BLUE BOOK of the Pan-African Movement’s
AFRICAN PEOPLE’S UNION
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Pan-African Movement’s titles at the International level.

Muses of the African Race. This is the ‘Think Tank’ of the African race. It meets as the board of Muses of the African race once a year in rotation hosted by leading universities around the world, to review the Black Agenda. They choose their own leaders. The board scrupulously vets applications received for membership and those admitted into the board are honoured at a special annual ceremony.

All the leading thinkers of the African race, in or out of the citadels of learning, are entitled to apply to come on board through self or third party recommendations, nominations. Send your resume and previously published or unpublished original piece of writing or research work in any field of knowledge aimed at solving any of our problems uniquely, and moving us forward collectively as a race.

To be a Muse is the highest honour achievable academically, in service to the African race. Circumcision is compulsory for every male Muse as evidence of sacrifice to the Muses and as approval as African reliable masculine intellectual warrior of last resort. Female Muses are exempt from circumcision but must have pierced earlobes for earrings, as proof of sacrifice to the Muses and as endorsement as the African ultimate, dependable, female, intellectual Amazon. These benisons must be performed before initiation into the board of Muses. Muses serve for life unless for any reason removed by their peers as a board. Names of Muses, including their accepted pieces of writing (which must impact positively on the Black race) are published in the Menephtheion journal.

The Menephtheion: (meaning) the mind of the African world, co-ordinates the thinking, focus and actions of the entire Black race. The Menephtheion is the international headquarters of the Pan African Movement and the spiritual heartbeat of the African race.

Each male or female Muse is addressed as the Muse of the Menephtheion (abbreviated as mm.) after names.

The Hundred Africans. A hundred of the leading most influential Africans alive, who have impacted deeply and positively on African lives generally, as serving or retired heads of states, leaders of major international institutions, government agencies, leading foundations, World Bank, political and business leaders. They come together to collectively use their influence, wealth, political savvy, resources, networks, to uplift the entire African race. They use their seed money to set up the African World Bank (AWB) and serve as its directors. Before the take off of AWB, they meet at venue rotations sponsored by members, governments or corporations. Members serve for life and choose their own leaders. After AWB set up, new members still contribute approved seed money. Most members are nominated; all are vetted by the Muses of the African race.

Hd.af. –Male and female use title.

Iri-n’edu-uwa (means the ten that rule the world). It is the ultimate fraternity of the Myk System. Membership consists of ten spiritual icons who have achieved the beatific vision and are wise in the ways of the world. Each member represents one of the ten regions of the world. It serves as the Guardians-in-Council of the Myk and the World Pan-African Movement. The Khu Mkuu is the Chairperson, while the YezziTzahH or YezziTheutii is the Secretary. Iri-n’edu-uwa (like the Security Council of the United Nations), serves as the operational and implementation stamp of authority for the plans and strategies of the General Assembly and all the other decision-making processes of the Myk and the Pan African Movement. Iri-n’edu-uwa takes final responsibility for the spiritual wellbeing of the entire African race.

Iri. –Each member uses the title Iri., before his or her name.

Supreme Spiritual Council for Africa (SSCA). The SSCA is Africa’s ultimate spiritual authority. It meets once a year (unless in an emergency) to provide broad spiritual guidelines for the entire African world. Membership includes the Khu Mkuu, at least twelve leading African traditional rulers at the level of HRM, the Iri-n’edu-uwas, Yezzi, the national leaders and deputies of the Pan African Movement, Chairman and secretary of the Muses and the Hd.afs, and other African scions such as Nelson Mandela, the SSCA may decide to invite.

Effort is made for all the six regions, and most African and Black countries, to each have at least one member on the SSCA. The HRM members are chosen from the leading traditional rulers or ruling-houses known from ancient times to have resisted or fought against slavery and colonialism, and have refused in the current dispensation to be sold on or compromised by alien religious machinations. The SSCA meeting is sponsored in rotation around African/Black nations by governments and corporations. Members choose their chairman (who must be a king or queen) and who serves in that capacity for a year between ‘SSCA’ meetings. Members serve for life.

Naa-anuzah: King, Chairman
Naa-anuri: Queen, Chairperson.

Yezzi-tzah: Male deputy leader of the Pan-African Movement and the Myk world wide. Means spiritual icon of the best order.
Yezzitheutii: Female deputy leader of the Pan-African Movement and the Myk. Means spiritual icon of the best order.

Khu Mkuu, is the title of the overall leader of the Myk and the Pan African Movement world-wide. Khu is the part of spirit honouring the divine wisdom. It denotes luminosity, splendour, light and brilliance. It also means great, while Mkuu means Chief. The leader of the Myk and the Pan African Movement, whether male or female, is addressed as Khu or the Khu Mkuu. The male leader is the Ameer Spiritual (meaning Spiritual Prince) and the female Ameera Spiritual (Spiritual Princess) of the African race.

Pan-African Movement (APU) National Leadership

Every country in the world with a community of Black and African people, regardless of size of the African population, constitutes a national branch of the Pan-African Movement or (The African people’s Union).

By virtue of being African and Black, you are automatically a member of the Pan-African Movement and APU. A group of Africans or Blacks say ten people can constitute a national study group. Every member of the pioneering group is required to read our books: (a) Mhuri ye Kutanga (Myk): the philosophy of Pan-Africanism and (b) The end of knowledge. These can be ordered along with submission of application for PAM Study Group pioneer status, through our websites, or from our Lagos address, P. O. Box 930, Apapa, Lagos, Nigeria. The PAM-SG is principally for the purpose of explaining our philosophies to each other and to potential and pioneering members. Every potential member must read our books. Apart from serving as permanent reference documents, they help members to know what we are about and what is expected of each one of them at any moment. We want focused, honest, hard working, dedicated, warriors, ambitious for self and for our race.

We want people who would help us take back our leadership of the world legitimately with brains and brawns. We want people who by dint of hard work and sharing, as one indivisible family in the Pan-African Movement, become and are seen to be among the most successful and virtuous human beings in the world.

As soon as all members of the study group have read our books and each member demonstrates to the study group that he or she understands the philosophies of the Pan African Movement, the group is ready to constitute itself into a Ta-Mwanzo (or national branch). The group then applies through: The Khu Mkuu, the International Secretariat, the Pan-African Movement, P. O. Box 930, Apapa, Lagos, Nigeria, or through our websites, or e-mail: pamovement@gmail.com for accreditation as a Ta-Mwanzo (or national branch) of a specific country.

Each national branch can use own native language for these titles.
Kitchwa: Male national leader, a renowned Pan-Africanist, a career person or retired, a national figure of repute.
Kitchwa-math: Female national leader equivalent of the male.
Hathor-zar: Male deputy national leader, a reputable national figure.
Hathor-azaa: Female deputy national leader equivalent of male.
Adohethor: Male Secretary General national
Adoaatha: Female Secretary General national
Akaneph: Male Treasurer national
Akanepha: Female Treasurer national
Nebhet: Male publicity secretary.
Anebhet: Female publicity secretary.
Ausarr- Male ordinary member of the national committee.
Ausett- Female ordinary member of the national committee.
Hathur- Male youth national member of the national committee.
Hatha- Female youth national member of national committee.

Ta-Mwanzo –Is the National Secretariat or gathering, meeting place of the national movement.

The national branch of the Pan-African Movement embarks on the process of bringing all Blacks and Africans in their country into the Pan-African Movement as one united race; one African people; speaking with one voice and with a common destiny.

The principal reason why we are not able to forge a unified nation for ourselves, a unified race, is because we allow foreign religions and their divisive ideologies to tear us apart. They turn us into North vs. South, Christians vs. Muslims, as we fight their stupid, myopic wars for them, loosing self-confidence and respect for what is ours and native to us in the process. We loose sight of our oneness, our African essence, which makes us brothers and sisters and to correct this, all Africans must return now to our spirituality to confront our problems together as one unique people whose ancestors pioneered civilization and who are poised to take back the leadership of the world in every endeavour.

Because African faiths and spirituality are being used largely for evil, they are retarding our progress as a people. We must keep our cultures and traditions but not our faiths in their present forms. We must refine and modernize our faiths and wean them of their evil practices if they are to survive in any form. All the religions of the world are being used for evil and if we cannot serve our own Gods, why must we surrender our faiths to White and Arab Gods? We do not need religions anyway. We have no business being Christians because Christianity is a lie and is exploiting our people to death with tithes. Have you not seen pastors buying private jets? And along with Islam, we spend too much time on our butts and knees praying instead of on our feet working. Our benefactors have us where they want us, which is down here on our knees begging and praying for their hand-outs while they are challenging ‘God’ and partying on the Moon. And what precious little time we struggle to squeeze out of our wretched existence, we devote it to fighting and dying over our masters’ myopic wars. Forget about Jesus, forget about Muhammad, forget about spirits and if you must worship something, worship intellect, worship bravery, worship brainpower, worship knowledge, worship scholarship, and we do this through what we call Mhuri ye kutanga, abbreviated as Myk.

The Myk is not a religion but a cosmology, a system, an ideology, a philosophy, the binding force of the Pan-African Movement. You could call it the nurturing incubator of the Pan-African Movement. Just as an Israeli is a Jew, nurtured and driven by kabbalism, a Pan-Africanist or Black is first and foremost a member of the Myk, and then a secular or atheistic adherent of the universality of the human spirit. The Myk is the binding cosmology of our race, and it is not negotiable because before we became Christians, or adherents of the Islamic faith etc, we were Black and African, and the Myk represents this peculiar essence in all of us. It represents our souls as a unique people.

The Mhuri ye kutanga (Myk) Concepts

‘Mhuri ye Kutanga’ are Shona, Zimbabwe words, and translate in English as, the Cradle family. Mhuri ye Kutanga could be translated into other African dialects and used in place of Mhuri ye Kutanga, as and when required. Mhuri ye Kutanga, in Yoruba, Nigeria, language, for instance, is Egbe Iwase.

Mhuri ye Kutanga is abbreviated as Myk. Mhuri ye Kutanga’s by-line is: the Philosophy of Pan-Africanism, and its slogan is: the ultimate cosmology, healing the mind, body and soul. Myk means the ‘ground,’ the ‘source,’ the ‘origin,‘ the ‘cradle,’ the ‘first,’ the ‘foundation’ of all cosmologies, all knowledge, all truths.

Myk is not a religion but a philosophy, a cosmology, a system. It is the origin of curiosity that spawned the quarry system of the first humans on earth that led to the meticulous science and scholarship of modern times.

Myk is, therefore, the repository of comprehensive knowledge of the cosmos, and of humanity and creation. It is the microcosm of all the nuances of the universal firmament of knowledge.

Myk is devoted to truth, justice, scholarship and honesty. In fact, Myk’s philosophy reveres honesty, scholarship, justice and truth. Our unifying deity is science and verifiable logic. Our one and final source of spiritual energy is ‘intellect,’ which is revered, cultivated, domesticated and applied. Our focus is to raise our self-help efforts to an art through individual involvement, intellect and unity.

Our message is that no individual is alone. We are who we are because we are members of a family, community, society and race. There is no conceited economic baron or leader among us. No competition between members, only love and sharing of our pains and fortunes equally, collectively and honestly.

The Myk is pre-occupied with changing the common notion of equating Black with poverty and wretchedness. It believes strongly that the African race can take back the leadership of the world with her widow’s mite and unity. It wants to punch a large hole in the sky for the Black race, and open to them, the vistas to the legitimate accumulation of wealth, power and spiritual fulfillment. When one is described as a member of the Myk, it means that the person belongs to a closely-knit family unit. He or she is extremely virtuous, disciplined, upright, influential and a rich power broker, or is potentially so by virtue of being a Myk member.

The Myk is not interested in the idle activities of waiting for a Messiah or praying endlessly, which implies attempts to avoid direct responsibility for ones actions and self. It is strong on self-empowerment, enlightenment, enrichment, and in the invocation and organization of often latent energy to enable the individual excel.

It is not fetish but rational, philosophical, pragmatic, and is uncluttered with senseless restrictions. It is lively and boisterous in celebration of the purest essence of life. The Myk is the binding cosmology or anchor of the Pan-African World and of Pan-Africanism and, therefore, of the African race. Before we became Black Jews, Illuminati, Christians, Muslims, Marxists, Capitalists, Socialists, or what have you, we were Black and African, and the Myk represents this peculiar essence in us. The Myk represents the souls of the African race. The Myk is the thread, the canon, the point of reference, the common denominator of the African essence. In fact, the Myk is to the Pan-African Movement, what Judaism is to the World Jewish Congress.

The Myk gives Pan-African politics and philosophy binding outreach. The Myk provides codes of discipline and bonds of fellowship among members.

The Myk and the Pan African Movement are intertwined. One cannot be separated from the other. The Myk is the character molding block, the bonding lair of the Pan African Movement. The Myk is Pan-African Movement’s fraternity for the nurturing of intellect, individual self-confidence, perfect health, pride in our race, and a rich pool of wealth creating opportunities from which members freely partake and benefit.

Myk membership is open to all Black and African people. Every Black and African person belongs to the Myk and the Pan-African Movement by birthright, particularly the young and upwardly mobile. The goal getting, intelligent, hard working, good natured Africans, primed to conquer the world in every field of human endeavours become heirs to the Myk legacy, the same way a person inherits his or her family name at birth. Individuals, (regardless of age, gender, social status, creed or level of education), join the Pan-African Movement through the Myk. Pan-Africanists are as a result born and nurtured in the crucibles of the Myk.
(a) The Myk has Pan-Africanism and unconditional global Black nationalism as its operational political philosophy.

(b) The Myk is the embodiment of the rich, creative, exciting and uplifting life-style of the African, to re-link and cement our oneness, promote our illustrious history, and heighten our reverence for our common ancestries.

(c) The Myk provides us with the opportunity to celebrate our kinship with songs, music, dancing, rituals, discussions, and other activities, to promote our collective empowerment rapidly, systematically, seriously, and to enable us collectively share in our individual happiness and pains as a family.

(d) The Myk is intellectual and, therefore, secular in pursuit of justice, equality, and morality. It is definitely not preoccupied with contesting superiority of images, rituals, and ideas not demonstrable by science, logic, common sense, and human observation.

(e) The Myk embraces Africans of all faiths, nationalities and persuasions. Seeks unity and will not allow divergence of political opinion divide the African family. Myk accepts all peoples of African origin equally, whether they are of the Judaic, Christian, Islamic, Indigenous, Mystic, Marxist, Capitalist or Socialist faiths. The Myk believes that the Pan-African Movement can accommodate the breadth of religious diversity found among Black people.

(f) The Myk is dedicated to the liberation, welfare and unity of all African people and the de-colonisation of their minds.

(g) The Myk represents the ecosystem and strives to be in harmony with natural life cycles.

(h) The Myk deprecates life styles of waste, extravagance and pomposity.

(i) The Myk has paramount regard for cultural expressions and is an authority on the history of African people.

(j) The Myk supports the development of solid, successful and ambitious business enterprises by Africans, and multinational business culture to promote Black products, services and ideas.

(k) The Myk encourages the assumption of leadership roles in all endeavours by Black women.

(l) The Myk honours and represents the memory, examples, and contributions, of our ancestors and living leaders, and grooms new leaders to be versed in their writing and ideas.

(m) The Myk observes special commemorative days and promotes common observance of annual holidays for the entire African world. These holidays commemorate our common heritage with certain uniform cultural rituals.

(n) The Myk has its special inner caucus, mysteries, rituals, and secret language, to which all Pan-Africanists and Pan-African leaders must subscribe, belong, and pay allegiance. Eventually, no African leader anywhere in the world shall be recognized as such, or accepted by the Black world as a leader, whether as head of state, intellectual luminary, artistic star, business, religious or any other sort of leader, unless he or she has been through the Pan-African Mwanzo. Only those who have been through or are still in the Myk can lead the Pan-African Movement, its institutions, call themselves Pan-Africanists, and address each other as brothers and sisters of the one African family.

All Pan-Africanists must submit eventually to the authority of the mother institution, which is the Myk of the Pan-African Movement, if they want to be relevant in Black and African affairs. Honours and awards are largely reserved for members of the movement, and minimally for now, for outstanding institutions and leaders not in the movement yet, but whose views, contributions and activities do not conflict with those of the movement. The movement, through its national secretariats and Mwanzos, will collaborate on specific projects with non-African organizations demonstrating identical philosophies with the movement.

The Myk is an educational system and anyone (including men, women, and children), from any age, can join at ‘General Knowledge Level.’ Myk members do not need to develop beyond the General Knowledge Level, which as the basic entry point, embraces initial initiation ceremonies, private and public festivals and the mastery of general Pan-African politics and activities of the Myk.

Admission to the General Knowledge Level, where everyone joins (just like joining a Church regardless of age), is by swearing allegiance to the Pan-African Movement, and making a solemn pledge to uphold the dignity and unity of the African race at all times, and to subscribe to and help implement among others:

• The Pan-African Movement’s Constitution
• The Black Agenda
• Zawadi Kwafrica and Mjane Msaada

The new member swears on oath to be his or her brothers and sisters keeper. To do everything possible individually and as a member of the Myk to help each other grow. To defend and love other members of the one big African family. To instinctively patronize, as a habit and first step, where convenient and competitive, other members’ shops, products and services, so as to keep our resources, including mental, financial and physical, strongly within the African family, to maximize our growth collectively and globally.

Myk initiation rituals could be periodical and collective, as applies in the Rites of Passage. Pledges are made individually and include a vow to be our brothers and sisters keepers.

Potential members are formally introduced to the Myk by another member or members. Each member is expected to bring into the movement and the Myk, at least, one new member at every meeting. Potential members are to attend at least three consecutive weekly meetings or services of the Myk before they can be initiated into full membership of the Myk and the Pan-African Movement. Every member of the Myk and the movement must read a set of books including:

* Mhuri ye Kutanga: the philosophy of Pan-Africanism.
* The End of Knowledge.
* The Secrets of the Ages (classic series)

And other books recommended from time to time by the National and International Secretariats of the Pan African Movement and the Myks.

Diaspora members are individually provided or paired with African continental members of their choice and vice versa for the purpose of regular correspondence and development of individual family ties and relationships within the Myk bond world-wide.
Non-Blacks can join the Myk, including non-Black wives and husbands of Myk members. Such people, as long as they remain married to us, or have children for us, are Africans. Children of our mixed marriages are Africans.

In fact, anybody who wants to help us make the world a more harmonious place to live in, is welcome to join us regardless of colour, gender, creed, or race.

The most important criterion for leadership positions in the Myk and the Pan African Movement are to be madly in love with the Black race and humanity, to be prepared to work selflessly, thanklessly and hard for these, and to be versed in the knowledge of Pan-Africanism and the Myk.

Beyond the general Pan-African education, public and private Myk ceremonies, therefore, the Myk is rooted in unconditional, fierce, and uncompromising politics of global Black nationalism and ascendance.

Only those who want to be in touch with their inner essence and develop themselves, need to move to the level of the Higher General Knowledge of their own free will, to study further in the Myk.

Admission into the Higher General Knowledge Level requires special initiation rituals, the passing of rigorous tests on morality and discipline and going through some stages of the alchemic process. One must also be at least 18 years of age and be of good character to join the Higher General Knowledge Level. The Higher General Knowledge Level produces graduate seers and sages.

Those who prove themselves from the Higher General Knowledge Level compete to enter the Asrast Circle.

How to start or form Myks of the Pan-African Movement (or APU).

Myks mushroom like Churches and Mosques in each national Pan-African Movement. Myks are the links with the masses of our people. Myks are the doing or action places. Ten people for a work place or institutional branch, and twenty or more people for a street or neighbourhood or community branch, could start a Myk Study Group (Myk-SG). Alfas, Pastors, Churches, Mosques and other religious leaders can convert to Myk as community or street or neighbourhood branches by starting as study groups. There is no upper limit to the number of people that can constitute a Myk study group. The more there are people involved from the start the merrier, because it promises viability from the beginning and demonstrates potential seriousness of the pioneering group. Every member of the pioneering group is required to read our books: (a) Mhuri ye Kutanga (Myk): the philosophy of Pan-Africanism and, (b) The end of knowledge.

These can be ordered along with submission of application for (Myk-SG) pioneer status, through the national branches of the Pan-African Movement. Where there is no national branch of the Pan-African Movement yet, applications could be submitted through our websites, or sent to our Lagos address, P. O. Box 930, Apapa, Lagos, Nigeria, e-mail: pamovement@gmail.com The purpose of Myk-SG is principally to explain our philosophies through our books to each other and to potential and pioneering members. Just as a Christian or Muslim must have his or her own Bible or Koran, every Myk member must endeavour to own and read our books. Apart from serving as permanent reference documents, they help members to know what we are about and what is expected of each one of them at any moment. We want focused, honest, hard working, dedicated, warriors, ambitious for self and for our race.

Ethos, Ethics And Taboos.

Our ancestors laid down the rules for all humans to live by, and the rules that govern the Myk. In Odu Ifa, we are told that humans are divinely chosen to bring good in the world, and that this is the fundamental mission and meaning of human life. Because we are the origin of the human race, this law applies more seriously to us than any of the other races we sired. Africans were specifically and peculiarly given the responsibility to care for the world from the dawn of human history, by being the first born.

The human race lost spiritual direction when we were forced, two thousand years ago, to drop our nurturing responsibility for the earth. Our new-age, greedy, self-centred ‘extended family siblings’ or cousins, turned the earth into a blazing hellhole of misery for all that live in it, humans, the echo system, everything. Idu Ifa implores us to take back our responsibility and do good for the world because doing good is the best expression of character. The Serudj ta concept, implores us to restore, repair, and renew the world, making it more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it. Inherit in the sense of healing ourselves and each other as well as the world. Queen Hatshepsut added that we must supersede what was formerly done. “For I want it to be said by those who come afterwards, how beautiful is this which happened because of me.”

Our ancestors insist that we think of eternity and plan for the future and for those who will come after us. We must leave them a legacy of good. Husia claims that the wise are known for their wisdom but the great are known by their good deeds. Odu Ifa says, let us be exalted by the good we do, the good, heaven and history have chosen us to do. And even as we are chosen, let us choose to be chosen, not over and against any other people, but chosen with all other people to create, increase, and sustain good in the world. And in this choosing, let us always choose life over death, justice over injustice, freedom over oppression, self-inflicted or imposed, peace over war, love over hatred and truth over lies in any form. In this then lies the moral meaning of our lives to choose to do good in the world and to do it not only for ourselves, but for the world.

According to Odu Ifa, we live in a world and web of interdependence. Anyone who does good does it for herself and anyone who does evil does it to himself. The greatest good comes from our gathering together in harmony whether in family, friendship, community, society or the world. Husia says, I did good for my community. I spoke truth, I did justice. For I knew the value of doing good. It will be a storehouse for those who come after us.

Husia says we are given wealth so that we can do good with it. Idu Ifa adds that surely everyone deserves and has a right to the good and goods of and in the world, and confirms that anyone who cultivates the disposition for doing good especially to the needy, this person in particular, will never lack happiness.

Harwa, the chief of staff of Amenirdis, the Divine wife of Amen, says in Husia that we are to be a refuge for the poor, a raft for the drowning, a ladder for those in the pit (of despair), a shade for the orphan, and a helper for the widow, that we should be one who speaks for the wretched, assists the unfortunate, and aids the oppressed by excellent deeds, and that we should give food to the hungry, and clothes to the naked, (and be) one who removes pain and suppresses wrong doing, and who sustains the aged and eliminates the need of the have-nots. Harwa concludes: “My reward for this is being remembered for my virtue, that is to say, for the good I have done in and for the world.”

Odu Ifa reveals that we do damage to the world, ourselves, and each other, in varied ways. We do damage when we fail to follow the best of our ethical and spiritual teachings and instead use religion to disrespect and impose on others to justify unjust wars, to seize and occupy other land, and to claim a special religious and racial status above and beyond all other people in the world. We do damage when we turn a blind eye to injustice, a deaf ear to truth, and an uncaring heart, away from the suffering and pain around us and throughout the world.

