Which explains why there is much wisdom in
the world, but few persons have more than a
little of it, and some persons have none at all.This epistemology of humility, collective soli-
darity, and communal responsibility has other
African characteristics.
AHolisticView
Every epistemology is shaped by the conception
one has of the object of study. African ontology
being that of the interconnectedness of all reality,
epistemology here is grounded in a “holistic
vision.” African epistemology is grounded in the
fundamental belief that reality is one. The world
is a web of relationships. Everything is inter-
connected. There is a fundamental connection
between the living and the Dead, the visible and
the invisible realm, the spiritual and the material
sphere, the human and the divine realm, humanity
and the natural world, and so on. In this world-
view, to understand or to know is to grasp the
relations of interconnectedness of all things. Thus,
African epistemology rejects all forms of
dichotomy or dualism.
The first dualism is that of the subject and object
of study. Rather than separating himself from the
object of study, the African communicates with that
which he wishes to know. The African becomes tree
with the tree, rock with the rock, water with water,
and wind with the wind. Likewise, it is held that the
best way to know is to use a variety of tools or
human faculties and a variety of methods.
Interdisciplinarity or “epistemological dialogue”
stands at the core of African holistic approach. In
African societies, the sage was never a man of one
“wisdom” or one knowledge.
The sage was sage precisely because he was at
once a psychologist, a teacher, a spiritual master,
an artist, an architect, a thinker, and a good
practitioner. The wise was a “whole person”
because a person of a “holistic knowledge” and
a “holistic approach to knowledge.” Hence,
African epistemology is inseparable from an
ethical requirement. The pursuit of knowledge is
inseparable from the pursuit of wisdom because,
in an African understanding of things, a genuine
knowledge necessarily involves wisdom. The
unwise knower is referred to as a witch. The
purpose of knowledge is to enhance human
flourishing and preserve and promote all other
forms of life in the universe. This is why initia-
tion was fundamental. It was critical to train
human character so that people can handle
knowledge for the benefit of humankind.
A person without knowledge wisdom is
referred to asMufu unanga(dead man walking).
The act of knowing is a process of becoming
humane. Where knowledge leads to violence,
oppression, and destruction, Africans speak of
witchcraft (Butshi,buloji, kindoki), rather than
Bwino(knowledge wisdom).Mutumbo Nkulu-N’SenghaSeealsoCosmology; DivinationFurther Readings
Asante, M. (1990).Kemet,Afrocentricity,and
knowledge. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press.
Diop, C. A. (1981).Civilisation ou Barbarie. Paris:
Présence Africaine.
Eze, C. (1998).African Philosophy:An Anthology.
Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
Gyekye, K. (1995).An Essay on African Philosophical
Thought:The Akan Conceptual Scheme.
Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Problèmes de méthodes en philosophie et sciences
humaines en Afrique. (1986).Actesde la 7ème
Semaine Philosophique de Kinshasa. Kinshasa,
Congo: Faculté de Théologie Catholique.ESU, ELEGBA
Esu or Elegba, short for Elegbara, is the divine
messenger, trickster god of chance, principle of
indeterminacy, and essence of fate among the
Yorubas in West Africa and all those who possess
him, by extension, all of humankind. He is
arguably the most important and influential deity
in the Yoruba pantheon because everybody,
including the other gods, must acknowledge him.
Believed to be designated to apportion individ-
ual fate to humans by the Supreme Deity,
Olodumare, myth stories abound about Esu or
Elegba’s contradictory persona and characteristics
and about how he gained his power over the other
gods. In some versions of the Yoruba creationEsu, Elegba 245