she encountered powerful women who are not told what to wear or how to behave
22:15the woman in my dreams are very powerful because of um they were prayer warriors they used to heal
22:23so using water if they can make me sick then that's how powerful they are
22:32i woke up one day and decided that i i'm gonna do this journey with or without my parents support
22:40or
22:40anybody's support zuko started working as an aid to a traditional healer he learned all about plants and
22:47traditional medicine around the same time his dreams became more vivid one dream in particular keeps
22:54returning i dream about my mother then she was calling me with a loud voice i couldn't come to
23:02the top because there was some bad spirits and i didn't make it out to that to where my mother
23:10is
23:10for zuko traditional healing and these recurring dreams have become parts of a deeply personal healing
23:18journey even though you are alone you are not alone you are just with somebody else you can see them
23:30by
23:31connecting by meditation
23:38this picture is a gift from god it reminds me where i come from
23:49and that does not determine where i'm going i can endure any obstacles or challenges that's what i've
23:58learned through this journey i was a very fearful person i literally didn't follow my gut i would
24:05listen to my friends a lot so now i can say i'm confident in my own skin um and i
24:16love who i am now
24:18for zuko traditional healing became a way of searching for the mother he never knew
24:23for to me becoming a healer was also a way of becoming the woman she wanted to be
24:33and voodoo is 85 is good only 15 is bad but the ones who practice the bad part
24:41they're still part of voodoo if there's always a conversation about when we see collections or
24:47artifacts like this in museums in europe instead of um showcasing them on the continent is this
24:54something that you think that it is fair enough to have a museum that focuses on this kind of
25:00religions in germany to kind of showcase them to the people so that they can learn or is it something
25:05that needs to be returned back that supplies to old museums a lot of the old museums they collect
25:11before the 30s it was colonial period and yes a lot of things were stolen there but here no i'm
25:19too
25:19young for that and i've been doing this for over 50 years some pieces i buy some pieces are given
25:27to
25:27me as presents so no my collection is clean walking into this museum it has been very cool to learn
25:35how
25:35many religions are also involved in voodoo whether it's christianity or even islam but one key takeaway
25:41that i will definitely have is that voodoo religion is 85 healing and protection and 15
25:47sorcery so there is a big emphasis on restoring balance and also about just spiritual healing in general
25:54now tell us what you thought about the show reach out to us on our socials that is dw77
25:59i am okirin gushinado and thank you for watching until next time bye
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