Frantz Fanon urged us to start a new history of humankind with other progressive people in the world, bring into being a new world and new man and woman who will cherish, respect and reaffirm each other, sustain the good world and pass on this good and legacy to future generations. Let us go forward then, implores Kwanzaa, in and with unity, self-determination, cooperative economics, collective work and responsibility, purpose, creativity and faith in striving to embody and live the life-affirming, and life-enriching values of our ancestors that represent the best of what it means to be African and human in the world. Let us always strive to be a powerful presence for good in the world and constantly work for the good life of every person and people as bearers of dignity and divinity demand and deserve.

African spirituality is the most potent spirituality in the world; the highest level of science for humankind. It works for both good and evil as is with other sciences. If used for good only, as was practiced by our ancestors, civilization gallops in leaps and bounds. That was what gave us Egypt. Our spirituality must, therefore, be used only for the good of mankind as was intended by our ancestors. No one, from this day on, is allowed to use our spirituality to do evil. It must not be used to hurt, kill or destroy third parties. Diviners and their clients who use it to attack others, under any guise, commit grievous, unpardonable sin, and should be exposed, ostracized and punished legally, physically and spiritually by society and cursed by our Gods.

The Sacred Law of OoTAF: No body is allowed to use the power of African spirituality to do evil. Traditional rulers, Obas, Emirs, Obis, kings, heads of African hamlets, communities, villages, cities or towns, are each to set up a branch of the Organisation of African Traditional Faiths, to come together at the national level of every African country as (OoTAF). OoTAF brings together, properly trained and skilled priests of African traditional faiths in each African country; makes rules for the training of new members; establishes a hierarchical structure for all the faiths (combined as one) at branch and national levels; regulates practices of the different faiths; rewards excellence and good practices, and sanctions members involved in untoward practices. Depending on the gravity of the sin, members practicing evil could loose membership of the organisation and be stopped permanently, spiritually and otherwise, from continued practice in the faiths. Rep. of Benin already has OoTAF.
The extended family tradition is unique to Africa. All Africans must practice it and extend the tradition beyond blood relatives to all Africans and peoples world-wide.

(1) Respect for elders is a strong African tradition that has a stabilizing influence on the African family and home. Children of the Myk must respect their parents and all elders at all times. Children or youths must be humble and must diligently listen to their parents’ or elders’ instructions and arguments and even when they disagree, must show reverence and good manners. Youths must greet elders first at all times and in all circumstances and with great courtesy. Every Myk child is a child of the entire Myk community and must be treated the way every good parent would treat their own child.

(2) Foundation of each home and family should be built on mutual respect, sincerity, and loyalty. Even then, in every situation there must be a leader. Fathers or husbands are the traditional breadwinners of the family and must strive always to fulfil this role unless incapacitated or helpless. The father or husband is the leader in the African home. Not a dictator, but one whose respect derives from his transparent love for his family and attention to details of their needs.

(i) The wife is not a beast of burden. She is entitled to develop her skills and apply them to the limit of her abilities, although mindful always of family cohesion.
(ii) There must be equal opportunities for children regardless of gender. Female children must be given, at least, equal opportunities as their brothers to develop to their maximum capacities.
(iii) Children must strive to go to school and remain and finish school. Every child must reach for a university degree, at least, and definitely must not drop out of the education system by choice or from selfish pressure from parents or third parties. Myk children must strive to be the best in their classes and in whatever careers or professions they finally embark upon or settle for.

(3) The number of children per family should be kept to manageable proportions to enable them to be provided for adequately in education and development. Black families cannot do this if they let themselves have more children than they can afford.

(4) Myks can circumcise male but not the female. Under no circumstance must a female be circumcised. It is a wicked tradition that offends social norm, degrades our best human qualities, and encourages men to be promiscuous at the expense of the female.

(5) Myks once married must make serious effort to remain married to their spouses especially if a child or children is or are involved. Therefore, marriages should not be rushed into. Both families of the couple and the immediate Myk community must be involved in the marriage process so that breaking it becomes the concern of both families and the Myk community. There is no word for divorce in the African spiritual firmament. Before a marriage becomes irretrievable, elders in both families are to be invited to come together to counsel the couple and try to salvage the marriage.

Myk’s elders’ council should also be given a chance to counsel the couple. If separation or divorce is inevitable, partners must continue to carry their full responsibilities financially, physically and spiritually, for the up keep of the family, so as to ensure reasonably balanced mental, physical and psychological development of their children.

(6) Myks are hard working people. They love work and hate being idle. They believe nothing comes easy so they put in everything they have, energy, brains and resources, to excel. At work, Myks put in their best efforts as employees and are loyal and committed to their jobs. Rather than become disloyal, they change job. They do not take bribe to do the job for which they are being paid, whatever the pay. They strive always to be the best in their jobs or professions, and take pride in their jobs regardless of status. As employers they provide a peaceful caring work atmosphere for their employees.

(7) Myks must respect constituted authority whether as between management and staff or the ruler and the subject and if it is necessary to try to change or challenge applicable laws, legal and constitutional means must take precedence over anarchy.

Generally: Members of the Myk do not smoke, use or deal in dangerous or illegal drugs in any form. People who do, certainly cannot be leaders in any capacity or level in the Myk or the Pan African Movement. If after being cautioned they persist in their habits, they should be dismissed from the Myk. People who cannot be seen as role models by others in the Myk, or are morally deficient in anyway, or have anti-social habits that seriously offend popular norms, natural and African traditions, cannot join the Myk and definitely cannot lead in any capacity in the Myk or the movement. Those falling into this category must first obtain clearance before joining or seeking any leadership position in the Myk from the International Secretariat of the movement.

Myks can bear any name but preferably African names, including first, others, and last names. The choice of name/s rest principally with the adult individual or recognized parents or guardians of the child. Myks are free to dress how they like but would be considered appropriately dressed, particularly at Myk ceremonies, in African influenced or traditional costume. Myks must all wear a symbol of the movement at all times, such as a finger-ring or broach for the purpose of quick universal identification.

Taboos: Lying, dishonesty, insincerity, betrayal of trust, cheating, crookedness and fraudulent practices of any sort are totally unacceptable behaviours within and outside the Myk. People involved in any of these evils are misfits and their actions negate the social cohesion the Myk represents. Egocentrism and insensitivity are grievous sins in the Myk. They violate the spirit of oneness, sharing and give and take, which constitute the bedrock of the Myk cosmology. Stealing or thieving of any kind portrays idleness, laziness and indiscipline; denies others of the fruits of their legitimate labour and is parasitic on society. Fighting and murder downgrade human worth and destroy the basis of communalism. No one has the right to injure, maim or take life, which is the most precious gift of nature. Adultery demonstrates gross lack of self-control and is indicative of disrespect for societal norms. Incest is an abomination that poisons the family unit with an ignoble virus that weakens human survival.

Lesbianism or homosexuality is a serious crime in African traditions. It is anti-humanity, anti-nature and worse than bestial because it is unrecognized in the rest of the animal kingdom. It represents the highest form of societal rot, decadence, and spells self-enfranchisement from the African family, and should be treated as such. If any race or group of people wants to self-destruct, may be that is their curse after centuries of exploiting and dehumanizing other racial groups. Now that they are marrying same sex, dogs and donkeys, they have obviously reached the dead end of moral decadence, and there is nothing hip about self-imposed racial annihilation through homosexuality and deviant sexual degeneracy. Nothing in it to imitate since the Black race must survive to restore virtuous civilization to the New World of the new millennium.

Generally, those who resist falling foul of these taboos can join or remain in the Myk. No one can be a Myk and practice any of the taboos. Any member contravening any of the taboos or is found to be betraying the movement in any way, is to be tried by the Elders’ Court (MzeeKuposa) of the Myk and if found guilty, publicly humiliated, punished, suspended, fined or dismissed from the movement and the Myk. Once dismissed, the fellow can never again re-join the movement anywhere in the world and members of the guilty person’s family may also be so affected, depending on the judgment of the Elders’ Court at the time of the new application. All dismissed fellows forfeit their rights and entitlements, cash or kind, in the movement and the Myk.

THE OATH
(Into the lower of the General Mysteries)

“I……………………….in the presence of Tu-SoS, the Uncreated Creator; the Eternal Spiritual Energy; and God Anu, the original and divine ancestor of mankind; and the spirits of our illustrious ancestors: Tehuti, the thrice greatest: the greatest of all philosophers, the greatest of all priests, the greatest of all kings, and the first human genius; Ausar, our divine king, who taught us agriculture and reverence to our ancestors; Auset, the harvest bearer, womb of virgin birth and civilization; Heru, the rod, the matrix, the Holy Spirit and governor of leadership; Eminent Narmer, unifier of northern Amen with southern Ra; Akhnaton, blessed for Aten concept; Imhotep, the multi-genius, the father of medicine, the philosopher, architect, astronomer, writer, foremost in all; and our generals: Tuthmosis, Amenophis, Merneptah, Zoser, Nzingha, Kwamena, Nehenda, the beloved victors; Prempeh, Chaka, Toure, Ovonramwen, Nefertiti, Boukman, L’Overture, Dessalines, Christophe, Hannibal, Truth, Douglass, Shadd, Tubman, superior warriors all. The keys of our revolution: Garvey, DuBois, Azikiwe, Kenyatta, Nkrumah, James, Kuzwayo, Padmore, Albertina, King, Malcolm X, Winnie and Nelson Mandela, Diop, Rodney, Clarke, Jochannan, princes and princesses unassailable; and my distinguished leaders, the Khu Mkuu, the Yezzii, Muses, Seers, Sages, your authority be praised.

I come to you naked as a lamb in sacrifice. I come to learn, to grow and triumph in your wisdom. I come determined not to sin against any human, nor to do anything to displease you my leaders. I come prepared to use my widow’s mite to give bread to the hungry, water to the thirsty, clothes to the naked, and money to the needy, in regular atonement for the blessings of being able to share. I will speak no evil of another fellow human being; neither will I consciously cause pains regardless of race, gender, age, creed or status. I will not kill man, woman or child. I will not steal from anyone nor cheat or betray trust. I celebrate birth, nurture the adolescent, bond with my peers, nurse the sick and infirm, protect and comfort the aged, provide funeral gifts for the dead. I will not hide light under a bushel. I am not selfish. I am not pompous. Look at me, I come with pure heart, clean mind, neat hands and I am not ashamed to get my feet muddy for the good cause. I come not to spoil but to build. Not to hate, but to love. Those who see me, say Myk child welcome. Welcomed, I have come to be one with you to bring down the sky for our great race.

I swear by my mother’s womb, the home of my embryo, and the name and honour of my father, and all those I hold dear, to be faithful to the covenant, and be bound by the rules, codes of conduct, constitution, and other regulatory instruments of our Myk and Movement. I pledge my life and every atom of strength in my being; bonding with my blood in fellowship to stay committed until my last breath. In deep commitment, therefore, I offer from the bottom of my heart, a strand of hair from my crowning glory and pride, to tie my soul and being in intimate fraternity and harmony to my brothers and sisters hairs in our sacred UKO of bonding in perpetuity.

I hereby promise, with all present here as my witness, to be my brothers and sisters keeper. To do everything possible as an individual and as a member of our Myk to help all of us grow. To buy from or use other members shops, products, or services, where possible. To love every Myk as I love myself. To protect and promote my race, our customs, traditions and creed against all comers. To enthrone our moral strength in triumphant scholarship, influence and wealth.

I further declare that I will help, assist, advice, and co-operate with members of my Myk. I will work hard and selflessly in conjunction with fellow Myk to contribute my honest share in ideas, energy, time, resources and cash to transform our collective fortunes for the better, not tomorrow or the remotest future, but right now, immediately, and always.

I promise to live by the creed of our Myk and to preach our spirituality and cosmology everywhere I go, converting my family members, loved ones, friends, associates and others to partake and benefit from the virtuous influence, acumen, sagacity, wholesomeness, and protective moral authority the Myk represents.

I denounce violence in pursuit of our legitimate rights. I confirm my awareness that my relationship with any other legitimate groups, associations, religions or bonding, as long as they are also promoting and improving our collective well-being, will not in anyway, undermine my bonding in blood with my Myk; the Myk being the bonding fraternity of my race, my roots, and is, therefore, my birthright, by which I stand ready to defend to death.

In further commitment thereof I …………………………do swear by the spirits of our ancestors, my integrity, family name, and all those who I have respect for and who can vouch for me, that the bonding anointment I am about to receive, would strengthen my oath and render it inviolable. In testimony hereof, I lick the palm oil from my motherland, Africa, and let it run down my fingers to the sands my ancestors treaded, representing my blood dripping to seal this covenant and my fate with the Myk, the Pan-African Movement and Africa, here, now, and for ever more.

The hair strand should not be more than 2cm in length. Only one strand of hair is required and permissible and it is to be cut in the presence of the audience, at the appropriate point in the oath taking ceremony, from the initiate’s hair by the official administering the oath and put immediately in the sacred UKO. The UKO is a large round glass, looking like a giant African pot, with a seal or cover to keep the content air-tight when not being used. As the UKO fills up, it demonstrates the truism about little drops of water gradually forming the great ocean. Every tiny strand contributes to the build up of the rich giant stream of our resolve, patience, and confidence, in our triumph.

The sacred UKO must be protected and with reverence, as one of the most sacred properties of the Myk or Mwanzo branch, and to serve as a symbol of community cohesion and authority. It could be displayed, apart from during initiation ceremonies, strategically on special fellowship occasions and during MzeeKuposa sessions.

The initiation ceremony is called IWOLE (meaning re-birth). Initiates can either fast or have only vegetable and or fruit diets from the morning until after the initiation ceremony. After the oath taking, the oath administrator (who must be a senior seer or elder), hands over the initiate to his or her new mother, the Nana who with Baba, and other elders and officials are sitting there in the ceremonial court, in front of the audience to confer authority and legitimacy on the ceremony with their distinguished presence.

The Nana effusively clamps her baby initiate into her bosom, kisses the baby cheek to cheek as a mother would, who is receiving a much-loved child, returning home after a long absence. Nana, fusing over the baby initiate, hands him or her to Baba of the Myk who immediately springs up from his seat to give a bear hug, portraying deep parental warmth and affection. Baba caresses baby initiate and kiss him or her on the forehead. This aspect of the ceremony symbolizes re-birth. While the baby initiate (regardless of age) remains standing, facing the Myk parents who are seated, the baby initiate’s demeanour must portray humility, with both hands held together at the palms down the front of the body.

Nana admonishes the new baby for taking so long to come. Baba says, now that you are here we are very happy because every new baby is a bundle of joy in our Myk home. Nana advises that the Myk is a tightly knit fraternity. That what affects one affects all. That none of the members of the Myk can afford to be anything but upright, because any wrong step by one drags the rest of the family in the mud. You won’t do this to us would you, the Nana would ask? The baby initiate would answer in the negative.

Baba then emphasizes the need to be guided always by the rules and codes of conduct of the family, which extol honesty, truthfulness, hard work, giving and sharing and communal bonding. That these would help facilitate the baby initiate’s efforts quickly into a life of prosperity, affluence, and virtuous leadership. The baby initiate shows understanding and support for the counsel being received by nodding enthusiastically in approval at appropriate points.

The baby initiate then says: “I am prepared to be guided by the rules and regulations of our Myk, to respect my elders always and to make my due contributions in energy, time and resources to help uplift my entire Myk members and my race.”

A diviner or elder then steps forward to ask the audience if they heard what the initiate just said? The audience would respond in the affirmative but if the response is negative, the baby initiate is asked by the diviner to repeat his or her vow until overwhelming affirmative response is received from the audience.

Baba then gets up from seat with a calabash of kolanuts, which he symbolically offers to our ancestors, saying, this is from us to strengthen our bonds with you all and to invite you to light up our paths to higher achievements. He breaks the kola nuts into several bits and shares them, first with the Nana unless there is/are other senior officials in attendance, who must receive their share first. The calabash of kola nuts is then passed around everyone at the ceremonial court before being passed randomly to accessible members of the audience without any special preference. African traditions that do not use kola nuts for this purpose should use elementals that suit them.

Baba then asks the baby initiate who is still standing in front of them, what his or her legitimate life ambition or purpose is. On receiving the baby initiate’s response, which could be anything from wealth to being a great scientist, astronaut or simply making a success of current business, domestic life, or progress at work place.

Nana gets up, replacing Baba to promise on behalf of the elders and entire Myk that the baby initiate’s wish would be fulfilled because the Myk would stand by him or her all the way. Not so, my people? Nana would ask the audience who would answer in the affirmative.

Nana after receiving the affirmative response of the audience then breaks into a dirge, blessing the occasion and invoking our ancestor’s spirits to strengthen the members’ collective resolve. Nana then puts the Myk’s finger-ring (specially ordered in advance to the correct size and paid for by the initiate), on the preferred finger of the initiate and says: “Now you are bonded, one with our family for ever and ever.” To this, the audience would say aloud: Brother or Sister (depending on the gender of the initiate), welcome home to our great family.

The baby initiate then turns to the audience and makes a special and peculiar vow before presenting or donating on the spot, a personal gift in cash, equipment, or services to help the improvement of the Myk’s general facilities or projects.

Nana and Baba then take turns to hug the new initiate while the entire audience breaks into a happy song led by a soloist from the audience. After this, the new Myk member goes around to hug everyone at the ceremonial court in turn, starting from the highest in hierarchy downward.

Then he or she returns to his or her seat, shaking hands with some members of the audience on the way, receiving the acknowledgement of others with smiles and wave of the hands. Back to his or her seat, hugging continues with relatives, friends and neighbours, before sitting down. Then the ceremony closes officially to facilitate the take-off of private party by the new initiate.

The Myk parents remain parents to the initiates throughout their membership in the Myk, counseling and helping them overcome personal difficulties and ensuring the fulfillment of their ambition to which the Myk commitment was made at the point of initiation. The Myk finger-ring is called A-KUNGAA (meaning luminous), and that is what the wearer must be to the world. Myk members, 18 years of age and above, wear the Myk finger-ring. Younger members can chose to or not to wear it. Myk rings are identical and available through the International Secretariat of the Pan African Movement. Myk rings are special and identify Myk members world-wide.

Branch Mwanzos are free to incorporate other activities of relevance or significance to their communities, to enliven their initiation ceremonies, as long as this main format is broadly observed.

Not later than 60 days after the initiation ceremony, the new Myk member must throw a party called: IBORI (Spiritual cleansing). Apart from other refreshments, fish, snails if available and water, are lavishly served at the ceremony. These are cold, cleansing, natural elements. The initiate wears a large wrap around yellow cloth (to cover the entire body and to be tied around the neck), and ties a red cloth or band around the waist. The initiate, of course, would have other clothes under the wrap-around. The red represents the pains we have endured and are continuing to endure simply because we are Africans. The yellow represents the sources of our pains.

Only chants, songs, humming sounds and hand clapping music are required at the cleansing party, interspersed with the elders in the audience taking turns to educate the initiate further on the hierarchy in the Myk and what Pan-Africanism is about. The initiate is also lectured to be patient, to work hard always, to be positive in outlook, to have confidence in his or her ability, and not to be afraid to reach for the sky. The initiate is assured once again that the Myk is with him or her all the way. He or she should not be shy to ask for help and to let the Myk know about difficulties and triumphs. The Myk is there to share moments of pain and joy with him or her at all times.

After the pep talks, the initiate’s yellow wrap-around and red band are soaked wet by guests sprinkling cold water on them to exorcise what they represent symbolically in the circumstance. The initiate then removes the wet wrapper and band and throws them away to cut free from the negative influences that they represent, and to take command of his or her destiny.

An elder in the audience then bathes the initiate’s feet, one at a time in a bowl of warm (or cold) water, (depending on initiate’s preference), and towels each feet carefully as it is removed from the water, with blue (suggesting calm), towel. African native soap (called the Black soap), should be used where available, otherwise any soap produced by African sources would do. This ceremony represents the cleansing and final admission into the Myk. From that moment on, the initiate becomes a true Myk member and begins to use the Myk titles applicable to him or her.

MyK STRUCTURE.

While every African or Black person can and, in fact, belongs to the Myk by birthright, not every African, whether in the Myk or not, can claim or call him or her self a Myk, or use the Myk titles, or the Myk as reference, or claim Myk as his or her spirituality, or attach Myk as title to name. This is because Myk represents excellence as in origin, the cradle, the first, and the first means the best in all languages of the world.

No one is allowed to use the title Myk, unless he or she is ready to carry the responsibility the title conveys, and the high level of behaviour the world expects of the carrier, which is to be the very best human specimen in character and in individual legitimate endeavours, whether in politics, academics, sports, entertainment, spirituality, business, social activities and so on. Myks lead the world in every legitimate human endeavour. No one beats a Myk in any competition except him or her self. You cannot be a drug addict or peddler, a miscreant or a failure at work, and be a Myk.

If you are a failure in whatever you do or do not do, or you are not seen to be pulling your weight to improve yourself to become the best in character as husband, father, wife, mother, child, worker or employer, even if you have joined the Myk, you are not allowed to claim membership of Myk, or to use the title Myk. You must sanction your self, if you are a bully, wife beater, or an evil person in any way, because you do not deserve to be a Myk.

Your Myk branch, after watching and warning you for a year would ask you during open service to stop using the Myk title. If after two years of membership, and one year after not being allowed to claim membership of the Myk, or use it as a title, you are still seen as not making enough effort to be the best in character, and in your endeavours, the Myk branch would remove you from its membership and by inference, membership of Myk world wide.

This is because your failure or incapacity to improve your lot, brings odium and dishonour to the Myk worldwide. With removal, you loose all your benefits in the Myk.

Members of Myk who can proclaim their membership loudly to the world, and use Myk titles, are those who are the best, or are as good as the best, or have potential to become the best, or can be seen to be ready or striving seriously to be the best, in character, and in legitimate pursuits generally. Myk is synonymous with success and excellence, and is the confluence for good and successful people only, particularly the young and upwardly mobile.

Myk. Adult male member of Myk, 18 years of age and above, use the title Myk before name, (pronounced as My-k or My king). It means the king of the world in personal individual pursuits.
MyQ. Adult married female member use the title before name (pronounced My-Q or My Queen), and means the Queen of the world in the individual’s pursuits.
Myq. Is the title for unmarried female adult member of Myk.
myk. Is the title for Myk male member under 18 years of age.
myq. Is the title for Myk female member under 18 years of age.
Azah. Is abbreviated from Azahaaze and is the title used before name by the adult male Myk member who has performed at least once in a life time pilgrimage obligation to Africa. It means one is spiritually cleansed.
Azinii. Is abbreviated from Aziniida and is the title used before name by the adult female Myk member who has performed at least once in a life time pilgrimage obligation to Africa. It means spiritually cleansed.
myk and myq youths under 18 years of age who have performed pilgrimage at least once to Africa, begin to use Azah or Azinii from the age of 18.

Every profession should have a Myk wing or Association or Council or guild etc. Since Myk means excellence, it means the group or guild is striving for excellence. The group brings the very best in the world, in the given profession, together as for instance: Myk nurses, R & B stars, athletes, gospel singers, scholars, footballers, physicists, dancers, scientists, baseball players, teachers, sociologists, gynecologists, lawyers, architects, psychologists, surveyors, manufacturers, engineers, journalists, TV producers, media giants, estate agents, employers, trade unions, student unions, artistes and so on. It means they can be trusted to apply the very best ethical and professional practices, and would strive to do the best job possible, because they are propelled by the desire and ambition to be the very best, and are the very best in their given occupations and professions.

All male officials of the Myk must be circumcised because it is forbidden for the male to use the skin used to disvirgin himself coming out of his mother’s womb, to meet with another woman. Female officials do not have that problem but must pierce their earlobes for earrings, as proof of receptive, alluring, womanliness for the strong and well primed African male.

Myk leadership titles.

Myk Branch Leadership:

Branches are groups at work places, schools, communities, zones and district levels, same way as there are Churches and Mosques.

Mwanzo- The Mwanzo (or Cradle or Myk) is the name of the meeting and central activity place of members of the Myk and the Pan-African Movement. The same role the Church plays to Christians, Mosques to Islam and the Temple to the Jews. When using rented or leased premises, no architectural conditions are imposed, but the Mwanzo must be surrounded inside and outside with green vegetation. When building our own, aspects of it could be circular or octagonal in shape with dome-like roof in form of a pyramid. Architectural design to follow approved guidelines from the movement’s headquarters. Each Mwanzo has a sacred area or section displaying revered African traditional works of art and paraphernalia in a most attractive and prestigious manner, to show off African leadership in creativity

Aggara: Male branch (Mwanzo) leader.
Aggere: Female branch (Mwanzo) leader.
Sobeht: Male branch deputy leader.
Asobeht: Female branch deputy leader.
Adonet: Male head of administration at branch Myk.
Adonoh: Female head of administration at branch Myk.
Nebet: Male staff, workers, clerks etc in admin.
Anebet : Female staff, workers, clerks etc in admin

Mzee Kuposa: the Court of arbitration at Myk branch. An Elders’ male/female Council. It mediates and settles disputes brought before it by members, or members and non-members, and others, who submit to its authority, controversies over any issue, including marriages, child abuse, land issues, housing and business problems, requiring third party arbitration.
Mzeeta: Male leader, court of arbitration, like a judge.
Mzeetaf : Male deputy leader, court of arbitration.
Mzemaat : Female leader, court of arbitration, a judge
Mzemety : Female deputy leader, court of arbitration.
Mzeetee : Male member, court of arbitration
Mzaatte : Female member, court of arbitration.

Bibih-Baraza: Ladies’ Council. Brings together all the rich, politically powerful, influential females, including college and university dons, chief executives of firms, businesses, industries, corporations; directors and bosses of government agencies, leading foundations and NGO’s, to use their positions, knowledge, wealth, influence, networks and political power to promote, push up, members of the Myk branch individually and collectively. They advise, follow-up on issues brought before them, recommend actions necessary, and generally serve as the financial and influential backbone of the Aggara or Aggere, solidly supporting and working in unison with them to ensure success of the Myk branch as a unit and a family.

They task themselves, raise funds, tap into their networks and other facilities they know can provide fund, and they organize regular fund raising to ensure that the Myk meets its obligations and responsibilities to all its members, and is a bacon of success in social engineering and welfare matters in its community.

Nana-Hath: is the Queen Mother of the branch Myk, the leader of Bibih-Baraza, and mother of all Myk branch members. Nana-Hath is a spiritual title, conferred not purely on the basis of age, but more seriously on the basis of the most knowledgeable and experienced female, in the Myk family circle. She is the sage or straarabu (meaning wise and civilized) mother figure, and spiritual model of virtue in the Myk. She is affectionately referred to as Nana.

Nana-Nurh: Deputy Queen mother.
Bibih: Female member of BibiH-Baraza.

Simbah-Baraza: The Lions’ Council is the male counterpart of Bibih-Baraza. Works in conjunction with its female counterpart on separate and joint projects, harmonizes activities so as not to work at cross purposes in ensuring that every member of the Myk branch is helped every way possible, to achieve success in individual legitimate pursuits, career, and ambition.
Baba-Teuti: Father figure of the branch Myk. Leader of SimbaH-Baraza and father of all Myk members. Affectionately referred to as Baba
Baba-Teu: Deputy father figure of the Myk branch.
Simbah : Male member of SimbaH-Baraza.

Tutha-Amen -means the spiritual nurturing of Myk members. Sometimes, a little fasting, abstinence, and giving of gifts, sara, to neighbours, strangers and friends, are all we need to do, to sweeten our path to success spiritually. Branch Myks could have many mavens.

Mwanguzii: Male Seer (a maven and member of OoTAF).
Mwaguzaa: Female Seer (a maven and member of OoTAF).

Azaazur (male), Azaahat (female), meaning new graduates. They serve as teachers, lecturers, supervisors on graduation, and head departments and projects such as prison Mwanzos and formations. The title has two grades. Those with less than five years post graduation experience are juniors while those with five or more years of experience are seniors. The holders of the titles must be devoted and righteous Myk warriors on the issue of Black nationalism and must be experts or authority on the Myk cosmology and the Pan-African Movement.

Zezeh-Zoser: Each Myk branch sets up professional agencies or consultancies to counsel Myk members on all issues affecting individual members’ wellbeing.

Each such team is made up of professionals. There is, therefore, a consulting team each for health matters, careers, education, employment, finance, business, housing, marriage, children, leisure and so on. The official title of each counselling team is Zezeh-Zoser with the area of expertise attached to title as in: Zezeh-Zoser health.

Zezemzah : Male leader of each counselling team
Zezemaa : Deputy male leader
Zezeazah : Female leader of each counselling team
Zezeaz: Deputy female leader
Zezeotep : Male member of counselling team
Zezemosi: Female member of counselling team.

KaraKassa : This means the singles’ nest. Singles’ activities, i.e. parties, networking, outing, lectures, seminars are also called KaraKassa with the name of the particular activity attached if required. Members of Karakassa must be singles or unmarried males and females. They throw parties, barbecues; organize outings and networks through internet and newsletters etc.

They holiday together locally and abroad; arrange lectures, seminars and whatever is necessary, legitimate, and fun, to bring singles together from within and outside Myk, to bond, find ideal partners, defeat loneliness and fight stress. Singles who are not members of Myk, but are admired by Myk member or members too shy to make direct individual approach, are invited by KaraKassa to its activities.

KaraKassa is for singles between the ages of 18 and 80. It works its way into becoming the ideal, respectable, fulfilling, genuine, meeting point for Myk singles and their invitees in the community. Our female singles should always keep in mind that men are generally mommy’s big babies, looking for younger versions of their mothers to marry. Mothers are usually domesticated, pampering, loving, and loyal, so our single females need to match high educational qualifications, which is very desirable, with being homely, humble, domesticated, loving, with the girl-next-door mien, to trap their beau. No man can resist a female so powerfully endowed. News about flirting around easily flies around to make marriage prospects difficult for individual females.

Kaserah: Male leader, must be single and must resign on getting married.
Kaserii : Deputy male leader, must be single.
Kasesah: Female leader, must be single
Kasesia: Deputy female leader, must be single.
Kicekaa: Male member, must be single.
Ciceataa: Female member, must be single.
Askarii: (Means warrior or soldier). Askarii is the male warrior guild of the Myk. It is the title of the military, disciplinary and security departments of the Myk branch or Mwanzo. It takes care of the security needs of the Myk branch. Askarii members are trained in all fields of martial arts including – capeira, for self-defence. They become masters and world recognized leaders in such arts. They train in the art of African wrestling and arrange regular competitions to improve techniques and to entertain. They wear embellished uniforms that include ‘Kembe’ knickers in attractively blended colours of the movement.

Aska-kapoh: Male leader, sometimes also trainer.
Aska-aapa: Deputy male leader
Aska-ur: Male member

Askarah: is the Amazon guild or the female counterpart of AsKarii.

Aska-tzaa: Female leader/Trainer
Aska-aza: Deputy female leader
Aska-eth: Female member (Amazon).

Kuimba Kundi, is the music wing, group, or band of the Myk. All veneer of African music: jazz, reggae, hip-hop, blues, R&B, rap, African modern and traditional music, calypso, Cabaña etc, are welcome, particularly the chorus and response variety. Socca music is loved because it is infectious. Our music must be without vulgar or demeaning lyrics and generally should create happy, lively atmosphere, encouraging everyone to sing along, clap and dance. Commercial records, cassettes etc, are to be produced by our KuimbaKundis to spread the message of the Myk and raise funds for the Mwanzos.

Kuimbakuzer: Male or female band or group leader.
Kuimbakuruu: Male musician or member of a band.
Kuimbakayya: Female musician or member of band.

Utoto Mkuti, means childhood spear. The Mwanzo reserves a special area or premises known as the Utoto (or Nest) for youth’s development, or as training ground or meeting place. The titles for Myk nursery, elementary or secondary (High) school, are as follows: Utoto-uta, the nursery wing, Utoto-umti, the elementary school wing, and Utoto-muta, the secondary or high school wing. All must have Myk spiritual emphasis and focus, and could be mixed gender.

Mzaazii: Male surrogate teacher or surrogate parent to a child or children in the Myk.
Mzarah: Female teacher or parent to child in Myk.
Utomutah: Trainee, pupil, student.
Utomataa: Female trainee, pupil, student.

Ehiidazie: Boys (age group) or peers’ guild.
Tutuewe: Guild for boys between the ages of 5 and 10 years. Each member uses the same name as the group name.
Tutuodo: Guild for boys in age group 10+ to 18 years. Each member uses the same name as the group name.

Eha-aza: Girls (age group) or peers’ guild.
Otuuewe: Guild for girls between the ages of 5 and 10 years. Each member uses the same name as the group name.
Otuuodo: Guild for girls, between the age group of 10+ and 18. Each member uses the same name as the group name.
Mhoxepax: is the name for Myk Colleges and Universities. They are modelled on state requirements.

Tephizah: Male or Female professor.
Tephithur: Male or female lecturer.
Mhotuur: Male or female graduate.
Mhotephi: Male undergraduate/student
Mhotepha: Female undergraduate/student

Each grade of leadership in the Myk requires candidates to acquire and be versed in the politics of Myk and Pan-Africanism, and to go through a series of spiritual and cleansing rituals, meditation and fasting obligations that increase in intensity, the higher the grade. Spiritual training in the Myk fall into three main categories: the General Mysteries’ (lower and higher) grades, lead from beginners to graduate seers. Greater Mysteries’ is the Asrast Circle.

Asrast Circle: is the inner or supreme spiritual fraternity of the Myk and the Pan-African Movement. Those who prove themselves from the higher General Knowledge System compete to enter the Asrast Circle. Test involves severe emotional, physical, mental dangers difficult to overcome if one is not emotionally and physically secure, well read in the arts and sciences and strong spiritually. Relatively, only the very outstanding initiates successfully enter into the Asrast Circle where secrets are passed on for personal spiritual growth and where the keys for interpreting spiritual mysteries are provided.

The Asrast Circle candidates are called super-initiates and graduation from the Circle confers on them immense dignity and power as heroes/heroines and demi-gods. They are accorded great respect and honour. Their vows to society and their initiatory rites into the inner mysteries are secrets never to be exposed. They often can see.

Asrast Circle operates principally along two lines. One aspect is involved in studies and research into the nature of the universe and creation. The other is operational ‘Asrastism’ involving rituals, magic, divination and the cultivation of the knowledge of the forces for man’s development. The challenge is to, (under the guidance of adepts); pass through the twelve spiritual gates of the alchemic process to the exalted ultimate spiritual energy field of Tu-SoS. Only a select few are appointed to it from time to time by the Khu Mkuu based on recommendations, tests, and as a special honour for services rendered to the Black race. Diviners, Seers and other leaders come from here.

Asra-Heru : Male leader
Asra-Zea : Male deputy leader
Asra-Urr : Female leader
Asra-Zerah : Female deputy leader
Asra-Rii : Male member
Asra-Nethor :Female member.

Dress colours, codes, and other accessories.

These dress codes apply mainly during Myk activities and ceremonies and are optional at other times. Officials affected by the dress codes are categorized as follows:
(A) Askarii/Askarah –These members use mud or hemp cloth or similar materials, designed in tiger, cheetah, jaguar or leopard skin patterns.
(B) Kuimba Kundi –Members use materials in zebra skin stripes or patterns
(C) Utomutah/Utomataa –The schools design their own dresses and codes in conformity with their society’s norms. Utoto teachers are not affected by dress codes.
(D) Ehiiadazie/Ehaaaza –They use predominantly dark blue with whitish spots, (i.e. adire prints or similar). Embellishments could be with Aso Oke, Kente, or other similar African fabrics.
(E) Mzazii/Mzaarah/Adoneft/Adonoh –They predominantly use orange material with dark-green wrap around.
(F) MzeeKuposa/Bibih Baraza/Simbah Baraza/Zezeh-Zoser/ Tutha-Amen. – They use predominantly, mahogany colour material with black wrap around.
(G) Sobekht/Asobekhh/Asrast Circle –They use predominantly black material with dark-brown wrap around.
(H) Aggarra/Aggerre –Use predominantly burgundy (reddish chocolate) with black wrap around using yellow African motifs on sleeves, collars, and around the neck.
(I) Hathorzah/Hathorazaa/Hakupthur/Hakuptha –use predominantly chocolate material with black wrap around, using African motifs in red on sleeves, collars and around the neck.
(J) Kitchwa/Kitchwamath/Ausarr/Ausett – use predominantly black with black wrap around and African motifs in yellow and red on sleeves, collars and neck.
(K) Iri/YezzitzahH/Yezzitheutii/KhuMkuu – use black with black wrap around and black motifs.
Female officials’ fashion codes.

Hair: Officials are free to wear any African hair style they fancy. There are hundreds of African hair styles to choose from: weaving, curly, afro, braiding, wavy, cornrows, Rasta, kinky, dreadlocks, clean shave, low cut, not so low cut, and could introduce innovations such as half or a quarter or less, braid, weave, cornrows, or a mix of these, with the rest of hair cascading or massed in rich volume, or with strings of woven hair or braids, dropping on sides of head. Beads, cowries, jewellery, precious stones, could be attached. Rastas and dreads must remain well groomed always.

Hat: The Zulu fan-like female hat types, wide or flared at the top, narrow at the head end, is approved for our females in grades levels H, I, J. The Zulu tall cup-like (or top-hat like, hat without rim), female hat, is approved for grade levels E,F,G. All hats must be black.

Gele: Head gears in any style including those won by Nigerian women are approved, but in the petit size format. Scarves can be worn tied around the neck or as head cover, tied under the chin with tails dropping. Scarves can be thrown simply around the neck to drop at back, front or side of body or worn as shoulder shawls. Geles and scarves must be black. Head bands are allowed. Mwaguzaah would pin one cowry to what ever she wears on her head or her wrap around.

Dress: Approved dress include boubou, gowns, jump-suits, skirt and blouse, blouse and trouser, gowns in one piece. Generally, materials should be soft, such as chiffon. Designs or styles should accentuate feminine shape, that is why soft materials are ideal. Female should look feminine, colourful, alluring. That is the rule with all species in nature. Those who can carry it of elegantly could wear mini skirts, or mermaid shirts, tapering close to the legs just below the knees, or trousers tight on the hips and on legs just below the knees.

Wrap-Around: All the above are to be combined with a wrap-around in soft materials tied around the waist to the left hand side of the body. For those in grades E, F, G, the wrap around is in soft materials, tied casually around the waist to contrast the material of the gown, boubou, jump-suit, skirt-blouse or trouser-blouse etc. Those in grades H, I, J, K convert their wrap around to matching long coats or graduation style garments, reaching below the knees, embroidered with African motifs on sleeves, collars, and neck, in appropriate colours. It is African to over or under-dress with teasing elegance so, African Queens should dazzle the world in ways that make them feel good and feminine.
Jewellery: Our female officers are free to wear any jewellery of their choice, including large loop earrings, layers or bunch of necklaces, bunch of bangles, pendants, designed with African motifs, beads, cowries, gold, diamonds, etc, because we want our female to look the African queens that they are.

In addition to jewellery of individual choice, grade levels E, F wear one of their necklaces dropping below the others to hold a large bead or diamond or a round glass bead about half the size of a pin-porn ball. Grade levels G, H, would have two of (half the size of pin-porn ball beads or diamond or glass bead drop), and grades I, J, would have three, (two out of which are half the size of the Pin-porn ball and the middle one, the size of pin-porn ball). All grade levels wear the A-Kungaa finger ring of purity of heart.

Our queens could wear jewellery or beads on the naked waist. Whether in single or multiple layers, it is called ‘JIGIDA.’ It enhances femininity and appeals to curiosity. Myk recommends this peculiar African innovation to all Black women. As the world’s female fashion trendsetters, it is ancient, quiet, tantalizing, spiritual and means virtuous sacredness.

Make-up: Make–up is allowed but must not be loud. Make-up should complement skin colour and beauty without being offensive or making one look like a painted doll. Eye line markers etc are African; we call the marker, itiro. Our female should feel free to express themselves and look feminine, desirable, and at their best, without looking ridiculously made-up.

Male officials’ fashion codes

Hair: Officials are free to wear hair styles of their choice: normal hair cut, low cut, skin head, Rasta, dreadlocks, afro, but no braiding or trying to look feminine. Hair must not be painted.

Caps: Grade levels E, F, G wear black hat similar in shape and style to the Nigerian Ibo chiefs’ red-caps. Grade levels H, I, J wear black scalp caps similar in shape to the Jewish Rabbis’ scalp caps, which they copied from us.

Costume: All officials wear babanriga (long dress reaching down to the shoes as worn by elite Nigerians and Senegalese. E, F, G, H, I, J, wear warp around materials over their babanriga, copying the Ghana chiefs’ rich wrap around, crossed over on the right hand shoulders. Grade levels E, F, throw or tie their wrap around on the left of their shoulders. Grade levels G, H, I, J, wear their wrap around crossed on the right hand shoulders.

Jewellery: African chiefs wear red beaded necklace, circular in chain shape like a large ‘O’ around the neck, particularly Benin chiefs. Our officials wear, not red bead, but black bead necklace of similar size to the red beads. Our chain of beads is allowed to drop from the neck down to the chest. Grade levels E, F, wear one necklace. Grade levels G, H, wear two sets, one dropping slightly below the other. Grade levels I, J, wear three sets, each dropping at different levels on the chest. No earrings allowed. Mwnguzii wear, in addition to above, a cowry on the wrap around apart from the yellow motif. All grade levels wear their A-Kungaa finger ring of purity of heart, brotherhood and sisterhood.

INDIVIDUAL WELLNESS AND PHYSICAL GROWTH OBLIGATIONS

Every member of the Myk is expected to be materially and physically comfortable, successful and strong, within five consecutive years of joining the Myk. A Myk member is a lover of knowledge and an avid reader. Nothing is taboo to read to expand the member’s mind and spiritual horizon.

A Myk member abhors dogma that is not scientifically proven and is a leader in the affairs of men. From the sciences to the arts, letters, sports, and culture, the Myk member is the one to beat and is a spiritual colossus due to vast cosmological knowledge.

The Myk member works hard to become and be recognized world-wide as a member of a tightly knit virtuous family group, influential, and directly or indirectly controlling a good chunk of the world’s resources.

The Myk member is mentally stable and reliable, morally disciplined and upright and is a great family person. He or she is a pillar of strength in society in every respect.

The Myk member is a proud Pan-Africanist, dedicated and loyal to the core. Ready to sacrifice whatever is legitimately necessary to promote, protect and defend the Black family resources, prestige, health, personality and continued success as a distinct spiritual, intellectual, economic, cultural and political group of people.
Myk members eat nutritious and balanced food. They eat lots of fish, fruits, vegetables and often add to their meals, millet, guinea corn, maize, carrots, beets, snails, rice, yam, and plantains. The fruits include ripe paw-paw, watermelon, apples, grapes, oranges, bananas and lime. They consume lots of garlic and onions and eat chicken and fish drowned in large bowl of vegetable soup. Foods at their natural raw state are great, therefore, the less the cooking required the better for some foods. Myks use honey generously daily and drink milk with honey daily if their constitution can cope with the milk. Myks drink lime in water and fresh natural fruit juices in place of soft drinks.

Water therapy is recommended as a regular routine. For this therapy, drink 6 glasses of water first thing every morning when you wake up. Drink the 6 glasses rapidly without break. Do this for six weeks initially. You can indulge in it regularly, if you like. On the other hand, you can use it for one week in twelve or twenty-four, after the initial or occasional six weeks at a stretch water therapy, depending on how comfortable you are, drinking water.

Water is the cheapest most effective preventive and curative medicine for many ailments, particularly those requiring cleansing of the lungs and stomach organs generally. To reduce acidity do not eat apples during the period of water therapy, and do not eat heavy meals less than two hours before going to bed then too. Remember you will urinate a lot, during the period of water therapy. Even when on water therapy, drink all your water needs during the rest of the day. However, drink the water 30 minutes before or after meals. Don’t drink liquid, including water, tea or fruit juices at meals, because it often leads to indigestion and stomach pains. In fact, do not eat fruits with main meals. Eat your fruits, at least, 30 minutes before or after a meal or just fruits as the main meal, particularly as breakfast. Of course, fruits are perfect too as snacks.

Herbal drink every morning, can help with general metabolism and health control. Use herbs from reputable sources confidently for most ailments. Herbs are ideal as preventive and curative. Drink Mistletoe herbs regularly for general metabolism. Blood pressure, all kinds of cancer, diabetes etc. are curable or manageable with herbs, urine and water therapies, and your Myk System is an authority on the processing and use of herbs to treat, prevent, or manage most ailments.

Personal hygiene and daily exercises are paramount for good health and clean body organs. Brush your teeth regularly. Bath at least once, and exercise for a minimum of 15 minutes daily, either in the morning or at night before retiring to bed. Find time to rest and sleep well.

Wellness nurturing: Here is how to start your complete wellness journey. For the programme to succeed, you must be a virtuous person, unless you want evil spirit to occupy you. You can no longer afford to think or do evil. You do unto others as you would want them to do unto you. You can no longer intentionally hurt anyone. You have to be your brothers and sisters keepers, exuding love in all your actions, spoken words, comportment, and in your heart. This does not mean that you become a zombie. You are strong and confident, and you allow no one to hurt you, or take advantage of you, if you can help it. Those who hurt you, soon find they have themselves to blame. You are totally honest, straight forward and loyal to the world that loves you in return. You strive to be the best neighbour, relative, friend, husband, wife, child, there can be; selfless, generous, accommodating of others shortcoming. You give hope rather than cause other’s downfall. These are rules you consciously decide by yourself to cultivate and live by. They are not something you learn from books or through preachments or in a building on Fridays or Sundays.

Every one knows about rights and wrongs even in their teen and if by the age of eighteen years one is still confused about the difference between good and bad, it is safe to assume that the person is sick in the head, and perhaps beyond redemption. Therefore, your conscience is your judge. Carry who you have decided to become, a great human being, with pride, and affect the world around you positively. Your ancestors would reward you accordingly and abundantly.

Self-Discipline: Do not smoke or use drugs not recommended for you by your medical doctor. And use this in the exact dosage and for the exact period recommended. Do not drink alcohol. Enjoy your self but drop over indulgence, including excessive frivolities. Spend quality time with your family. Create private time for yourself and loved ones, no matter how busy your work schedule is. Indulge in ennobling ventures at the Myk and in society generally, to help others. Play games; take on hobbies, including reading and writing.

Meditation: – Meditate by your-self or with others every day. Meditation could be for five, ten, fifteen or more minutes, depending on the time you have, the complexity of the issues you are ruminating on, convenience and your physical location at the time. You could meditate whether you are at home or the office or in a public place or in an aircraft, or moving vehicle, including public transport. If you are at home and can find the time, meditation could last from ten minutes to an hour or more. Choose a time of day or night that suits you best, preferably in the morning, or evening, or at night, before going to bed. You must stick daily by whatever time you choose, because your spiritual twin would be waiting for you at the time and you can’t afford to keep the spirit waiting.

Meditation is not a prayer session. Sit if possible quietly, effecting a relaxed, comfortable pose. You should sit hassle-free, on the floor. It may or may not be a yogi pose since your comfort is paramount. Wear minimum clothing if you are not in public place because your pose or clothes must not cause you pain or distraction. If you cannot meditate sitting on the floor, relax on a chair or bed; close your eyes wherever you are and shut yourself off from the atmosphere around you for the duration of your meditation. You can do it without closing your eyes too, but it is easier to concentrate by blanking out surrounding physical distractions with eyes closed.

Spend the first few minutes, perhaps two to five minutes, quietly without saying a word or trying to think. Listen to your heart beat. Let yourself, not just feel, but hear your own heart beat when silent. Then begin to psyche your sub-conscious being, (the deity) inside you. You can do this with others or alone by your self even in a crowd, with unspoken or quiet spoken words or murmurs, or you can remain quiet using thoughts only to meditate, accompanied with a tranquil sense of inner peace. You can do it totally with concentrated attention, drawing deeply into your inner self, demanding, psyching, focusing your spiritual half to synchronize harmoniously with your physical half. There is no Messiah in meditation. If anything, you are your own Messiah, rallying and appropriating to yourself, all virtuous ancestral Gods, or spiritual energies.

At home, alone or with others, you can use deep thoughts alone for meditation, or you can combine deep thoughts with talk, with or without voice, to psyche your spirit self, demanding what needs to be done. Do this for as long as you have time for. Tell your inner self (or the Great Tu-SoS inside you), what you want out of life. Detail how and when you want specific projects achieved. Ask for the health and welfare of your family, loved ones, friends, anything legitimate, reasonable and objective. Be resolute, confident, trusting, and assertive. You must be clean in character, body, and thoughts, to achieve positive results. A thief or sinner would accumulate negative pay back.

If you are a virtuous person, ask what you want with authority, confidence and knowledge. Avoid merely adventurous thoughts. Concentrate and be articulate. After this, stay quiet for five minutes or more. Allow yourself to drift into a trance if you wish, by repeating a word or words concerning your most urgent requirements, or that capture/s your quest precisely and eloquently several times, at each session. You are psyching, focusing, your spirit twin.
If you want something badly, concentrate on it during meditation. Ask for it many times during daily meditation and for one, two, three, four weeks or even a year or more. The length of time it takes depends on your hard work, obstacles put in your way by others, and how spiritually clean you are. Keep quiet again for about five minutes to allow your spirit half absorb all you have said and done. If your eyes are closed while meditating, you may or may not need to switch your electric light off. If your electric light is off, you may or may not need to light candle/s. The choice is yours and if you have to light a candle or candles, it could be scented or unscented candle/s. Combine your meditation with wet fasting for 1 or 3 or 7 or 14 or 21 days, at least, during the period of your urgent quest.

A typical meditation, done with mainly deep thoughts before going to bed, starts with a bath, followed by sitting cross legged relaxed in a spacious dark environment with one, three or seven, scented or unscented, flickering candle light far from you. One candle is enough, and the fewer the better. The eerie atmosphere created by the lit candle/s in dark environment is the perfect setting for meditation because the spirits love shadowy settings.

Fasting: Generally, fast if possible for one, two or three days in every month, depending on your capacity to cope. Eat only once in 24 hours then. This we call wet fasting. Eat between the hours of 6.00 pm and 8.00 pm, and limit your main meal to none oily food which could be rice, beans potatoes, yam, plantains, vegetables and fish. Your food must not include meat. You can indulge longer but remember vegetarian diet alone cannot provide you with all the nutrients you need if you limit yourself permanently to it. Our dry fasting means not eating at all in 24 hours. You can indulge in dry fasting for one day at a time, in a month, and perhaps three times in a year, unless your constitution can take more days. In both wet and dry fasting, you can drink all the water or fruit juice you need, at will.

Thanksgiving (Sara), is necessary if you want quick spiritual response. Do thanksgivings, to end fasting requests, and regularly otherwise, perhaps once a month or once in three months or once in a year. Thanksgiving could be to your dead parents or ancestors, to keep their eyes on your affairs and continue to facilitate your progress and could include giving of gifts of cash, cooked or uncooked food, to children and or neighbours, total strangers or beggars on the streets, like is done in ‘zakas’ in Islam. It could even be small gifts to schools, homes, institutions for the destitute. It usually is a small get-together feast, on behalf of named ancestor/s, and is called ‘sara’ in Yoruba, Nigeria, language. You do not over exert your self or resources. It simply replaces what you would have spent on bad habits, such as smoking and alcohol etc. You give within your means, and share the reasons why you are doing it with beneficiaries, (i.e. to thank my ancestors or to pray for them or for what is due to me not to be hindered etc).

If you are a really good person, of impeccable character, ancestors will grant you your wish. It is a certainty and it is not magic. The more virtuous you are, the more God-like you become. Turn your body into a clean cradle for Tu-SoS to occupy and the world would be at your feet. If you don’t get your wish after a while, then it is probably illegitimate, or the time is not ripe, or you have not achieved the philosopher’s stone, or obstacles are put in your way by some spirits or the living. Find out which and remove it, and continue cleansing your body as home for Tu-SoS, with pure thoughts, actions, fasting, and meditation.

The simple steps listed here are enough to transform your life spiritually. As you become more adept at what you do, you will begin to hear your sub-conscious voice speak to you. Images and signs would begin to manifest in your dreams to sign post your direction. Your personality, intellect, self-discipline, and confidence, would begin to glow, and you would start to loose the fear of death, or any other fear. Tu-SoS would take your fears over from you. Almighty Tu-SoS, by the way, is not a He or She, but, the One Source, the Uncreated Creator, the Limitless, the Boundless, and remember, Tu-SoS is in you.

Everything you do counts, the food you eat from now on, your thoughts and actions all the time, your morality, level of self-discipline, and spirituality. Be honest, open and accommodating, in your man, woman, relationships, and be the best brother or sister, there can be, to your loved ones, Myks, friends, and neighbours. With dedication to the tenets of the Myk, you become the chosen child of Tu-SoS.

INVOCATION IN THE Myk

The Myk is not strong on or pre-occupied with prayers. Myk members do not hide behind prayers but rather set out practically and actively to ‘do’ for themselves as individuals, and as a group, to tackle their problems head-on and overcome them. When we meditate, it is principally to reach into our inner self and to strengthen our resolve to conquer our adversaries, to achieve and triumph individually and collectively.

In our quiet moments we regard:
(1) All humans, institutions and policies marginalizing us, or have been used to enslave us and our forefathers as evil.
(2) All racists and racial policies as evil.
(3) All gatherings or meetings where such evil policies against us are being hatched or planned as evil.
(4) All people and institutions responsible for the sudden death of our heroes and heroines as devils.

We regard all those who died or were killed in the course of fighting our cause, or leading and asking for our liberation, as having sacrificed their lives so that we may live. They are our holy spirits that can be called upon along with our ancestors, for support and strength at the times of difficulties and in libation.

During meditation, Myk members are to focus mind intensely on objective in such a way that they are elevated spiritually and even possessed. They should meditate with serious concentration and heavy hearts in relation to what they are going through as a people and as individuals in their societies. Myk members should meditate with the feeling that although our ancestors, heroes and heroines are dead in body, they are alive spiritually. The causes for which they died have not been fulfilled. They are watching over us and are unhappy with us for not continuing their good work on earth. They are sad in their graves and have been waiting for us to call upon their angry spirits to intervene for their souls. Myk members should meditate with hope, positive thoughts, and absolute trust in the spirits of our ancestors, whose great work we have all come to recognize. Myk members should meditate, confident that our fearless ancestors, whose sudden death froze unfinished words in their mouths, hearts and minds, have a great deal to pass on, and we are inviting them to complete their unfinished jobs through us. They should use us to change our world for the better.

Every activity of the Myk must open and close with the pouring of libation. Simple libation entails an elder coming forward to plead with Tu-SoS and invoke the spirits of our illustrious ancestors with droplets of clean water from a glass to the floor (or receptacle where there is a carpet), to partake in and bless the deliberations. Libation is being performed with alcohol, such as palm wine or gin, in some modern African traditions. Alcohol is a relatively recent intrusion to titillate the taste buds of modern performers and profit our commercial exploiters. The original and natural element for libation is water. At least, 57% of the human body is made up of water. There are some ceremonies when alcohol is absolutely inevitable, however.

AFEFE
The Myk service format: (the wind that soothes and caresses).

Members of the Myk come together unfailingly, every Sunday (the African Veneration Day), in the morning, for a number of hours at the Myk’s Mwanzos, to celebrate our oneness and survival with rituals, songs, music, dancing, libation, discussions, and lectures, on Pan-Africanism, community projects and other subjects and activities of interest to the Myk community. This service is called AFEFE – meaning the wind that soothes and caresses

The following fellowship format has proved to be very effective but as a pragmatic fraternity, there is always room for new ideas based on the dynamics of the time. Branch Mwanzos are free to add peculiar local flair and embellishments to capture strong community involvement. For example, communities strong on gods and goddesses such as Sango, thunder, sun, water, iron, vegetation, harvest and any of the other African deities are free to incorporate positive aspects of their peculiar ceremonies in the Myk service shell to achieve authentic parochial local flavour.

(a) The ceilings of all Mwanzos are to be painted to represent the sky and stars while the floor reflects the meadows with thick vegetation all around.
(b) Immediately outside the door or doors into the Mwanzo’s fellowship hall, there should be placed on a stand, sand or raw earth from the continent Africa, in a neat and cased container. This is called Edun Ara, and is a specially dug up sand from where lightening had struck in Africa. The sand contains unique properties and is charged with the essence of Africa. This is to link every member electrically with the source of our souls. Everyone entering the fellowship hall must first touch or place palm on the sand before entering the hall. The touch links the individual with the spirits of the motherland.
(c) Inside the Mwanzo, chairs are arranged to enable the audience face the altar. To the left of the hall, in front, facing sideways from the audience would be chairs for elders and ministers involved in activities for the day’s fellowship. Opposite the elders and ministers’ chairs, would be chairs for drummers and singers. Facing the audience is the leader’s chair or throne.
(d) On the day of the fellowship (weekly), Myk members may choose to eat only fruits, vegetables, drink herb teas, fruit juices, honey or water before the actual fellowship. They are free to have other meals for the morning. The fruits and vegetable meal is optional and intended to help purify the body, rid it of toxic wastes, open the mind for meditation, and introduce abstinence, self-control and discipline.
(e) Those attending the fellowship are to be ushered into the Mwanzo hall and directed to sitting positions by young ushers. Ushers also distribute programs of the day and other documents, including publicity materials.
(f) While guests are being ushered to their seats, there should be drumming and singing by the Mwanzo’s music group, (Kuimba Kundi), of a solemn but moving kind, to prepare audience for the lively occasion ahead.
(g) At the exact starting time of the fellowship, with most of the participants already seated and the music group still rendering solemn music, the officials of the occasion come in procession, led by a young male or female holding a bunch of palm fronds or a variety of vegetation.
Following the youth are the ministers, then the elders and other branch officials, and lastly the Aggar-Ra or Agger-Re and the senior members of the National Myk in attendance. The bunch of vegetation is deposited in a strategically placed attractive container, or African pot, in front of the speaker’s stand, until needed to lead the officials out after the fellowship.
(h) After the officers are all seated, the drumming changes to loud and celebrative, the type that encourages audience to dance, sing and clap along. Everyone joins in the merry making for a while.
(i) The Baba of the Myk or a diviner, seer or elder, steps forward to pour libation and invite the Eternal One and our ancestors to come and partake in the fellowship and bless the gathering. Pulsating drumming, singing, clapping, and dancing follow, preparing audience for the exciting time ahead.

(j) Press officer or minister, announces the programme of the day.
(k) Nana, female diviner, seer or elder, takes the stand to offer deep invocation in idiomatic dirges to our great and departed ancestors, extolling their legacy and our determination to keep their memory alive and continue to triumph in their name. This is called ODU, meaning summoning the spirits of our ancestors and electrifying the atmosphere with infectious revelry. This is the session when poetic liberty is taken and poetic expertise and profound words of wisdom come to the fore. Group and solo dirges and songs follow, involving call and chorus, some spontaneously inspired, volunteered, perfected on the spot, and recorded if possible, to come in handy for future use.

Myk members are to learn, at least, one African language to use during this session to rejoice or freely express themselves. This is to speak in tongues. Congregation is encouraged to throw inhibitions over board to sing, dance, clap and freely make merry as the spirits or chumminess of the occasion moves them. Individual members of congregation are then encouraged to come forward to share personal experiences on any matter, whether domestic or at work, with third parties or even with members of the congregation. The idea is so that others can offer solutions, and pains and happiness are collectively shared. Many community quarrels could easily be sorted out this way.

(l) Audience then sings some spirituals or liberation songs to empower and uplift their spirits.

(m) Deputy leader then reads some inspiring passages from books by any of our illustrious leaders or authors about Pan-Africanism, history of our people etc., with a view to educating members and strengthening their resolve.

(n) Two members of the audience are encouraged to read short pieces from books they recently read that could inspire members and put them in happy mood of oneness and sharing.

(o) Moments of quiet meditation by all with complete silence in the hall so as to hear the spirits of our ancestors speak for a while; this could be for 2 to 5 minutes.

(p) The leader, Aggarra or Aggerre or a specially invited guest lecturer, who may or may not be a Myk member, takes the stand to give the major speech or lecture of the day. The kind of speech that gets audience involved and to respond enthusiastically to virtually every word uttered. This opportunity is used to invite scholars, important people in the community, government, commerce, leading authorities on any subject, i.e. history, politics, business, psychology, science etc., as affects the wellbeing of Blacks, to make presentations or educate members on the latest community issues, business, intellectual, or national debates. Every lecture must leave audience better informed and grateful to have attended the event. A short question and answer session is encouraged with the speaker before he or she returns to seat. Drumming and singing commence after the lecture session, while ushers pass calabashes around to collect offering, contributions, and special levies, from the audience. The levies for special funds could be put in envelopes detailing sources and the fund the contributions are meant for. Contributors’ names should be provided for the purpose of proper accounting on behalf of the contributors. The contributors’ notes should be useful for auditing periodically. The deputy leader announces the economic empowerment community projects of the week, strategies of implementation, and details on how more funds are to be raised or collected. Committees are then set up to implement projects, levies are made and people are assigned to jobs. Those previously assigned to jobs report back what they have been able to accomplish. Projects are to include the setting up of schools, hospitals, buying up of farms, manufacturing outfits, publishing houses and other businesses; organizing fund raising, bazaars, etc. All businesses, commercial projects and ideas for empowering and enriching the community are to be explored, including buying up estates and homes for Myk members.

(q) The Baba, senior diviner, seer or elder leads all in solemn meditation for some minutes. Then everyone holds hands to form an unbroken chain and bond of fellowship. Hands are then lifted in the air at the end of the meditation seven times, while everyone shouts Harambee or other appropriate words. Libation is then performed.

(r) Officials depart in procession as they came in. Close.

PILGRIMAGE

The African Pilgrimage (AP) replaces the irregular Pan-African Congresses. All future Pan-African Congresses would from the inception of AP be known as African Pilgrimage. The coming on stream of the much desired African Union (AU), despite its constitutional and operational weaknesses, has considerably diluted the political sting of the Pan-African Congresses and almost rendered them irrelevant.

AP would concentrate on the areas of comparative advantage and through moral persuasion, discipline, and scholarship, maintain a vibrant lobby on the AU, to ensure comprehensive, fused, and focused fulfilment, and the collective advancement and ascendance of the entire African race. The African Union (AU) is to be lobbied to be strengthened to take care of the political aspirations of the entire Black race, while the Pan-African Movement concentrates on the intellectual through the Myk.

AP is an annual event and takes off from Auser’s birthday on 25 December of every year. The first AP is planned for December 2012, in Nigeria. AP brings together all the ideological tendencies and movements of the African race, to celebrate our oneness and triumph, and to pay homage to our illustrious ancestors. AP is to the African race, what the annual pilgrimage to Mecca is to the Arabs, and to Jerusalem is to the Christians.

Every Black person in the world, and every Myk member, must perform AP, the African Pilgrimage, at least, once in a lifetime. The seven-day long pilgrimage involves a series of ceremonies, rituals, cultural events, and a carnival procession. Each pilgrim must ritually slaughter a goat to the spirits of our ancestors during the pilgrimage week. Every male who has performed the pilgrimage is entitled to use the title ‘Azah’ (or Azahaaze in full) before his name. Female counterparts use the title ‘Azinii’ (or Aziniida in full) before name. Both titles mean spiritually cleansed. AP is expected to grow into one of the biggest, liveliest, most attractive, spiritually fulfilling, cultural, intellectual, commercial and tourists’ events and destinations, in the world.

Calabar, Nigeria is one of the dream venues and permanent pilgrimage sites of the African world; the other is Badagry, Lagos. Calabar has a vibrant spiritual culture and strong physical memory. It was a major seaport for slavery, providing access to slaves from the interior of Africa including Kano. In fact, 27% of all African slaves went through Calabar port, whereas Ghana, Senegal and the Gambia combined, had only 10%. The people of Calabar, like the Edo, did not sell their people as such, but Calabar people benefited immensely from providing port access. The three principal Calabar tribes are Efik, Kud and Etuk. The Efiks occupied the riverside and so made the most gains from export facilities through the Calabar port.

The Obong of Calabar grew rich collecting royalties and has a fascinating history. During the efforts to end slavery worldwide, Queen Victoria of England, wrote to the Obong requesting him to stop providing port access to the slave trade in return for a promise to trade with his people in oil palm. She also offered protection for the territory and signed her letter as, Queen Victoria. The people of Calabar saw her as the Queen of white people. The Obong accepted her request with the condition that she becomes his wife because it is difficult for women “to start providing protection for men.”

The Obong felt that a relationship between them was necessary for maximum protection efficiency, and signed his letter in counterpoise as the King of all Black men. Although the Queen was silent on the marriage offer, she sent the Obong a bell-like crown for his coronation and pledged loyalty to his throne. At every coronation since then, the new Obong wears the bell-like crown as the symbol of his title as the King of all Black men. Apart from this strong link with slavery, Calabar has been turned into one of the most exciting tourists’ destinations in the world with its Tinapa project. In fact, the first pilgrimage date was postponed from August 2006 to December 2010 to allow for the formal consolidation of the new Tinapa facilities, which are of world standard.

Badagry was actually our first choice home for the African pilgrimage. That was why we held our first Black Think Tank meeting there in August 1992. The Oba of Badagry was very happy with the prospects and he gave us maximum cooperation and encouragement, but as we got nearer actualization date, the nightmarish congestion on the Expressway from Lagos to Badagry and the lack of amenities in Badagry to support bringing thousands of people there yearly for a day or a week, began to force us to re-order our plans. That is how Calabar came into the picture, the new TINAPA facilities there, were the lure but Calabar on its own confronted us with transportation logistic nightmare. Now we can transfer the annual week-long African spiritual pilgrimage back to Badagry because the Lagos State Government embarked on expanding the Lagos – Badagry Expressway from four lanes to ten and a mono-rail and rapid bus services on the route.

While browsing on the Internet on my birthday, on the 13th of March, 2009, I stumbled on a pleasant surprise. The BBC news and the London Telegraph newspaper, had criticized the Badagry Historical Resort plan by Marlon Jackson, Michael Jackson, Neverland Ranch and the Motherland Group. The mêlée was right in my alley and without having the details of what the whole thing was about, I fired back at the media houses for describing the criticism by just two Nigerians as a row in a matter that affects perhaps a billion Africans. I was unsparing too on the two Nigerian critics and concluded my piece sent to the BBC, the London Telegraph, and hundreds of blogs and groups on the Internet as follows:

Africans should not be mourning only slavery. There is racism that is refusing to go away, colonialism and neo-colonialism in their several disguises. Shouldn’t we be switching from moaning helplessly, to enforcing reparations? We have a right to begin to celebrate our survival. It is our tormentors that should be regretting they ever stepped on our shores. We ensure that, by returning to our happy ways before they came because they hate to see us independent of them and happy. In any case, no one in modern times would plan a week-long or more days pilgrimage for thousands or even millions of people in a desert or some out of the way jungle huts, bereft of modern amenities, in the name of maintaining the sanctity of a sacred spot or shrine. Facilities to draw modern people to such sites are obligatory and paramount and such facilities include luxury accommodation, transportation and relaxation services of the best possible hue.

As the leader of the Pan African Movement, we are excited about the Motherland Group’s project for Badagry and want to take advantage of the luxurious facilities the Motherland project is putting on the ground there. Needless to say the African spiritual pilgrimage would be nothing like has been seen in the world before and would be a dream experience for partakers, particularly because after the rigours of the pilgrimage and the aftermath of the necessary individual spiritual self denial of the period, the Motherland Historical Resort facilities would be handy to calm our nerves and return us to the world of reality. So Motherland Group, welcome home. We are proud of you. We would support you every way possible and complement your efforts with an annual pilgrimage that is out of this world.

The following response to my piece above was posted on the Internet by the Kwame Ture Leadership Institute in the USA. “Interesting. Sounds like a scheme by an irreverent few to capitalize on the suffering of our ancestors. Do Jewish leaders/business men and entertainers conspire to build theme parks near the Nazi concentration camps where their people suffered and died, or do they out of self-respect refrain from profit making on the backs of the dead? I think we all know the answer to this question. But some of us have been programmed to think it is possible to make $ any way we can, even if we have to prostitute our history and our integrity for short-term personal gain.”

I responded to the above on March 16, 2009, thus: If the Jewish concentration camp in Germany had been in Israel, the Jews would have built something similar to a theme park around it. It is not in their country so they have no control over it. They let it serve as a blot on the conscience of their tormentors by encouraging it to serve as a perpetual needler. We can do same with sites in our tormentors’ enclaves. All sacred or religious sites in Israel, as indeed in the rest of the world, serve as tourists’ attraction points. Israel makes a fortune from thousands of Africans visiting religious sites in Israel yearly, who go there just to dip feet in water or drink from it or wash face with it or walk through where ‘Jesus’ walked and take some water or sand back home at considerable expense. They do not get these things for free. Special tourism packages are built around them with local escort agents and theme memorabilia to pay for. Of course, once a year, religionists go to the sites to wail to their hearts’ desire.

Both sacredness and openness can work together with careful planning and designation, with tourism activities streamed to complement rather than offend sacred requirements or ceremonies. The commercial, helps to sustain the spiritual, especially in modern times of unbearable expenses to maintain anything, provide power, water, comfort, communications, accommodation, etc. That is why Churches or religious organizations are the richest groups or business undertakings in the world today. It is not possible to maintain any sacred site in modern times without a lot of money and governments in Africa that can not feed their people find such, a luxury. You can argue it is their obligation. Then you have to wait a hundred years to wean them on that. Right now, the sacred slavery sites we are moaning about are largely thick bushes or abandon water fronts. No one visits them for the purpose of sustained sacredness, definitely not from abroad. The locals get their fire wood or drinking water as the case may be from the sites if they are bold enough to tempt snakes and other crawlers or wild animals.

The Motherland Group supervising the project has since explained that The Badagry Historical Resort, has two components, one is where they maintain and uplift the slave route, build a museum, build a slave ship replica and rebuild the point of no return. Visitors would be able to visit the replica slave ship and walk the route their shackled ancestors walked. The port was the last point of departure for slavers heading to the Americas with their human cargo. This is a joint venture with the Lagos State Government, who retains the land. The Lagos State Government has embarked on expanding the Lagos – Badagry Expressway from four lanes to ten and would provide mono-rail and rapid bus services on the route.

The second part of the Badagry Historical Resort project provide tourist facilities of a hotel, a casino, a luxury condominium with golf facilities and a pool for relaxation, a police station, a health facility and a film/music village. The music village incorporates an adventurous ride and an historical overview of African music using hologram images, concert footage, a state of the art recording facility, to robotic figures displaying the rhythmic beats from 300 years ago where music began, leading up to the biggest African group in the world, The Jackson Five, and a possible dream animatronic Michael Jackson perhaps.

The Menephtheion would be built into the Badagry Motherland project. The Menephtheion is the international headquarters of the Pan-African Movement and the heartbeat of the African world. It is a library of the mind. A parade ground of the Gods of our ancestors manacled into slavery infamy. An adaptation of Gaza, with intimidating columns in celebration of African ingenuity. When ready, it would be to the African world, what the Vatican is to the Roman Catholic Church and would seat African Gods in homage to our ancestors. Needless to say the African spiritual pilgrimage would be nothing like has been seen in the world before and would be a dream experience for partakers. African Gods have been assigned a number of creative projects to supervise and nurture to success by the Myk. For example, Olokun is the Goddess of beauty, arts, culture, poetry, love, marriage, femininity and fertility. Orunmila is the God of wisdom, scholarship and education. Obatala is the God of creativity. Shango is the God of lightening, masculinity, fearlessness and hard work. Ogun is the God of Iron and technology. A one week long Festival of the Gods, would take place yearly, in honour of the African Gods, at the Menephtheion, to bring together leading artistes, scholars and entrepreneurs (Black and white), from around the world, in celebration of African arts, in the following disciplines:

• Fashion/Cosmetics/Hairdressing and styles
• Painting/Sculpting/Crafts
• Poetry/Writing
• Film/Theatre/Video
• Music
• Dance/Comedy
• Spiritual (incorporating the annual pilgrimage)

Other cities and venues incorporating leading spiritual and tourist sites are being developed for pilgrims who voluntarily need to visit other places to further enrich their experience while in Nigeria. The sites include the Ogun shrine, the Yemoja festival in Oshogbo, and the Oro festival in Ogun state. The Igwe festival in Benin City and the Sukur kingdom mountain in Maiduguri. The Kerengwa water falls in Nasarawa with its therapeutic health benefits. Nasarawa also provides the opportunity to visit the God of the Sun at home.

FESTIVALS
Every African or Myk is to observe the following activities, rituals, holidays and others, that may be approved from time to time, by Myk and the National and International Secretariats of the Pan African Movement.
AFRICA’S HEROES DAY

This is celebrated on Martin Luther King’s birthday, January 15, in honour of all heroes and heroines of the Black world, including Malcolm X, Dr. King, Mandela. The occasion is also used to honour contemporary achievers in society. Awards, including chieftaincy titles, at the national and international levels by African kings are given on that day. Arrangements have been made by the International Secretariat of the Pan-African Movement for African kings to be special royal guests at some of these ceremonies around the world, to give chieftaincy titles on the spot to deserving sons and daughters of our Diaspora community.

It is the day we assemble by special invitation, leading personalities in the society, i.e. politicians, business magnates, senior government officials, leading scholars, artists, religious and community leaders, etc., to a well advertised in advance elaborate, sumptuous, lavish luncheon or dinner, laced with great pomp, pageantry, and reverence, at well appointed civic centres, halls, or addresses around the country. Speeches are made in memory of both dead and living heroes and heroines. The speeches are to be interspersed with cultural activities by leading artists. Dead leaders may be honoured posthumously along with living ones, including up and coming society movers, with city and or community awards, in form of plaques, certificates, designating streets or institutions in their names, and where possible, cash and other awards.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH
Is celebrated throughout the month of February of each year.
February of each year is used world-wide to highlight the Black origins and continuing contributions to the development of modern civilization. The media should be saturated, and the entire community, (regardless of race), overwhelmed at the time with African centred activities, displaying Black inventions, past and present, drawing attention to Black scholastic leadership in all fields of knowledge, thought, philosophies, religions and ideas. There should be exhibitions of our books, fashion, artefacts and the mounting of public lectures, conferences, and workshops, focusing on our heroes, dead or alive, achievements in the plastic arts, sports, etc., our aspirations, and what we are doing to tackle our weaknesses ourselves.
Educative, knowledgeable, inspiring write-ups on us should bombard the print media, correcting general misconceptions about us, and putting evolving historical records straight. Talk shows, Black positive image building films and documentaries, are to dominate television screens. Quality Black drama, are to be staged across the country to tackle stereotypical Black images, and our sounds of joy and lively drama, should control the airwaves. Music and cultural concerts to temper the harshness of continuing racism and our exploitation are paramount during the period. Pride in our Africanness should be brought to the fore in February, affecting our outlook, attitudes, behaviour, mode of dressing etc., as a reminder of our scintillating cultural heritage, and a reinforcement of our resolve to remain true to our Africanness throughout the year and the rest of our lives.

PYA MAVUNO
(New Harvest)

Is celebrated during Easter holidays of each year, to give farm harvests and food generally to the needy in society. During the period, community groups, associations, families, friends, buy, collect and assemble, a variety of food products to distribute freely among the under privileged in society. It is a period of giving, with food as the accent. A period when we go out of our way to show to the not so well off members of our society that we care.

To support the project all year round, outside PYA MAVUNO DAY, Mwanzos are to set up food distribution centres; collecting good quality give away foodstuff that manufacturers donate, weeks before the food expires. These are given away before expiration, freely to the needy daily in society. Volunteers are employed to manage the centres under senior Myk supervisors. Volunteers get their pay in form of measured rations of the foodstuff being distributed. These centres are community service non-profit making projects and are not to be confused with the Business ISUSU projects of the Myk.

NANA-AYO

Nana-Ayo (meaning mother of joy) is our celebration of our female ancestors. It is the African equivalent of Mother’s Day. The celebration begins on the second Saturday of April in the evening, and continues on the following day, Sunday. The occasion is used specifically to honour the African woman’s peculiar radiant charisma, beauty, poise, and carriage; pay glowing tributes to our mothers, grandmothers and female ancestors, for proudly, confidently, and with regal dignity, overcoming endless storms, to give us life, a healthy, strong, and scintillating one at that. On the Saturday evening, members of the extended family tree, including in-laws, gather at a party to thank our women folks for being there for us through thick and thin.

The opportunity is used to shower special gifts on the female members of the family. First, all the male members of the family give carefully thought-out gifts to all the female members without exception. Then both male and female members overwhelm with gifts, the oldest and youngest female members of each branch of the family tree. For refreshment, fruits or fruit drinks are served generously on the occasion. All the fruits in season qualify. Music is provided mainly by singing and clapping, interspersed with story telling about departed female ancestors, particularly by the oldest female members in attendance.

On the Sunday, there is a community brunch laced with invocations and dirges by male elders, in honour of our female ancestors. Speeches are then made freely by inspired male members in attendance, to extol the virtues of our mothers, and highlight exemplary contemporary feats of our females generally. Two or three of the oldest females in attendance, give special gifts to the youngest female members, in a symbolic handing over of the mantle of dedicated motherhood to our new female generation.

AFRICAN LIBERATION DAY

Is observed on 25th May, with protest marches and rallies in groups, carrying placards, storming centres of government power and activities, to deliver protest documents and letters peacefully, on peculiar local or general grievances. After this, the protest groups congregate at designated centres, to make speeches and demonstrate solidarity with all oppressed and exploited peoples, particularly Blacks.

BABAWANA

Babawana is the African equivalent of Father’s Day and it means ‘Father of sons.’ It is celebrated from the Saturday evening before the third Sunday in June, and continues on the following day. The celebration is purposely to strengthen the role of African men as fathers and to impose on men that they have a communal responsibility in the rearing of their children. Babawana is also to augment the respect of children for their fathers and to induce male parents to live up to high expectations. The differences between Babawana and Father’s Day are as follows:

(1) Babawana does not directly honour living fathers, but rather is a celebration of fathers and grandfathers who have passed on.
(2) Babawana has a more spiritual and historical character than Father’s Day.
(3) Babawana seeks to address weaknesses in parenting by African fathers and the insincerity of African males in taking on child rearing roles.

As a Pan African festival, Babawana seeks to develop cultural and artistic expressions and values. There is no gift giving. Instead, each celebrant does painstaking historical research into the lives and times of their male ancestors and makes a presentation of their findings.

On the Saturday evening, members of the extended family tree, including in-laws, gather to make merry. Those present tell stories of their departed fathers (wazazi), and may play music or read passages that the departed may have composed, written, or enjoyed. Photographs and memorabilia of their departed fathers (and grandfathers as far back as available), are displayed on a table. Refreshments include kola-nuts, bitter kola, fruit juices and fruits. The oldest person in attendance pours libation to begin proceeding and breaks the kola-nuts and bitter kolas to pray for our ancestors and pass it around with elders receiving first share. Libation is poured to end proceeding.

On the following day, Sunday, there is a community brunch that involves a candle lighting ceremony by the youngest male in attendance. The candles are six in number, each, standing on a carved wooden platform spelling out the letters WAZAZI. A moment of silence is observed after every candle is lit. After the last of the six candles is lit and observed with a longer period of silence than the earlier ones, the oldest man in attendance shouts the word: WAZAZI. A young male takes the cue from that to break into a long dirge or poetry extolling the virtues of our ancestors.

After the dirge, the oldest man in attendance or Baba, raises a calabash full of select kola nuts above his head six times. Each time he raises the calabash above his head, the guests scream WAZAZI. After the sixth lift, a chorus of well-rehearsed male voices breaks into a medley of popular old songs (such as Negro Spirituals). The kola nuts are broken into bits and shared out, with elders in audience getting first share. The brunch continues after this and eventually ends as it began with libation.

SIKU SAWASAWA
(Rights Day)

Is on July 4th of every year. The day is used to honour all Blacks politically and racially incarcerated, and to assist them with money and other gifts, and pay them special community visits. As a follow up, Prison Mwanzos are to be set up and developed to encourage inmates to focus on Pan-Africanism, improvement of self-esteem, and to learn to set up, or actually set up, viable co-operative Myk business projects. The projects prepare the inmates for life outside prison that could legitimately and confidently sustain them comfortably as upright citizens and members of the Myk.

MALIPO

Malipo means reparation. Here we use it to denote the restoration of African cultural identity. There are two aspects of reparation – restitution and restoration. Usually, when we talk of reparation, we mean restitution for ill-gotten gains or reimbursement that those who enslaved and colonized Africans must give back in compensation for their plunder of our lands and people. Reparation also entails restoration of the de-humanized African identity. In under-developing Africa, Europeans did not only wrongfully plunder our human and land resources, they also deprived Africans of their native spirituality, languages, names and cultural idiosyncrasies. Europeans cannot repair the culture that they erased. Only Africans can reconstruct, re-instill, and develop this erased culture. Africans must make reparation to themselves.

This process is Malipo. So, there is an internal and an external aspect of reparation. The external is redress; the internal is Malipo.

The traditional view of reparation entails a bilateral process; the malefactor compensates the victim. What is new about Malipo is that it is a unilateral dynamic. Not two, but just one party is involved. Some individuals put their lives on hold when a wrong is done to them. They go off on a solitary journey for justice, sometimes going mad in the process. Other individuals mitigate their losses while seeking remedies. Malipo is mitigation. But don’t even think that Malipo lets the colonizer/enslaver off the hook. It does not.
The struggle for restitution is one in which all people of good intentions are welcome to participate; indeed, it is their duty to participate. However, Africans alone must struggle for restoration of erased African culture without the intervention of others. The Nineteenth Century was the century of Emancipation. The Twentieth Century was the century of De-colonization. Malipo will make the Twenty-first Century, the century of Reparation for African slavery and colonization or Malipo Kwa Utumwa.

Malipo is a call to action directed exclusively to African people. It is a demand for remediation of the Black Soul. Malipo is the struggle and process of internal reparation of the Black Soul, disfigured and contorted by generations of brainwashing. Malipo is not restitution; rather it is the prerequisite for restitution or external reparation.

Africans are mentally trapped in the psychology of white superiority, instilled by generations of Willie-Lynch type indoctrination. This indoctrination has structurally retarded our development. It has made it impossible for us to seek restitution for the wrongs against us because it has caused us to see ourselves through the eyes of our oppressors. However, at the present stage of African PEOPLE’S development, it is in our hands to break out of this debilitating mindset.

The object of Malipo is to emancipate us from mental slavery. This second emancipation begins to take place as we struggle for reparations for Africans wherever they live. However, Malipo is an end in itself. Our success at it, achieves the same goal, (with or without material restitution), redemption of the African peoples. But not only that, Malipo will make a substantial difference in addressing racial discrimination at the local level that we face daily – an evil legacy of slavery and colonization.

Every system of justice demands remedies for wrongs. There is no justice unless those who have committed wrongs recognize and acknowledge such wrongs. However, there can be no justice unless those who are wronged take the initiating steps to seek remedies. Clearly, the victims of wrongs have the greater responsibility in seeking justice. We who permit wrongs to be visited on our children and us are ourselves unjust. The struggle for fairness is the only real human virtue. There is no greater personal evil than failing to seek out and struggle against injustice. Malipo conditions our minds to seek justice, to think of our-selves as justice-seekers and to believe firmly, that our only societal responsibility is to get justice for all.

The transformation we are undergoing is a spiritual one that will restore our legacy as independent thinking people; one that will give us collective will. At this point, Malipo is not yet the quest for return of money and possessions. No, we are restoring ourselves as we gird up, for the struggle for reparations from those who have taken our legacy from us. First, we must know who we are – Africans. We must know our history. We must be aware of the present plight of Africans wherever they live. At the same time, we must know who our oppressors are. This is a them and us struggle; we are the victims and they the oppressors and their shills.

Malipo is posited on the fact that the demand for restitution will be made by a single voice representing an alliance of all Black African nations. So long as we are disunited as a people, so long as corrupt lackeys of former slave masters lead our nations, so long as we are not one for all and all for one – reparation will never come. Are we so foolish to think that reparation money will benefit us in Black countries led by corrupt leaders with Swiss Bank accounts?

They say that charity begins at home; we say that reparation begins with us. We must give reparations to ourselves first. We cannot deal with the inheritors of ill-gotten gains until we repair our screwed up condition. Malipo calls upon us as individuals to take three concurrent steps in preparation for the struggle for restitution. These steps are to produce a collective will and purpose:

* Self-purification – this step requires individuals to recognise their own complicity in letting historic wrongs go unsatisfied, and to be forthright and honest. To urge our leaders to be honest and open to share with those less fortunate, and to acknowledge our failure to act in seeking justice.

* Restoration of African cultural values. This step requires each individual to become familiar with African cooking, clothing, communal ways of life, languages, art, music and culture. It requires visiting African communities beyond our own neighbourhoods, confronting enslavement, reading African history, and developing community consciousness.

* Unification of African peoples – this step requires our joining the Pan-African Movement through, the Myk and urging our leaders, to become Pan-African and to form an alliance of Black African states and nations. African Unity must be broadened, fortified and invigorated.

An international army of justice seekers will emerge from Malipo. This Malipo Army will be comprised of dedicated Pan-Africans. Preparation for induction into this army will be done three times annually on New Year’s Eve, Emancipation Day, and Nakumbuka. Preparatory activities require individuals to publicly take steps to actualize the following Malipo activities and pledge:

• Join a Myk branch near you.
• Make contact with a leader in the struggle for reparations
• Read pages from the following books: The end of knowledge; Mhuri ye Kutanga: the philosophy of Pan-Africanism; the Secrets of the Ages; God is Black; The Black Agenda; Our Widow’s Mite and other available books on Pan-Africanism, regularly.
• View movies or video documentaries on slavery.
• Do self-study on the subject of reparations.
• Display artefacts of African culture in our homes and workplaces.
• Wear clothing or jewellery or carry a symbol of African culture always and proudly.
• Learn or compose songs or poetry on African reparations
• Tell friends and relatives about reparations and slavery.
• Cultivate Pan African friends from different countries.
• Meditate on the struggle for reparations for five minutes each day.
• Contribute a hundred units of your local currency to ZAWADI KWAFRICA – the fund for the establishment and running of the African World Bank (AWB).
• Support Black business and community efforts.
• Participate actively in Nakumbuka – the remembrance day ritual, and other Myk rituals and ceremonies.
• Renounce all oaths of loyalty to monarchies and institutions that enslaved and colonized African peoples.
• Join in demonstrations in support of African struggles.
• Resist proselytization of non-indigenous African missionaries.
• Assume an African name if your name is a slave name.

On the induction day, on 23rd August yearly, Africans gather at the location identified as the highest seat of government power in their city (parliament building, state houses, city halls), to perform the Malipo ritual. They are supposed to have taken steps to actualize the Malipo action plan and pledge in advance of the initiation into the Malipo rites and oath taking. The oath must be taken outdoors under the sky with bare head and feet. The novitiates are brought to the front of the congregation on the shoulders of well-wishers. They will take the following oath together:

In the spiritual presence of African ancestors,
In the presence of brothers and sisters gathered here
In the presence of Tu-SoS, the Eternal Spirit Force,
I (e.g. Kofi Kwame), pledge today
To dedicate the rest of my life, all of my days
To struggle for justice for Africa and Africans
Malipo kwa utumwa.

Following the oath taking, the initiates are invested with a cloth garment woven in Africa. Each receives a locket containing earth from a slave port on the African coast. The ritual has deep spiritual meaning. It is not easy to do because standing bare head and feet to take oath could expose one to unfavourable weather in Northern countries. This is a sacrifice in homage to our ancestors who endured the horrors of slavery and colonization. The Pan-African Movement says that this benison will transfigure the initiates into lifelong warriors for reparations.

To arrive at the 23rd August date, a lot of pressure was put on the UNESCO. UNESCO finally proclaimed August 23rd of every year as the International Day for the Remembrance of Slave Trade and its Abolition. The proclamation, referred to as 29c/Resolution 40, was adopted by the General Conference at its 29th session in Paris in 1998. They chose the date as a reminder of the uprising on the night of August 22 and the morning of August 23, 1791, in the Island of Santo Domingo, (now Haiti and Dominican Republic), that subsequently played a crucial role in the supposed abolition of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.

A release signed by the UNESCO Director General, Federico Mayor at the time said: “The silence surrounding the human tragedy of exceptional proportions, the consequences of which can still be felt today, makes 29c/Resolution 40 a particularly significant text.” This was vintage NAKUMBUKA language.

MAJALIWA NA-KUPENDA
(Gifts with love)

On September 1st yearly, members of the Myk give their old clothes, furniture and other similar items they no longer have much use for to the needy in society. This special day is set aside for individuals, groups, and associations, to give such items freely to the needy in their communities. Myk members are, however, to set up central facilities to collect freely, faulty factory products, and used ones from the public and Myk members, all year round, to give out freely daily to the needy, using the services of volunteers.
CATCHING THE SPIRIT

Drumbeat is the foundational cultural phenomenon of Black African people. This is why people of African heritage, living outside continental Africa, have maintained African rhythms as an essential expression even after centuries of estrangement from African musical idioms. In the Caribbean and the Americas, enslavement substantially blanked out African cultural forms of language, apparel, art, religion, and traditions. It is phenomenal, however, that on the plantations, whether Spanish, French, Dutch, Portuguese or English, the sole African idiom that was indestructible was the energy of the drumbeat.

Why is traditional rhythm so pervasive? It is because Drumbeat is the essence of Africanity. Without Drumbeat our people would have perished. Could we have survived enslavement, colonization, segregation, apartheid and neo-colonialism without Drumbeat? Was Drumbeat not the balm in Gilead to heal the wounded soul?

All ethnic groups have an affinity to rhythm. But Black Africans have developed families of Drumbeat not only essential to their culture but also to their very essence. Expressions such as ‘swing’ ‘jamming’ ‘grooving,’ ‘funk,’ describe the spirit of Drumbeat. Indigenous African religious rituals employ rhythms of Drumbeat and dance, but as Africans adopt non-African religions, their use of Drumbeat becomes less apparent in religious observance. Drumbeat is then relegated to entertainment and relaxation pastimes.

Christian and Islamic forms of religious expressions tend to discourage Drumbeat and body movement in their rituals. Colonized Africans, denuded of their languages, rather than use the oppressor’s language, relied on Drumbeat as their way of worshipping. The expression ‘soul’ to describe African music, expresses the spiritual nature and profundity of expression in such musical idioms. The steel drum and carnival are essentially expression of Drumbeat. There is an underlying spirituality in carnival festivals in the Caribbean and around the world. This spirituality is hidden or lost to most revelers who know not why they rejoice.

The spirit of carnival is rooted in African PEOPLE’S desire to be free. Drumbeat, the backbone and heart of carnival, is an expression of that freedom. Carnival has lost its spiritual meaning because of commercialization, equalization, and supplanting of indigenous African religion by European and Islamic creeds. The most distinctive and widespread contribution to world culture made by the people of the Caribbean in general, is the export of their rhythm patterns. Families of rhythms are rooted in the African soul. There are infinite numbers of rhythms – but the African leitmotif pervades most popular music in the world today.

Drumbeat is profoundly manifested in the tropics where melanin abounds. It is a function of eternal energy forces of the solar system and the universe. It is so basic that infants relate to rhythms even before they walk or talk. It is vital that we nurture and pass on to our children the love for and practice of African Drumbeat in its spiritual dimensions. All who are devoid of love of Drumbeat are lost souls.

We communicate best with the Ancestors and Supreme Drumbeat, when transported by African rhythm to ‘catch the spirit.’ ‘Catching the spirit’ is when one becomes ultimately in tune with the Drumbeat. Those who would know true ecstasy must feel Drumbeat. Do not resist. Your soul will reverberate to the cycles of rhythms and tune in to the swing of the Universe, the pulsating rhythm of things natural – bird songs, breaking waves, rain drops and the cadences of our very hearts for heartbeat is Drumbeat. Come face to face with the ‘Almighty Drumbeat.’

On the 1st day of October of every year, Africans all over the world assemble in mammoth carnival like gathering called ‘Catching the Spirit’ and connotes high spirits and generation of a great deal of excitement. The occasion is used to exhibit, parade, beat drums, ranging from the ancient or ancestral huge varieties (some Africans call these Gbedu Ogido), to the talking drums (Dundun Gangan), or the Bata, Sakara, or the modern jazz and reggae drums, and the latest sidekick banjo assortments.

Experts show off their drumming virtuosity individually and in group and in band formations, in a variety of performance permutations guaranteed to transport the carnival crowd to ecstatic heights to catch the spirits of our ancestors and to drum it loud and clear to the world that enough is enough, we are not turning our other cheeks anymore. Socca music predominates on the occasion.

October 1st is chosen deliberately to coincide with the Independence Day celebrations of the largest Black nation on earth, Nigeria. This is to encourage her to always remain united and be a shinning example of responsible Black leadership, and to serve as a catalyst of Black African Unity and defender of our collective rights. The ceremony opens with the pouring of libation, offering of kola nuts and incantations to the Eternal One and our ancestors, and ends with libation.

NAKUMBUKA
(I Remember)

Is fixed for November 11th of each year to remind the world of the slavery holocaust. On that day, while the West generally is honouring those who died in their First and Second World Wars, we use the day to remind them of what they did to us. For us, it is the day of the thousand masks, when we invade societies around the world with African masks. Thousands of masks representing the presence of our ancestors at the ceremonies. Our ancestors, who were deceived, tricked, kidnapped, stolen, enslaved, and tortured for centuries for no other offence than being Black.

Groups of Blacks, bound in heavy chains, with shackles on their feet. Some in mask, all of them, (men, women and children in African attire), marching on centres of government power, such as parliament buildings in White and Arab dominated societies, or Western and Arabian embassies where there are African governments. The marchers chant, moan and cry. They re-name their march-route Ujiji to Bwagamoyo, which was one of the slave routes in Tanzania, or use any other African slave route name.

The ceremony outside the centre of power or embassy is held at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. As the Remembrance Day 21 gun salute goes off in white dominated countries, or at exactly 11.00 hours in the countries with Black governments, the leader of the march raises his or her voice above the din to proclaim:

“They didn’t only steal our language; they obliterated our religion and invaded our thoughts. Today, we remember. We will continue the tradition of remembering our ancestors who brought us so far. Those who say Nakumbuka, are those of us who resist imperialism and are struggling for human dignity. Slavery has not ended because anytime we resist racism, the chains come back. Our ancestors went through all kinds of humiliation, and today we are still being humiliated. We must not be socialized into complacency. “We must continue the struggle against racism and injustice. We will no longer be asking for change, we will be taking it. There must be respect for Black lives.”

Others are then invited to make similarly inspiring speeches after which a symbiotic “removal of the chains” ceremony is to take place. On the day of the march, a memorial fellowship, in strong African tradition, is to take place from 9.00 a.m. at the Mwanzo, from where the group is to march through the designated route. Other activities of the day include displays and exhibitions of collections of old drawings of slaves in chains and leg irons, and contemporary and rare photos of Africa’s ills as a consequence of imperialism, at art galleries, city halls, and other similar facilities around the community.

Eurocentric history that is taught in schools today has failed to recognize slavery as an evil of great historical significance. European and American history has relegated slavery to just a minor aberration in the development of their world. It played and still plays major parts in the development of the USA, Canada and Europe generally, and their wealth has in large measure been created by the exploitation, for many centuries, of the African people and continent. If Europe and America recognize the role that Africans played and still play in their development, the present situation of African under-development would be quickly reversed.

Nakumbuka Memorial Day by all Africans around the world is to help ensure that no one forgets the Slavery Infamy, the Black holocaust. Blacks are to wear the Nakumbuka button instead of the usual poppy. The buttons are available at Mwanzos and the Secretariats of the Pan-African Movement.

KWANZAA

Is from December 26 to January 1, to celebrate family unity and empowerment. December 26, is to be observed every year as Ausar’s birthday and the beginning of the week-long Kwanzaa celebrations to usher in the African New Year. December 26, is a sacred occasion, as the day of repentance and preparation for divine judgment. It is observed with 24 hours wet fasting and an hour-long meditation for a fruitful New Year.

Kwanzaa is seven days long. It is already a popular ceremony, particularly among African Americans. Each day of Kwanzaa is devoted to the observance of one of the seven principles of the Nguzo Saba. These principles are UMOJA (unity), KUJICHAGULIA (self-determination), UJIMA (collective work), UJAMAA (co-operative economics), NIA (purpose), KUUMBA (creativity), and IMANI (faith). In the evenings the participants, dressed in African clothing gather to do libations honouring ancestors. They light one of the seven red, black and green, candles in a candlestick called a KINARA. One by one, they discuss the principle for that day. On the last day of the Kwanzaa, there is a feast called KARAMU with cultural performances, music and dancing. Several books have already been published on how to observe Kwanzaa.

National Secretariats of the Pan-African Movement and branch Mwanzos are free to recommend other holidays they feel should be observed and celebrated together, by the entire African family world-wide.

Charles C. Roach, the deputy leader of the Pan-African Movement and the Co-ordinator of the North American zone, wrote several poems and songs popularly used at Myk services around the world. He also developed specific celebrations and rituals for the Myk, including Babawana, Malipo and Catching the spirit. He designed Nakumbuka with colleagues.

Kwanzaa was created by Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor in the Department of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach, USA. The Spiritual Prince created the other celebrations.

RITES

African communities with ceremonies and traditions for the following activities are to continue with them, refined or embellished if necessary with Myk format. Others, particularly the African Diaspora and Mwanzos use the following ceremonies but could incorporate peculiar local flairs to satisfy ethos of immediate communities:

(a) Births
(b) Naming Ceremonies
(c) Marriages
(d) Rites of Passage (Boys)
(e) Irun-Mgbede (Preparation of girls between the ages of 5 and 18 for womanhood)
(f) Adult Rites of Recognition
(g) Deaths

BIRTHS

The Myk places great value on our children because they are our future. A future over which, fortunately, we largely have some control as a race. A popular Yoruba adage goes like this: “He who has a child owns the world.” Africans still hold strongly to this view although harsh modern living conditions have begun to soften their attitudes somewhat over the number of children to have. The most extreme example of birth control in the world appears to be in China where it is one couple to one child. In the Western world, the trend is towards two children to the family. Such institutional restrictions come against brick walls in Islamic countries and in Africa. For example, how is a restriction of two or three children to be shared in an African family of seven, ten or even twenty wives?

Myk’s position is that the number children per Black family should be kept to a manageable proportion to enable the children receive quality education and development to enhance the collective well-being of our next generation. The resources available to the Black family should determine the number of children to have.

On the issue of the number of wives that is ideal, modern trends, and economic problems have started forcing restrictions particularly on our educated younger generations, and we are not unhappy with this trend. We emphasize these points because the Myk frowns on the current increasing trend towards childbirth out of wedlock. Forced to make a choice, the Myk would consider the many wives to a husband situation as the lesser evil. Myk births, therefore, must be carefully planned and provided with balanced homes, wherever possible. No one can fly with one wing. The same goes for the home we give our children. The Myk recognizes the increasing problem of the single parent homes and abhors and totally condemns teenage pregnancy. The Myk will set up priority projects to provide single parents with extended family support, including surrogate parents, counseling, general mentoring to ensure that no Black child goes through adolescence without love and at least, community father and mother support and care.

Myk facilities and programmes will emphasize to our youths that fatherhood and motherhood are not for boys and girls. Myk will serve as a family substitute, taking close personal interest in every child of the Myk, nurturing and providing them with sound social values to save our next generation from total moral collapse.

Adults will be taught that pregnancies have serious psychological consequences and financial responsibilities. That because living conditions have become so competitive, testy and hard, the notion of the survival of the fittest is truer today than it ever was. That it is wrong to bring a child into a hostile, poverty stricken and hopeless home background. That no parent, in fact, has the moral right to bring a child into our present difficult circumstances without first ensuring that the child would have a better chance of survival and development than was available to the parent. Myk facilities will preach this truism and the responsibility of every parent as the first line of defense against our rapidly decaying moral values and life styles, brought about largely by the devastating effects of racism, slavery, colonialism, neo-colonialism, continuing economic exploitation, permissiveness, television, decadent Western culture, increasing social pressures, and environmental difficulties.

Africans are opposed to the kind of sex education the West is teaching our children at school. You cannot stuff up the children so immorally and expect them to behave morally. Overt romantic exhibitionism is not a virtue whether in public or at home with the African. Under no circumstance must a child catch the parent naked or making love. The story of the stork putting babies in mothers’ wombs is popular among Africans. Other African children believe that their mummies buy babies from the market. Africans are to continue to cleverly maneuver around these norms where youths are concerned.

Apart from what the Myk community and the immediate relatives can do to prepare the grounds for the unborn child, the mother to be has enormous influence on the physical and mental quality of the child she gives birth to. The kind of food she eats is important, and only natural (organic) foods can provide the proper muscles, organs and body, required by the (organic) baby in the womb.

The womb starved of natural foods, and clogged with processed, denatured (inorganic substances which some call foods, and which do nothing but harm to the organs and health of the mother to be), can only produce malnourished, retarded, sickly weaklings for babies. What you give is what you get. In general, the less, factory processed and fertilizer nurtured the foods the mother to be eats, the better it is for the health of the mother and the child in her womb.

Pregnancy makes women start to behave in a peculiar way. They might suddenly begin to develop deep interest in cooking, reading, gardening, but should try not to over do these and become so spoilt as to be a bore to others. Help yourself to regular exercises, not necessarily vigorous ones. Frequent walks might be sufficient for alertness and physical well-being. As a Myk member, of course, drinking of alcohol, using drugs (except those prescribed by qualified medical doctors and in the exact dosage and for the period prescribed), and smoking cigarettes are already taboos. These taboos, combined with a clean heart, clean thoughts, clean living, adequate rest, plus appropriate ante-natal attention, cannot fail to provide the ideal womb (or home) atmosphere for the baby fetus to blossom.
Form the habit of talking to your baby in your womb. Start to prepare the baby for the hard realities of life outside the womb. Tell the baby it is coming to the world to conquer and to achieve. Promise the baby the rainbow of your means, ambition and beyond. Give it your love and endearment. Your baby will start to kick and warm up to the optimistic and positive aura you are creating around it, from about half way through the pregnancy. Enjoy it. Tell it not to turn your womb into a football field but to have a good time all the same.

Don’t carry your pregnancy as if it is a burden. It is the most beautiful experience in a woman’s life and nature rewards her with radiance and enhanced femininity. Flout this; carry it with pride and elegance because the world belongs to you. Without you, human evolution would come to an end. Vibrate lively and happy aura all the time. Don’t allow your self to be angry because this poison’s your system and contaminates your baby.

Protect yourself against the cold or the mid-day sun and heat. Don’t go out late at night or in darkness, or to strange places. Avoid being by your self too often if you can help it. Don’t allow people you suspect to have negative aura or unwholesome character step across your legs. Anticipate their moves and clear your legs from their paths. If they step across your legs before you can withdraw them, find a place to go and spit immediately. If you behold an objectionable sight or deformity of any sort, pinch your stomach. That is to tell your womb to ignore the unsavoury sight and take nothing from it. Protect your child by tying an object such as a small pebble or stone to your dress or by wearing a stoned finger-ring, or stoned earrings, or a stoned broach, or a stoned hairpin. This is to stonewall all possible evil known and unknown against your person and child.

Take advantage of professional antenatal care to pre-empt and protect yourself against possible child birth complications. For a woman having her first baby, for instance, it is important to know in advance if her pelvis is in a sufficiently efficient state to allow the free delivery of her baby. If not, arrangements for caesarean delivery could be put in place well in advance of the delivery. It is important too, particularly from the seventh month of pregnancy, for the baby to be head-down in the womb to ensure easy delivery. The head position of the baby can be corrected through gentle and gradual weekly antenatal massaging sessions. The massaging required is different from those available at beauty saloons and is best performed by specially trained midwives. Many African grandmothers have a natural knack for and are adept at this job.

African mothers can usually tell the sex of their unborn child from about the tenth week of pregnancy. When a mother to be begins to eat well and more often from the tenth week of pregnancy, the chances are that she is going to have a male child. The female child tends to require less food and, therefore, makes fewer demands on the mother than the male child who needs all the food it can get for the formation of its relatively bigger bones and body.

Generally, sexual activities during pregnancy are dangerous and unhealthy for the fetus. African husbands, as a rule, do not bother their pregnant wives but they probably can afford this because they often have several wives. Since the emotional needs of the woman do not necessarily diminish during pregnancy, serious caution is advised against unnecessary excitation. Under no circumstances must anyone hit a woman, let alone for a husband to hit his pregnant wife. A slap on a pregnant woman’s ear could deafen her unborn child. A punch on the face could produce a blind baby, and a kick on the groin could lead to abortion or disablement.

Every child regardless of gender is a jewel to the African and all children are equal before our eyes. Every birth, therefore, calls for a special celebration.

There are variations in ritual methods and elemental between ethnic groups in Africa. For instance, while kola-nuts are used to welcome guests in parts of West Africa, other parts use it to reveal bereavement. The Myk’s format is only to emphasize a universal norm for Blacks world-wide. Africans with alternative elementals are to continue to use these and the names they call the respective ceremonies in their individual cultures and traditions for applicable Myk ceremonies.

THE WEEK BEFORE CHILD BIRTH
This ceremony is known as EBO (meaning to clear all obstacles)

A week before the anticipated arrival of the bundle of joy, (it does not matter if the timing is off by a few days, as long as it is genuinely assessed), the entire home the baby is coming to, including the baby’s crib, should be given physical and spiritual cleansing. The physical entails the kind of thoroughness that leaves no part of the home unattended to. The spiritual aspect is to fill the home with fresh flowers and flowery aroma. Tropical flowers preferred where possible to bring sunshine and warmth into the home. Mother to be then makes deep wishes on a coin placed in an open palm (to actually talk to the coin, and demand specific actions). Close the coin in the palm, circle the head with the closed fist containing the coin, seven times, and throw it where it can be picked up by passer’s-by. Best to do it in the evening. It can be done from any situation, including moving train or car. This is paying dues to pacify all known and unknown negative sources.

THREE DAYS BEFORE CHILD BIRTH
This is known as AZINII (meaning loving).

If the father to be is not already doing so, he should take on the responsibility of bathing his pregnant wife to reinforce intimacy, love, oneness, and sharing. The baby will cozy up in response to the mother’s chemical reaction to her husband’s care and attention.

DURING LABOUR
This is known as MBI (meaning pillar or tree of strength)

Some husbands may be too squeamish to watch childbirth but wherever possible, the Myk recommends that the husband stays close to help and to experience first hand, the birth of his child, to the limit of the regulations of the delivery clinic’s authorities. There is something magical and special, (almost impossible to put in words), between a wife and husband, when the wife is experiencing acute labour pains and cursing the husband for causing the problems. And the husband is holding on to her hands lovingly, soothing her with kind words, showing that he is suffering the pains too and that he cares very much for her. Nothing else in human experience is as exhilarating and touching. The support of the husband would give her the energy and courage she needs to push the baby out at the crucial time.

THREE DAYS AFTER CHILD BIRTH
This is known as AKOSE N’DAIYE (meaning to thank our ancestors)

In typical African tradition, three days after the child is born, an open house is declared for close family members and friends. With modern trends, when mother and child may or may not return home immediately after delivery, the Myk recommends that the open house should hold three days after the baby is brought home. A senior member of the family of the parents of the child uses the occasion to educate the parents on what the taboos of the extended family are. In some families, pork is not eaten or certain colours are not worn. There might be strong family traditions too to observe or teach the child by the parents because of certain circumstances of birth.
The other purpose of the open house is for family members, neighbours, friends, and the Myk community, to drop in, in their own time during the day, to fuss over the mother and child, give them unique baby care gifts, and openly rejoice with the family. Other close relatives and friends may have been visiting before the open house day, to render one domestic assistance or another. For example, grandmothers, sisters, friends, and neighbours, may have been taking turns to baby sit and so on. This should continue and does not distract from the significance of the open house day, when family and friends fill the house with gifts and joy for the baby and parents. Of course, there will be plenty of greeting cards too. Family of the baby to provide fruits for guests, particularly children of immediate neighbours and children accompanying parents to the open house. Guests are free to sing, dance and fill the house with joy on the occasion.

NAMING CEREMONY
Known as IBA-AFA

The naming ceremony is on the seventh day after birth. With hospital delays, the date could be counted from the day the child arrives home, unless the family wants to do it in the baby’s absence, which is acceptable but not advised.

The day before the naming ceremony, the mother braids her hair in rich elegant fashion to enhance her beauty and eminence as mother supreme, in celebration of her successful delivery. The husband gets a haircut and careful grooming to demonstrate discipline and readiness to be a virtuous father to his child.

On the morning of the naming ceremony day, just before sunrise, mother and child come out of the house to receive showers of blessings, (this is known as AMEFE). It is simulated by members of the household, neighbours, family and friends, who throw water on to the roof of the house to run down the roof like rain drops, on the mother and child standing at the receiving edge of the roof.

If the weather is too cold for this, the ceremony should not be over done. It should be brisk and business like to prevent the baby (who should be well wrapped up and protected against the weather any way), from catching cold. In the process of receiving the showers of blessings, if rain actually begins to fall, this is considered additional good omen for the child and the family.

The actual naming ceremony could be any time of the day. The parents of the baby wear African outfits. Items required for the ceremony are:

• Clean (drinking) water
• Palm oil (unrefined vegetable oil will do if palm oil is not readily available but palm oil is preferred
• Honey
• Salt
• Kola nuts
• Bitter cola
• Alligator pepper

All of these are to be displayed on a table centrally located in the reception hall and covered with material in African motif. The oldest person at the ceremony, a diviner, seer, or Baba from the Myk, pours libation with squirts of water from a glass, inviting the Eternal Spirit and our ancestors, to partake, support and bless, the ceremony. He then sings an impromptu dirge in praise of motherhood.

The mother figure of the occasion, the Nana from the Myk, or any other senior female, gets up to respond with her own spontaneous verse emphasizing that “one hand cannot wash itself clean. It takes two hands to make a good job of it.”

After her song, she moves to the display table, takes a tiny bit, (next to nothing really), from each of the ceremonial items, (starting with the water, with the tip of a finger), and passes them one at a time into the mouth of the new baby. Of course, the baby is likely to resent this bitterly with a bawl, which is a good sign of the baby’s ability to show emotions when occasions demand it. Bottled up emotions often lead to unfortunate consequences and African families encourage their siblings to open up and express themselves when in pain, to attract timely help. If the baby takes it all calmly, it is an indication of the baby’s strength of will that could be called upon in his or her uncertain journey through life.

All the items of the ceremony are natural elements and the taste factor is to ground the child, family, and guests, in the properties of the elements, and bond the extended family together. Water has no enemy. Palm oil oils the wheels of life. Honey is the sweetener of life and health elixir. Salt is life purifier and seasoning, used in moderation. Kola nuts are for long life and provide links with our ancestors and traditions. Alligator pepper is therapeutic and, therefore, enlivens, and Bitter kola, reminds us that life could be sweet and bitter.

After the baby has been gently cajoled to taste all the items one after the other, the mother performs her taste in measures under her control. This is followed by the baby’s father and then the guests, (everyone, starting with the water), one item at a time, allowing elders to satisfy themselves first. Requirements are picked up with the tip of a finger, (symbolically if preferred), and in the case of salt, for instance, could be just one or no grain.

The father then gets up from seat to give his child a name, which is received with enthusiastic applause. Because the name is the primary one for the child throughout life, the father takes time to explain why he chose the name, what it means and what he expects it to do for the child. The audience would warmly receive all of these. The mother is next to provide a name for her child and is expected to explain the meaning and significance of her choice of name to a warm applause.

Grandparents on both sides of the family, grandfathers first, then take turns to name the child and give reasons for the names they have chosen. Uncles, Aunts, relatives, and friends, who feel so inclined, follow them. Every name is expected to be explained, at least, in terms of the provider’s expectations for the child’s development and future.

All the names and explanations given should be properly documented or recorded, to be preserved for the child’s future inspiration and reference.
Normal party (music and dancing) follows the naming session, and while refreshments, food, etc., are being served, the guests take turns individually to go and greet the mother and child and present them with cash and other gifts, regardless of whether they have presented gifts previously. The purpose of the cash and gifts is to ensure reasonable provisions for the child’s welfare and assure the family of the support, co-operation, and love, of its extended family. No African child or person is expected to be alone and without a family in this world. Our legacy is to be each other’s best friend and helper, regardless of blood relationship, and this is the basic cosmology of the Myk.

MALE CIRCUMCISION AND CEREMONY
This is known as IKOLA

The African considers an uncircumcised male unclean and less of a man. Circumcision is carried out 21 days after birth. It should be performed by qualified medical personnel, or in a reputable medical facility to avoid complications.

Some of the child’s blood from the circumcision operation is collected with or allowed to drop (just a few drops), neatly on a clean piece of white cloth, or unused handkerchief, and kept, (preserved) specially, by the child’s parent. Close female relatives, female Myk members, and female friends of the couple, are invited home to share in the pain of the operation, and the joy of its potential healing success. This is the ladies day with the young man.

They use the opportunity of the gathering to demonstrate solidarity with the mother and child, singing, clapping and playing the shekere, (beaded laced gourds). Refreshments are fruits, fruit juices, and vegetables. Each guest takes turn to greet the child who is specially dressed up and cushioned in his crib to receive the fussing and attention on the occasion.

GROWING UP

Before the child takes first walking steps, which usually is within the first twelve months of birth, close attention of the mother to the child’s needs is critical. The child would need help in learning to sit, crawl, stand, and eventually walk, with strong prospects of hurts and falls. If the mother has to work, every free period she has must be spent in the company of the child, regardless of the quality of nursing assistance she might be getting from grandmothers, aunts, neighbours, friends and paid help.

The greatest needs of the child in early years are immunization against a variety of childhood diseases, and balanced nutritious diets about which details are obtainable from the Myk herbal clinics and health farms.

From about the age of two and a half years, the child becomes acutely sensitive to activities around him or her. The child begins to feel the need to be independent, to use the toilet with minimal help, feed self, put on electric light switches, television sets, etc. They need to be closely guided and protected against the dangers of hot pressing irons, electric plugs in wall sockets, not switching water taps off after use, not replacing telephone receivers properly, playing with sharp edged tools and so on.

They begin to form impressions from this age too, so parents need to be extra sensitive and to gently control the child’s pranks and possible negative influences from television and other sources. A child born in an environment of war is likely to grow up thinking that killing another human being is no big deal nor is it evil. The child born in the period of acute economic depression such as we are experiencing right now world-wide, is likely to believe that cheating, lying, and cutting corners in deals, are the only ways to survive. It is to protect, guide, and educate the child, against such negative influences that parents are expected to provide them with quality time.

Parents must strive to be their children’s role models through examples of hard work, and demonstration of honesty and other virtues. The parents must never be caught quarrelling with each other or any one else, by the child, and must create opportunities regularly to socialize as a family, by going out together to parks, theatres, concerts, shopping, exhibitions, and even work places, when possible.

The most important moral philosophy of the Myk is honesty and truth. The entire moral fabric of the Myk is built on the basic idea of honesty and truth, and the starting point for inculcating these virtues in our children is in the home, and from very early age. Parents must never stop insisting on their children being truthful and honest always, because Myk children or members must never lie, no matter the circumstance. To be a Myk member means to be honest and truthful. Therefore, when one lies and or is dishonest, one is denouncing ones membership of the Myk. This is one of the worst offences in the Myk.

Birthday parties are a must for the growing child because of the opportunity they provide the child to mix and relate with other children. Such parties also help observant parents to spot early deviant or anti-social behaviours in their child and to begin to correct these before it is too late.

AT AGE FIVE
Known as ODUN MARUN

At the age of five, the African family expects the child to prove that he or she is ready to begin to take on some responsibilities. The five year old African male child might surprise his parents by delivering a rabbit or other small animals of his hunt, to prove that he is growing up strong and reliable.

These days, opportunities to hunt down animals in urban centres are rare but five-year-old children can present their parents with work of art or craft that they have quietly and diligently spent time and thought to execute. In the alternative, the child might decide to take on the sole responsibility of cleaning the house, washing the dishes, or waiting on every member of the family on that joyful day.

Later in the day, to show appreciation for their child’s conscientiousness or feat, the parents in turn surprise the child with a secretly planned lavish gift and birthday party. A gift that helps advance the child’s demonstrated career interest, (such as a piano, tennis racket, trumpet, scientific instruments etc), might not be out of place on this occasion.

AT AGE 11-13
Known as EBUN

One of the birthdays between ages 11 and 13 years is used to gather more adults than youths, unlike other birthday parties for children that tend to feature more youths than adults. This special occasion is called EBUN and it offers the opportunity to strongly widen, guide and strengthen career horizons and encourage love for reading, staying in school, and taking special pride in our history and traditions. All adults attending the party must bring a book or set of book gifts each, along with any African fashion gift item possible. The books are expected to be about the history and traditions of Black people, and the specially demonstrated career interests of the birthday child. Better to co-ordinate book buying with the parents of the child to avoid duplicating book gift titles at the party.

At the party, libation is poured by Baba or the oldest person in attendance. Kola nuts, honey and bitter kola are freely served along with fruit juices. Each guest while presenting gifts, explains why the book or books were chosen and what the books are expected to do for the child.

Finally, the mother presents her gifts followed by the father. Both are expected to make inspiring speeches, pointing out the child’s good character traits and weaknesses, and how these could be improved upon. They also emphasize their expectations and readiness to sacrifice to give the child the best possible future within their means. A special gift could be promised the child, (such as a trip from Diaspora to Africa or from one African country to another), if he or she passes the next major examination at school in flying colours.

RITES OF PASSAGE
Known as MALEZI (meaning nurturing)

In African societies, age group programs are considered vital for the sustenance of ethnic values, cultures, traditions, and for the grooming of youths for responsible adulthood. The youth enters the age group schemes through rites of passage activities designed to foster the spirit of belonging, unique group identity and discipline. Rites of passage ceremonies often involve pre-admission interviews to establish expectations, personal goals limitations, and areas requiring special training attention by the new entrant. No application is rejected because the scheme is compulsory for all children qualified by age in the community.

The children are taught special skills and drills, in preparation for their admission ceremonies, which usually require the children to turn out in neat, attractively designed, group identity uniforms and kits. They take oaths of allegiance, make pledges, show off learnt behaviours and skills, in solo or group acts of marching, drills, cultural displays, to entertain an audience made up largely of proud family members, friends, and an admiring public. Teaching techniques emphasize group activities, workshops, discussions, lectures, case-study sessions, out-door activities, including camping, retreats, and visits to public and other facilities of interest and or of historical importance.

The focus of all the activities is to root pupils in African traditional norms and cultures. The children are, therefore, taught some popular African languages, games, dances, etiquette, and encouraged to imbibe African values, habits, fashion styles, and to take pride in their African heritage. Programmed visits to different African cities and countries are regularly arranged for members.

Periodic outings and festivals are staged (known as ODUN-EGBE festival), to show their parents and the public at large, the progress they are making as members of their groups. Each group has its code of conduct and regulations, special anthem, flag, mode of greeting, and other rituals that give the group a distinct personality and image. Special clubs such as dance, choral, drama and cultural troupes, debating, literary and historical research activities, could have mixed male and female age group temporary joint memberships; otherwise, boys’ and girls’ groups are separated because of peculiar gender training requirements.

The boys’ groups are handled mainly by adult male mentors who serve as surrogate father figures. The age group determines the emphasis placed on presentation, format and content of subjects. The children are taught to respect and obey their parents and constituted authorities. To respect elders and show courtesy always. To be humble, hard working, helpful at home and to take school education seriously.

They are encouraged not ever to contemplate dropping out of school because the consequences of such an action are grave and could mar or retard their progress in life. They are taught to acquire high school education and if possible graduate from or combine university education with full-time careers in singing, sporting and similar careers so that they would be the best there are in their fields.

They are taught not to allow racism to dampen their spirits and enthusiasm to achieve and excel. They are told that there is a whole wide world of Black s out there rooting for their success, therefore, their career opportunities can flower outside their exploitative environment if need be. They are shown the negative effects of joining bad companies, indulging in anti-social habits, using drugs and alcohol. They are taught to control their emotions and passions, because there is a correct and legitimate time for every thing. They are taught how to relate to their parents, elders, and others in society, and how to take care of their wives, husbands, and children, in the future. All the children are taught the art of self-defense from very early age, regardless of gender. In Myk, boys are grouped separately as follows:

FIVE TO TEN YEARS AGE GROUP
This is known as the EGBE-EWE GROUP

Their training emphasis is on keeping them busy and from mischief. Encouraging them to love school, learning, and reading. They play hard too and enjoy themselves but in a subtle educational way. They are expected to design and execute special creative projects to be publicly displayed periodically to advertise their progress and inspire them to higher heights. The group usually adopts an African name or title that captures the essence of the group members’ collective ambition.

TEN PLUS TO EIGHTEEN AGE GROUP
This is known as the EGBE-ODO GROUP

Apart from the emphasis on training, this age group forms itself into project committees to raise funds and execute public and community schemes that stamp their year’s contributions on the social calendar of their society. They might decide, for instance, to engage in the cleaning of a notoriously debased neighbourhood, or to beautify some parks or public places. They might want to help refurbish old PEOPLE’S homes, dig a well in a village that lacks adequate drinking water, plant trees to fight desert encroachment, build a community centre by voluntary labour, start a radio station or community newspaper.

There is no limit to the number and variety of projects the group can embark on each year, as long as the end results of their efforts improve the well-being of their immediate society and beneficiaries. The group is to adopt an African name every year to capture the attributes of the group’s planned public activities for the year. Thus, the society at large remembers every year’s project by its special African name.

At the end of every year, the age group throws a ‘come and see what our group achieved in our community this year, party.’ The community elders, institutions, government agents and others use the opportunity to thank the group, award scholarships, make job offers, and other assistance to help the children’s careers along.

The girls’ group are as follows:

IRUN-MGBEDE
Teenage female groups are called Irun-mgbede.

Principally, the groups prepare girls for womanhood. They have mainly female teachers, mentors and mother figures. The age group determines the emphasis placed on subject content and method of training. Generally, the girls are taught how to grow up gracefully and as ladies, and how to comport themselves, particularly in public. Classes are conducted on how to seat with crossed thighs, talk to people in a variety of situations, walk with poise and smartly, and dress for different occasions.

The girls are schooled in the rudiments of house keeping, food preparations, methods of serving and other domestic chores. They are taught personal hygiene and body care, female health issues generally, and preparation for puberty. The need to remain a virgin before marriage is emphasized as a virtue and great honour to the girl, her husband, her family, and the society at large, by strengthening moral values. The Myk is totally against teenage pregnancy because it disgraces the family and creates serious problems for society and the young mother to be, whose career prospects, more often than not, gets abruptly terminated, forcing her to become a liability to society, herself, her child and her family.

The girls are taught how to prepare for marriage. Using the head and heart rather than the later alone in relationships, particularly when they are about to take the plunge into marriage.
The Myk favours marriage that takes place after the couple’s university education, and if possible when both have assured professional or career prospects. The need not to rush into marriage is, therefore, emphasized in the Myk. Long courtship does not imply forever. From two years up might be necessary time for the lovebirds and their families to investigate background and history of each other and establish compatibility potentials. Families with criminal or mental illness history, for instance, obviously would be a mismatch for the well brought up Myk damsel.

Once married, Myk members are expected to stay in that marriage. They must work hard at it to make it work. The importance of patience, tolerance and the need for give and take is emphasized in the Myk. Our girls are also taught what constitute proper relationships with their parents after marriage and with their husbands, in-laws and children in marriage.

FIVE TO TEN YEARS AGE GROUP
Known as EWE IRUN MGBEDE

The training emphasis for this group is on library use, reading, cultural activities, and visits to public institutions of interest, apart from the thorough grounding in African traditions and cultures. They are expected to mount an exhibition of their works regularly to impress their parents and community about their developmental progress.

TEN PLUS TO EIGHTEEN YEARS AGE GROUP
Known as ODO IRUN MGBEDE

This group is expected to plan and execute at least once a year, the most exciting, colourful and uplifting cultural festival in the community. They co-opt the best in all the age groups, both male and female, into events and try yearly to surpass previous ones in creativity, flair, packaging and so on. Each festival is given a peculiar African name for historical reference. It is supposed to be so grand, visitors come from far and near to be part of it, and career scouts and sponsors look upon it as the ultimate market place for their professional hunt each year.

IVIE FESTIVAL
Precious Beads Festival
The Mwanzo branch is to organize the IVIE festival every year to honour and help advance the careers of all the University or higher institutions’ graduates (male and female), of the community during the year. Obviously, they would be assembled from far and near as long as they have roots in the community or their parents reside there.

All graduates receive gifts, career advancement assistance, special commendations and awards from the Myk community. Special attention is drawn to those who, apart from receiving their degrees and diplomas, have won school awards, honours, achieved high marks, were prefects, student union leaders, outstanding athletes, etc. Parents of all graduates are also honoured for giving the community such brilliant achievers, and our future, such great hopes.

MARRIAGE

In the African tradition, marriage is a family affair. The African marries into a family, which makes the relationship difficult to break arbitrarily. The families on both sides of the intending couple must be involved from very early stages of courtship.

Children able to share their intimate thoughts with their parents benefit from the parents’ mature experience and advise because parents are supposed to be the most caring and honest people about their children’s welfare and future.

There are certain issues a child can more intimately share with either the father or the mother, of course, but for this to happen, an atmosphere of trust, openness and sharing, must first be created in the home by the parents. When parents relate to their children on a one on one basis and as a family, parents become the child’s best confidants and friends.

A child brought up in the tradition of the Myk would be humble, upright, respectful, and yet be able to freely discuss and exchange ideas with his or her parents. In such relaxed, intimate and happy family environment, suggestions can be freely offered, debated and tested before the intending couple takes the wrong steps.

Myk parents restrict courtship to platonic relationship until the first day of honeymoon. This rule applies to marriage below the age of University or equivalent, first graduation. Male child reported and established to have violated the chastity age rule, forfeits the right to Myk marriage and other rights the Mwanzo branch might decide to impose.
IMORA
(Meaning verbal request or getting to know)

If both parents approve of the relationship and it is to lead to marriage, the family of the male in the courtship, sends emissaries to the family of the female in the courtship, to make their intentions known. They continue sending emissaries at every opportunity to demonstrate strong family commitment and honest intentions in the matter.

IKU-AKA
(Meaning knocking for attention)

One year to the anticipated wedding date, the family of the male lover, writes a formal letter of proposal to the family of the female lover requesting approval for her hand in marriage to their son.

AAGBA
(Meaning, we reject the proposal)

The family of the female lover, made up of close relatives on both her father and mother’s sides would then meet to formally consider the letter of proposal. If their verdict is to reject the proposal, (this is called AAGBA), they would transmit this back to the family of the male lover and that usually would be the end of the matter. It means that the female lover’s family would not support, sanction, or participate, in the particular marriage proposal in any form.

AAFE
(Meaning, we accept)

If their verdict is ‘Yes’ (called AAFE), then they would agree a meeting date with the male lover’s family, to take place in the home of the female lover’s family. This first formal meeting between both families, brings together four families actually. These are the relatives from the father and mother’s sides of both the bride and groom to be.

At the meeting, family of the groom to be would formally verbally ask (this is still IMORA) collectively, for the hand of the other family’s daughter in marriage to their son. They would accompany their request with a variety of quality gifts and refreshment items. Speeches would be made and the family of the bride to be would confirm their acceptance of the marriage proposal and the gifts. A date would be agreed for the engagement ceremony, which usually should be not later than six months before the wedding date.

IDANA
(Engagement ceremony)

The family of the bride to be would present to the groom to be family, at the AAFE meeting where the engagement date is fixed, a list of items to bring to the engagement ceremony. The items include:

(1) A token amount in currency notes in the relevant national currency, i.e. in Nigeria, naira, in Britain, pound and in the USA, dollar. This is to be presented in an envelope. It is not a dowry because no value can be put on the head of a precious daughter. It is known as WARUESE. It is used by the parent of the groom to be, to show appreciation for the love, care, and great expense the parent of the bride to be, lavished on their daughter to make her so highly desirable, and to prepare her for the joyous occasion.

(2) A packet or small bag of salt to purify and season the union.

(3) Kola nuts (a dozen), to confer longevity and invoke the blessings of the Eternal Spiritual Force and of our ancestors on the union.

(4) Bitter kola (a dozen), for the couple to grow old in the union and to remind them that life could be sweet and bitter.

(5) Corn (a basket full), for fertility and successful family harvest.

(6) Honey (a large jar or bottle), the health giver and life sweetener.

(7) Yams (a dozen large tubers), for the union never to suffer hunger.

(8) Fabrics (unsown bales of African design materials), by special request from the female members of the bride to be family. This is to keep the potential female in-laws happy and co-operative.

(9) Cash gifts (in envelopes), to the elders male and female and to all the immediate female members of the bride to be family to guarantee minimum discord.
(10) Water, clean and fresh, to be used for libation by the oldest male member of the bride to be family, to open and close the ceremony and invoke the Eternal Spiritual Force and our ancestors’ presence and blessings.

On the engagement day, a senior male member of the groom to be family presents all the above items to the bride to be family with a speech confirming how happy they are about the union of the two families. A senior member of the bride to be family accepts the ceremonial items and gifts with appropriate speech.

The senior member, in public view, then opens the envelope containing the token amount (WARUESE), from the other family. Takes one note out of the envelope and returns the rest of the money in the envelope along with the envelope, to the senior male presenter from the groom’s family with the following words.

“We have taken our share (shows the one note taken out of the envelope to the guests or audience), the rest is for your family to take care of our two children getting married.” The young members of the bride to be family put away the gift items to be shared and used later by the bride to be family. The space is thus cleared for joint family banter and revelry using refreshments specially provided for the occasion by the groom to be family.

WAKA
(Mother’s lament)

On the eve of the wedding day, mother of the bride to be makes up songs all day, lamenting the imminent pains of loosing her precious daughter, a special jewel and pet, nurtured with passionate love through hard and good times. She will always miss her warmth, sweet companionship, so she had better bring her a grand child soon to ease her pains.

EKUN IYAWO
(Daughter’s lament)

In the morning of the wedding day that the daughter is supposed to move out of home finally, she responds to her mother’s songs with impromptu songs of her own. Weeping (real tears), over having to leave her beloved mother that gave her life, wonderful, supportive father, intimate family and the home that has meant so much to her all her life.

MASUKUN
(Don’t cry my love)

The father goes to her to console her and give her courage with sweet words; hugging and planting a warm, loving ‘daddy’ kiss on her forehead. Daddy then gives her a surprise, rare, precious, personal gift to serve symbolically as the umbilical cord between her and her parent.

AHENFLO
(Myk’s Wedding Ceremony)

Asho-oke or similar material (i.e. woven African fabric) is a popular wedding fabric in the African world. The bride, bridegroom, maids, and male attendants, all use Asho-oke to sew their outfits.

The bride’s outfit consists of Buba, Iro, and Gele, made out of predominantly light blue (for love), Asho-oke. She wears several layers of beaded necklace, beaded bangles and also decorates her hair stylishly with beads.

Her hair could also be the Rasta style or any other creative, unique African hairstyle or could be lavishly braided or richly collected and piled elegantly on her head like a deep, robust crown of hair, making her look like the famous regal Queens of Edo kingdom. This Queen’s hairstyle is called OKUKU. The beads the bride wears are of the expensive variety, maroon in colour, and known as IVIE.

The maids are divided into two groups, i.e. junior and senior maids. The junior group comprises of boys and girls aged between 3 and 10 years and numbering 12 to 20. They are called OMO ODODOS (flower children). The OMO ODODOS wear whitish Asho-oke for purity and innocence. They each carry a bunch of attractive, colourful, flowers, including the Nyanyar leaves (popular in Ghana), which Africans use to attract success. They are also lavishly beaded.

The senior maids are called OSINGINS and are all girls 10+ to unmarried 25. There are between 12 and 20 of them. They wear predominantly yellow and purple Asho-oke, indicating warm, ripe passion. Their outfits are identical in design to that of the bride and they too are richly beaded.

The bridegroom’s Asho-oke is mainly green in colour, suggesting agriculture and industry. It is sewn into Agbada (top), Buba (large shirt), Shokoto (trouser), and Fila (cap). The cap is made out of the same material as the rest of the bridegroom’s outfit and worn with the top or tail compressed on the head and flapped teasingly to the left or right hand side of the head. This is to say, “I am in charge here.”

The male attendants (are called KUTUKUZAS) and are aged 10+ to unmarried 30 and numbering between 12 and 20. Their outfits are similar in design to that of the bridegroom but darkish-red in colour to suggest towering but controlled masculinity and aggression.

When a group of people who are mostly non-relatives of the celebrants wear outfits made out of identical fabric and colour, (could be Asho-oke or any other fabric), it is called Asho-egbe. Therefore, the maids and male attendants are wearing collectively, Asho-egbe.

When a group of relatives’ friends or people do the same thing, it is called Asho-ebi. For example, family on the mother’s side might want to distinguish their group (in the way they dress on the occasion) from the father’s side or between the bride and the groom’s families or even groups within family groups. What each or all of these groups wears (despite the variety between groups), is collectively called Asho-ebi.

The bridegroom arrives at the Mwanzo premises with his attendants, at least 45 minutes before his bride. After parking their cars, the bridegroom and his attendants assemble in the courtyard of the Mwanzo. If the weather does not permit, they can assemble under the main porch of the Mwanzo and enter straight from there.

The bridegroom walks majestically, like the Prince charming that he is for the day, surrounded by his attendants, all looking elegantly turned out. They march, gyrate, and swagger to elevating tunes of the KHAKAKI trumpets. The KHAKAKI is a very tall, slim, Hausa trumpet, used in heralding the approach of a king (Emir), in Northern Nigeria. Between 3 and 7 Khakakis are required, for leading the bridegroom’s group into the Mwanzo.

At the Mwanzo’s main entrance, everyone touches the African sand (EDUN-ARA), before entering the hall. The Khakaki men, blowing triumphantly to set the atmosphere inside the hall musically ablaze, enter the Mwanzo first, followed gracefully by the bridegroom’s attendants. As the bridegroom takes his first step into the Mwanzo, three GANGAN (talking drum) players emerge from within the Mwanzo to welcome the bridegroom and his attendants, and usher them, marching backwards and drumming profusely, to the front seats in the hall. The guests or audience at that very moment too, rises to receive the Prince of the occasion. Only the Mwanzo’s senior officers and elders may remain seated during such occasions.

The Gangan and Khakaki players lead the group slowly through the middle of the hall to the front row seats facing the dais. There, the bridegroom sits in the middle of the front row chairs to the right hand side of the hall with his escorts all sitting to his left and right hand sides.

At the very moment when the bridegroom sits, the Kuimba Kundi (Myk’s music group), kicks off a frenzied medley of African musical classics. This serves as command for the audience to sit, and the Gangan and Khakaki musicians to stop playing. Kuimba Kundi uses the occasion to display individual virtuosity on a variety of African musical instruments. Heavy drumming sounds dominate this session with the audience happily singing along and dancing on their seats.

Twenty minutes into the Kuimba Kundi’s session, OMO ODODOS, enter the Mwanzo from the main entrance singing, dancing and generally enjoying themselves. Kuimba Kundi stops playing immediately the Omo Ododos emerge at the main entrance of the Mwanzo. Each Omo Ododo carries a lively, fresh, attractive bunch of flowers.

Members of the audience receive the Omo Ododos with loud ovation and join in the singing and dancing from their seats. When the Omo Ododos get to the dais, they put on a special display of dancing and singing, showing off individual skills particularly of their youngest members.

In the meantime, the bride’s team has assembled in the courtyard of the Mwanzo, possibly in the opposite direction from where the bridegroom’s group started out. If the weather does not permit this, the group could start out from under the entrance porch of the Mwanzo.

The bride, looking resplendent and royal like a Princess, is encircled by her equally attractively attired maids (OSINGINS), who are singing, dancing and shaking the SHEKERE (bead laced gourd). Each maid has a Shekere.

The Osingins enter the Mwanzo hall before the Princess of the day. As the Princess steps into the Mwanzo hall, the audience erupts in spontaneous euphoria, standing, clapping, and joining in the singing and dancing. At that point too, the Omo Ododos stop singing and dancing and take their seats on colourful African mats laid on the floor towards the back side of the dais.

The bride’s train sings and dances its way slowly through the ecstatic audience reception. The bride’s train finally settles in the front seats to the left-hand side of the hall. As the bride sits, surrounded by her maids, all sitting, the audience also sits.

The maids stop singing and dancing while the Kuimba kundi takes over, moving from their seats to the middle of the dais to display their musical expertise for 15 minutes. Flutes, bells (agogo) and shekere dominate this music session. An elder comes forward to pour libation, inviting our ancestors to bless the special occasion.

Nana or a senior female member of the Mwanzo then steps forward and invites the bridegroom by name to join her on the dais. Nana then formally introduces the bridegroom by name to the audience as follows: “(Use full name of bridegroom), standing by me here,” touches him,” tells me he wants to get married. To get married, he must have a special lady in mind. There are so many beautiful, eligible, desirable, damsels here today so (use full name of bridegroom), I want you to show me who among them you want to marry?”

As the bridegroom heads in the direction of his bride, he is checked, disturbed, prevented by a crush of bridesmaids, taking turns to offer themselves. He receives them with affection and moves on, not with aggression, but laughing and showing profound respect for the efforts of his beautiful distracters.

Even in front of his bride eventually, before he can touch her, many more maids throw themselves at him to confuse him and shield his bride from him. When he finally succeeds in touching his bride’s hand, he receives a loving welcome smile from her and a loud ovation from the audience, trumpeters, and drummers.

The dialogue that follows is to be adapted to suit the reality of the situation at the time of the wedding ceremony, especially as it concerns physical and other attributes of the wedding couple.

Nana:
(While the bridegroom is still on his feet, holding on lovingly to an arm of his bride who is sitting. (Use the full name of bridegroom), look at (use the full name of bride), properly. Is she the one you really want to marry?”

Bridegroom:
“Yes Nana.”

Nana:
“But you can see she is not the prettiest woman in the world. Look at her carefully. Her teeth overlap. Her legs are not well shaped. Her fingers are stocky. Her face is round and freckled. She is short and fat. Is she the one you really want to marry?”

Bridegroom:
“Yes Nana, she is the bride of my dream.”

Nana:
“You mean you accept her with all her faults?”
Bridegroom:
“Yes Nana, I do.”

Nana:
“Even though she walks as if she has sores on the soles of her feet? See, her eyes are narrow. Her nose is too small. Are you sure you are not making a mistake?”

Bridegroom:
Still holding on to his bride lovingly. “I am positive she is the one I want to marry.”

Nana:
“With all her physical faults, what guarantee do we have that you would not abandon her, start treating her badly, start flirting once you meet another woman you consider to be more beautiful or something?

Bridegroom:
“I am absolutely satisfied with (bride’s full name used), and no other woman can replace her in my heart. I really do love (full name of bride used), with all my heart. She is everything I crave for in a woman. I will love (full name of bride used), passionately until my dying days.”

The audience responds to that remark with a warm and enthusiastic applause.

Nana:
“Now that you have so many witnesses to your confession that (full name of bride used), will be the only love of your life, bring her here to the dais with you. We all want to see this great heart-throb of yours.” The bride follows the bridegroom to the dais looking a little shy while Kuimba Kundi revs up musical intrigue to heighten the love charged atmosphere. The audience responds enthusiastically, clapping. In the meantime, Baba has joined Nana on the dais.

Baba:
Turning to the bride (full name of bride used), “so you know (full name of bridegroom used)?

Bride:
(Smiling and looking very happy), “Yes Baba.”

Baba:
“You heard everything (full name of bridegroom used), said. Are you convinced that he is sincere?”
Bride:
“I am convinced, Baba.”

Baba:
“And you believe he loves you?”

Bride:
“I am certain he loves me, Baba.”

Baba:
“What about you, do you love him?

Bride:
“I love him with all my heart, Baba?”

Baba:
“But you know that (full name of bridegroom used) is not the richest man in the world. He does not have a house or a car. I don’t even think he has many good clothes to wear yet. He only recently picked up a job and the pay is not that exciting, I hear. He will have to do two jobs to make ends meet at home. Do you want to go through such hassles with him?”

Bride:
“I do very much, Baba.”

Baba:
“I don’t think you understand me well enough. (Full name of bridegroom used), could loose his job tomorrow or come home suddenly with no pay. Things might begin to get really rough for him, after you have married him. Are you going to abandon him then? Call him a stupid, irresponsible man and follow another man?”

Bride:
“I will never abandon (full name of bridegroom used). When things are rough for him, they are rough for me too. We are half part of each other. We would need each other the most during such trying times. I will stand by him through thick and thin to find solutions to our problems.”

Audience applauds the bride’s remarks enthusiastically and with positive loud comments.

Baba:
Turns to the audience. “I think these young chaps here really do love each other or what do you all think?”
Audience screams: “They love each other.” Overwhelming comments: “Marry them, we approve.” “They would make a happy and successful married couple.”

Baba:
Turns to the young couple. “You obviously have a lot of supporters here. Everyone is rooting for you two to get married. Everyone is convinced you would do everything possible to make a success of it if we marry both of you. What do both of you have to say to that?”
Bridegroom:

“I am happy and I promise here and now that I will do everything in my power to make a success of this marriage. I will not let you my supporters down, ever. I promise this, with all my heart and in the name of my entire family members.”

Bride:
“This marriage will be for ever. I will work hard to make a success of it. I will keep this public vow in front of me always. I will never let you down. That is my promise to you all in the name of every member of my family.”

The audience receives the promises with enthusiastic applause and favourable loud comments.

Baba:
“Now that both of you have assured us of your determination to get married and make a success of it, you have left me with no option in the matter. But this is not a task for me alone to perform. You are marrying into a family. You are marrying into a community. You are marrying into a culture and a tradition.
All of us, your families, our Myk community, everyone here today, have a stake in your marriage success. It is with great pleasure, therefore, that I invite both your families to come to the dais to assist us in this life long journey you have both promised to embark upon.”

Representative members of the couple’s families move on to the dais with each family group standing besides the parents, sitting behind their child of the marriage. Audience welcomes the development, with enthusiastic applause.

Baba:
“You are very lucky children to have your family members behind you on this great occasion in your young lives. I assure both of you that the Myk community is fully behind you too. With that assurance, I now call on (full name of the bridegroom used), to put the Myk’s marriage golden ring on the finger and golden watch on the wrist of your wife.”

Audience warms up enthusiastically to the successful execution of the bridegroom’s assignment, making happy favourable comments.

Baba:
(Full name of bride used), “can now put the Myk’s marriage golden watch on the wrist of your husband.” As the bride executes her assignment, Kuimba Kundi, the trumpeters and all, erupt with delirious musical rendition (a short piece) that inspires everyone in the audience to clap, sing and dance on their seats.

Omo Ododos:
The youngest of the Omo Ododos, walking daintily, almost falling, steadied and helped along by Nana not to spill the calabash of honeycomb she is carrying. She reaches the front of the newly weds and offers them the calabash with its contents. The bridegroom lovingly scoops the child up immediately from her feet, with her calabash and all, to the delight of the audience.

Baba:
Bride’s new full name used), “take a honeycomb from the
calabash and feed your husband.”

Bride:
Happily picks a honeycomb from the calabash and feeds the husband devotedly.

Baba:
(Bridegroom’s full name used), “now is your turn to feed your wife.”
Bridegroom:
Hands the honeycomb baby to Nana. Picks a honeycomb from the calabash and feeds his wife with great affection.

That done, the audience breaks into a celebrative orgy, throwing off inhibitions to freely express their joy through songs and dancing.

Baba:
When the euphoria dies down, says to the newly weds while hugging them both together. “May the honey you have just shared sweeten your marriage into ripe old age.” In the meantime, the honeycomb baby has returned to join her group at the back of the dais.

Baba:
“It is now my pleasant duty to invite the family of (new full name of bride used), to give her away in marriage to the family of (full name of bridegroom used).”

The oldest person or spokesperson or father of the bride standing, holding the hand of the bride, addresses the groom’s family as follows: “Although our children here are old enough to get married, they are still too young to know about all the difficulties of life.” Turns to the spokesperson or father of the groom. “You, like myself, have more experience of life than these children getting married here now do. That is why I am handing my daughter to you and your family rather than to the young groom (full name of groom used).”

“Your family is marrying into my family and mine into yours. We want your family to take special care of our daughter as you would your own daughter. She is young, inexperienced but ready to be corrected and to learn. She has been well brought up. She has had a happy home, a good home, a caring family background. You didn’t pick her up helpless and destitute. She, of her own free will, decided to become part of your family. Don’t treat her like a pauper or like someone you picked from nowhere, just because she has agreed to be a member of your family and to bear your family name. She now answers your name with pride. Don’t make her feel at anytime, that she does not belong to your family because she is one of you now. She has our full support and blessings to join your family. On behalf of members of our families, I hand over our precious daughter (new marriage name of bride used), to your families.” He steps forward and makes the bride sit seven times (with the entire audience enthusiastically joining in the loud counting), on the lap of the leader (or father), of the groom’s family.

In the meantime, the mother and other female relatives of the bride may be wailing or emotionally upset and unable to control their feelings and pains of loosing their daughter. On the other hand, they might be singing, dancing and enthusiastically demonstrating their joy for the happy occasion.

The leader of the groom’s family robustly and warmly hugs the bride and while holding on to her lovingly, gets up to say:

“This is a great day for our families. We have looked forward to this day with a great deal of enthusiasm. A lot of preparatory work went into this happy occasion and we are very happy it has turned out so well for all of us. (Bride’s married name used), is now one of us and we are very honoured and proud of her. We promise we will look after her as we would our own daughter. She would never have cause to regret becoming part of our family.” At this juncture, the Omo Ododos invade the newly-weds with Nyanyar leaves. While this is going on the newly-weds are led to a side table to sign their marriage certificates, witnessed by their parents and Myk elders, amidst heightened audience jollying by singing, dancing and clapping. After the signing ceremony, a Myk elder steps forward to pour libation to thank our ancestors for the successful ceremony. A Khakaki trumpeter blows a sharp haunting sound that serves as cue for the maids to begin to prepare to lead the newly-weds out of the Mwanzo.

The Omo Ododos dance and sing to form the advance party to lead the newly-weds out of the Mwanzo. They continue to throw Nyanyar leaves on the path leading out of the Mwanzo. The Omo Ododos are followed by a colourfully mixed group of maids and male attendants, singing, dancing, shaking the shekere, blowing the trumpets and playing the talking drums. A boisterous and memorable spectacle is thereby formed.

The newly-weds, follow immediately behind their maids and attendants. Behind them, come their family members and well-wishers. As the newly-weds step out across the Mwanzo entrance, Kuimba Kundi begins to play its last note for the occasion. A happy solo and chorus number that makes the departing audience wants to step back into the Mwanzo to continue to sing and dance.

The newly-weds, family members, Mwanzo community and audience, move straight from the Mwanzo marriage ceremony to the reception venue. At the reception, speeches by elders, family members, well-wishers, are interspersed with music, dancing, eating and making merry. When the newly-weds open the dance floor, they are ‘sprayed’ generously with cash by the guests.

The newly-weds, are advised not to expect marriage to be a bed of roses from day one. That there would be trials and tribulations. Adjustments would be necessary and would be called for on both sides until a happy medium is struck. That trust is one of the most important secrets of success in marriage and so they must not keep secrets from each other. The ability to share, to listen, to learn, and to give and take, is critical to success because marriage is not a boss and servant relationship. Both the husband and the wife must remain each other’s best friend at all times. There is no point in going into marriage if it is a punching bag one requires. Go and buy yourself a punching bag instead. It has no feeling, does not generally get hurt and has no family to hurt. The wife must become the husband’s mother, sister, lover and best friend, and the husband his wife’s father, brother, lover and best friend. That their future, is one now. No one forced them into it so they must both strive not to make anyone regret being supportive of their marriage.

Valuable gifts including cash to ease transition into married life are lavished by family members, friends and the Myk community on the newly wedded couple at the reception and after.

The bridegroom rides in the same car with his bride from the reception to the bride’s family home, promising to be back at a given time on the same day for his bride. At the appointed time, the bridegroom shows up with members (not parents), of his family. Members of her family (not parents) escort the bride, having packed her suitcases ready, to her groom’s family home in company of the bridegroom and family members. The newly wedded couple takes honeymoon and or moves to their new home from his parent’s home.

IBALE
Virgin Bride

African traditions extol the virtue of chastity before marriage. On the occasion of the virgin proof experience, the special white bed sheet used is preserved with the virgin-bride’s bloodstains on it. Within seven days after the honeymoon, the newly wedded couple must call a get-together in their home, of members of their fathers and mothers’ families and officials and elders of the Myk community. Fish dishes, fruits, fruit juices and vegetables, are generously served as refreshments on the occasion. This party would, of course, not be necessary if the bride proves not to be a virgin.
The bridegroom after making a short speech at the party about his good fortune and great pride in finding himself such a virtuous better half, presents and rewards his virgin bride, with a valuable gift such as a car, or other peculiar significant cravings of her (the virgin’s) choice.

The father of the bridegroom makes a rousing speech, praising and thanking the bride’s parent for their perfect most desirable daughter. He then invites his wife (the bridegroom’s mother), to stand by his side. Both together present the virgin’s bloodstained bed sheet and the bridegroom’s circumcision blood stained piece of cloth along with other special precious gifts to the mother of the bride. The father of the bride, standing by his wife (the mother of the bride), shows appreciation for the gifts. Then along with his wife, meticulously fold the blood stained clothes (with the small one inside the bed sheet), to make one neat bundle thus symbolically uniting and sealing up the marriage forever and ever. The bride’s parent can either preserve the blood stained clothes permanently or wash the stains off after the newly weds have produced their first child. The Myk recommends that the blood stained clothes be preserved as folded until the death of either of the couple.

The Myk community eventually throws an honours party to present the virgin bride’s parent as models of parenting excellence in the community. Such parties can be arranged periodically to honour groups of qualified parents.

MARRIAGE PROBLEMS

Most African languages do not have word for divorce. Often it has to be coined from a combination of ideas. African traditional marriages are, therefore, stronger than most other marriage arrangements because African marriages cannot be broken arbitrarily or lightly. Neither of the couple can break a Myk marriage on his or her own or even through the law courts. The husband, for instance, can not throw the wife out of their matrimonial home because the wife was betrothed to his family and only to his family can he try to return her, who would then put a series of family courts together.

To attempt to break a Myk marriage, the families of the couple must be assembled (i.e. the relatives of the fathers and mothers of the couple and the Myk), in a series of court like sessions, and it is rare for such family courts to sanction a break up. Every other avenue to save the marriage must be vigorously and exhaustively explored but if it must break, the entire traditional process that led to the marriage requires reversion and this could take time and patience. Quarrels and problems in the marriage can also be taken to some of the family members, or the full court by either of the couple as and when absolutely necessary.

IDI ICHIE
Adult Rites of Recognition

Since every Black person would be deeply involved in branch Mwanzo activities, opportunities for individuals to make unique and profound contributions to the welfare of the immediate communities are boundless. The Mwanzo will prepare an annual honours list and throw a big bash (dinner and cultural activities by special invitation only). This is to reward Mwanzo members who made the greatest impact on the community that year, with certificates of appreciation, plaques, and other awards, including naming institutions and facilities after some, and recommending the most outstanding among them for Chieftaincy titles from African kings. A titled Chief is known as ICHIE-CHE.

DEATHS

African traditions recognize the inevitability of death but abhor early, premature death, which is believed to be unnatural. Death of any person bellow the age of seventy these days is viewed with some suspicion, and attributed by Africans, to evil forces and evil witchcraft. Africans put in a lot of energy to countermand perceived negative forces. For example, before birth, fetuses are spiritually tied to the mother’s womb to ward off abortion or death. Pregnant mothers are protected super-naturally against evil forces. Before and after birth, everything from metaphysical, to medical, to spiritual, are employed to starve off death. Apart from sacrificing fowls, goats, tortoises, foodstuff etc., to pacify the harbingers of death, citations are frequent, concoctions and tonics popular, waistbands, armlets and special rings widespread, for delaying death.

Death in old age is considered a mere transfiguration into another realm of existence, which is glorious, enabling and dignified. Our ancestors do not die. They operate from their new realm to protect, guide, cajole, inspire, assist, bless, intercede, and intervene, in our affairs. We partake and benefit from their integrity and sagacity through reverence and acknowledgement of their potency as our most beloved spiritual intermediaries. But every death is painful to someone, the least being the immediate family members and friends. For this reason, the African takes a great deal of care to break the bad tidings to those likely to suffer the most from the shocking news. Parables and anecdotes are relied upon to convey the message, to soften the impact of the aches and discomfort.

A bereaved mother might be told that her “child or relative has gone on a long journey and should not be expected back for a while.” Usually, some family members, friends, elders, and seers, in the community, would spend a number of days with the most distressed members of the bereaved family, telling stories, parables, jokes, and generally providing comfort or even the shoulder to cry on. All mirrors, reflectors, and photographs of the dead person in the house, are up-turned or covered, to protect children from seeing reflections.

The parents of the dead person do not see the body of their deceased child, and do not participate in the child’s burial ceremony. They definitely would not eat or accept food and refreshments used in the burial activities. Such burials are speeded up because it is considered an abomination to die young and leave parents and older close relatives behind. Parents and senior brothers and sisters of the deceased do not have to know the grave of their juniors. In the African extended family system all these are possible and easy to observe, but in our imposed individualistic Diaspora culture, everyone buries his or her dead. While the Myk is re-building the entire Black world family, fabric by fabric, individuals are free to observe aspects of this special (parent and child’s) traditions that they are most comfortable with, and find practicable. They can, at least, start by not eating food and refreshments connected with the burial of their child. Corpse is carried in or out of the African home, legs first.

ORO-ILE
Rites of Resurrection

These are performed on the deceased two nights before burial. They are performed by members of the family of the deceased and could be any time in the evening. The gathering is used to discuss what makes the family unique and how to preserve their special legacy. The entire family sits around the deceased to raise fundamental issues about their collective essence, outlook, achievements, problems and strategies, for the future.

ORO-PAGI
Rites of Resurrection for titled Chiefs – ICHIE-CHE and elders of the Myk.
These are performed on the deceased two nights before or seven days after burial by, diviners, seers, and sages. During the darkest hour of the night, they contact and invite the deceased to reveal the cause of death, unsettled scores, debts, how wills may be executed if written wills are not available and so on. Only the brave, attend ORO-PAGI. Close relatives of the deceased, including sons and daughters, are exempt from the ceremony, even if any belongs to the leadership circle of the Myk fraternity.

AISUN-OKU
Wake-keep

Aisun-oku is an all night vigil observed on the night before the burial of the deceased. It brings together, everyone who knew, was associated, or wants to glimpse the body of the deceased lying in state. It is commonly observed with great fanfare dominated by live bands, refreshments, and dancing all night long. During the ceremony, a special crier, (could be a close relative of the deceased, or anyone sufficiently knowledgeable), sings in dirges (inspiring poetry), in praise of the lifetime work and activities of the deceased. Invoking his or her spirit to look after those left behind and help them to prosper.

Usually, the dirges provoke strong emotions of wailing, vociferating, and grieving, by family members and close associates of the deceased. The dirges usually strike home, the final realization that the deceased is really no more. On the morning of the day of burial, close family members assemble by the bedside of the deceased for the last time, to talk intimately with the deceased, atone for wrongs, make wishes and praise. This ceremony is called IPADE. The corpse is allowed to lie in state until a few hours before burial. Crying for the dead is called ISUKU and the burial ground is called ITE-OKU.

The burial ceremony itself should respect and follow the typical traditional requirements of the mourners. In the Diaspora the coffin is laid in the grave and spiritual elders of the Myk make grave side remarks and pray for the repose of the soul of the dead. The family members such as the children and spouses are then invited to throw sand on the laid coffin in the grave. Usually before covering the grave after the mourners have left, the burial experts or agents use ‘Ewe Ero’ to bind and send the spirit of the dead off. In the case of an elder, ‘sara’ or get-together is held on the first day for the family and friends, followed by another three days later and a final one either nine days or forty-one days later. For a young person whose parent or parents is or are still alive but who has a child or children of his or her own, there is ‘sara’ or get-together on the first day and three days later, no more. For the young whose parent or parents is or are still alive but who has no child of his or her own, there is no ‘sara’ or get-together,

Annual or periodic anniversary of the day of death is observed with immemorial notices in the press and family get-togethers, to keep the memory of the deceased alive. A typical memorial ceremony would assemble members of the extended family and friends of the bereaved for a get-together. After libation has been poured by an elder in the gathering, dignitaries in the audience are invited, one at a time, to light a red candle for every year the deceased has been missed, or for each of the deceased being mourned, on the occasion. Speeches follow from those who knew the deceased in real life, broken after every speech by moments of long silence and deep humming sounds, to emphasize the collective pains shared by the entire community as a result of the loss. The principal mourner/s after describing the emptiness and vacuum created by the loss in their lives, receive/s assistance in cash and or kind as a token of community concern. Libation is poured again by an elder in the gathering to close the ceremony.

HEALTH AND HERBS IN THE MyK.

The first thing to know about maintaining good health is the ability to have control over our emotions. The other is being able to overcome the temptation to indulge in injurious habits. Another is to eat only natural, health enhancing foods always, followed by the need to exercise fairly vigorously regularly. Anyone who religiously keeps faith with the above regime cannot but have radiant health into very old age.

Management of emotions means the control of stress, anger and worries. Life is riddled with stressful situations and no one can completely avoid worrying now and again. Even when everything appears normal on the surface, the undercurrent could be a nightmare of stress inducing experiences. What gives the impression of surface peace usually is our ability to appear to be in control of situations around us. In the privacy of our bedrooms, we more often than not, break down helplessly and cry like babies.

Stress inducing situations are legion and could range from the mere soiling of a highly valued new dress, to a cut or bleeding from poor manicure handling, to being unable to pay our children’s school fees. It could result from relationships between wife and husband, mother and child, employers and employees, work place colleagues, neighbours, friends, shop assistants and customers, tenants, and landlords, users of public highways or facilities and the public, victims of rapists or armed robbers. It can happen over loosing a game, a loved one, or missing an appointment, and it has no gender, racial, educational, age, or social status barriers. Abject poverty or stupendous wealth can induce stress. Certain groups of social maladies might be more prevalent with a particular class or group of people, but the disturbing symptom remains ‘stress’ regardless of the social status of the victim.

Some supposed foreign do-gooders claim that our stress is induced only by racism and so have set up clinics and therapies to handle this peculiar social phenomenon. Racism is devastating but not any more so than to be a victim of rape or callous domestic violence. Even just taking your new car for its first spin on the highway and being hit, crippled, with your car a write-off, by a careless motorist, could be more traumatic to the victim than any racial difficulty. This is not to belittle the problems of racism. Racism is evil, wicked, unpardonable, and must be stamped out of the face of the earth now by any means necessary. While sorting racism out, racists need more therapeutic help than their victims because racists are obviously terribly sick in the head. Instead of ministering to racists, whites’ clinics and religious groups, concentrate their counseling on victims of racism by asking them to forgive, forget, and turn the other cheek.

It is like asking a man who lost a limb in an accident to give up his other limb to win back his dignity. We have been turning the other cheek for 500 years to no avail so, something must be terribly wrong with that method.

No amount of therapy or monetary reward can compensate for 500 years of slavery and humiliation just as nothing can pay for the loss of ones limbs or sex organs from an accident. Such rewards are mere palliatives. You only need to remember your lack of promotion or progress at work due to your skin colour, to begin to feel sorry for yourself. You only need to look at your crumbled, crippled-self in a wheel chair, if you haven’t lost your eyes too, to miss your physical prowess before your accident. You only need to reflect on the sources of your undeserved pains, for tears to stream down your chin uncontrollably.

Whatever has caused a serious stress situation cannot easily be forgotten and, in fact, should not be forgotten because we need the memory to learn from. Besides, life would be a great bore without some stress. If some degree of anger, pain, and worry, were not necessary, nature would not have endowed humans with the ability to cry. Tears are there to be used to express pains. A good cry could even calm the nerves and set us free from our worries.
Not knowing when to stop crying and how to manage our anguish without creating more pains for others and ourselves are the real problems to be solved.

An AIDS’ victim told that he only has a few months or years to live might decide out of anger, to infest as many people as possible with his ailment before he dies. Another might decide to spend his dying days comforting other AIDS victims by putting his personal wealth and resources at the disposal of researchers looking for a cure for the disease.

Both are no doubt stressed and frustrated by their helpless situation and both obviously would derive some pleasure and satisfaction from their actions. One would, however, feel more self-fulfilled than the other for attempting to make the world a better place to live in.

The life of the positive one could be prolonged as a result of how he has managed his stress without causing stress for others. Often people like him receive public recognition before or after death from which his family could benefit immensely. The negative one would hardly be a happy man to death and his family members would tend to be stigmatized and avoided like a plague by those who know them.

There are several examples of simple domestic quarrels leading to violent temper, injuries, and deaths, and causing serious stress all round. There are occasions too when husbands, instead of allowing themselves to be provoked to lay hands on their wives, remove themselves from the heated scene to a library to read, or write a poem, or even what could be the introductory chapter to a potential literary masterpiece.

STRESS

Bottling up is the quickest way to destroy your kidney so do not be ashamed to let the good old tears flow. Controlled or relaxed worry to find a solution is good for your system. Worrying for worrying sake is dangerous and could lead to serious depression, hypertension, stroke, and premature death.

DRUGS

Smoking, drinking of alcohol, and drug abuse, are absolutely irresponsible and reckless habits that exert severe tolls on the liver, kidney and lead to grave health problems. They are destructive of self-esteem, psyche and well-being and anyone indulging in them regardless of degree, must thoroughly hate him or herself and should be seen as committing suicide in stages.

EXERCISES

A daily regime of vigorous, practical and sensible exercises is a must for a healthy life. Some play lawn or table tennis, apart from regular exercises at home. Others run around the block every morning or evening. Brisk walking, bicycling, swimming, even regular deep breathing, to get air into lungs and oxygen into our bodies, are invaluable. Mechanical exercisers are becoming increasingly popular at home and at sports’ workshops, while many just jog by their bed sides every morning without fail. Whatever form or variety of exercises we indulge in must be pursued enthusiastically for, at least, 15 – 30 minutes daily, for us to derive maximum health benefits for our troubles.

FOODS

Perhaps the most neglected area of our health problems is preventive. Nature gave us the discretion to shove whatever stuff we feel like, (including sand and broken bottles), through our mouths. All that the body can do after our indiscretion is reject inside our stomachs, the stuff we push through our mouths, or be overwhelmed by it and take ill.

If nature had built an alarm system in front of our mouths to warn or stop us when we try to stuff our bodies with rubbish foods, hardly would anyone be dying of disease. A system where our mouths would refuse to open up when we point denatured or valueless foods at our mouths would have been perfect, but nature in her wisdom, endowed us with brains and power of choice, which we have proved incapable of using correctly. Every physical disease we suffer from is caused by, at least, one virus or the other, and generally, these viruses pass through our mouths into our bodies.

Even the viruses that pass through our skin can be neutralized, controlled or given a hard time in our bodies if we eat well. A very healthy body nurtured on natural foods, would be a hostile environment even for AIDS virus. Such a body would constantly fight and flush such viruses out and make the body largely inhospitable for the stubborn ones. We are hardly ever correctly taught at home or in schools, what constitutes good foods and eating habits. In fact, our modern teachers are television advertisements that bombard our psyches to invade our stomachs with deadly mucks through our pockets. The only people benefiting from the non-foods we relish with gusto are the manufacturers, because processed and denatured foods clog our body organs to punish us with cancer and other ailments.

Animals do not go to hospital to have their babies or cure their ills. They rely on vegetables and fruits. Animals physiologically closest to humans in make up are not carnivorous, and even animals that eat meat, feast mostly on the intestines, livers, kidneys and hearts, (the water and blood lodged parts), of their victims. Is that not saying something to us? Vegetarian diet is good but not sufficiently balanced with all the acids our body organs need to function properly, long term, of course.

The other extreme of eating meat, sugar and its products, white flour products, canned foods, and drinking coffee, tea, is to deliberately court health problems for ourselves because, they are foodless and harmful to our organs. These non-foods are building blocks of hypertension, diabetes, rheumatism etc. Sugar and white flour products, for instance, are rich in glucose but lack thiamine. The brain cannot use glucose without thiamine to break it down.

White flour products are burnt out foods without nutrients of any sort. They are as good as eating newspapers, for instance.

For the ideal diet, eliminate or drastically cut down on fat and salt in-take. Replace meat with fish and birds, and processed foods, with natural ones. Fertilizer cultivated natural foods are as dangerous to our organs as the denatured ones. Animals take food from nature, uncooked.

Our ancestors conditioned our metabolism on raw vegetables and diets etc for centuries. These are what our bodies are used to and not our modern day plastic junks that are building blocks for ailments. Generally, therefore, the natural foods that require less cooking are richer in health giving properties for the bodies. As a rule, chew food slowly and thoroughly before swallowing. This is to help digestion. It follows that food must not be so hot that you cannot chew carefully. A typical day’s meal and regime could consist of the following:

(1) Two or three large glasses of cold distilled, pure water as soon as you get out of bed and even before brushing your teeth. Boil and filter water before cooling and use.

(2) Follow this with vigorous early morning exercise such as jogging or press-ups for at least 15 minutes, brush your teeth, then have a bath.
(3) Take a large glass of natural fruit juice and or herb drink, at least, 30 minutes before breakfast. As a general rule, water, fruit juices and herb drinks, should not be taken earlier than 30 minutes before and after meals. Water and juices must not be taken at meals. This is to allow body organs to digest meals properly before the dilution effect of liquids. Freshly pressed vegetables, fruits juices, and pure water, detoxify the body and eliminate toxic wastes. Therefore, drink plenty of water, fruits and vegetable juices, throughout the day, as long as these are taken 30 minutes before and after meals.

(4) Breakfast should be taken between 8.00 a.m. and 12.00 noon and could consist mainly of fruits and vegetables. Eat fruits to your fill and as often as you like during the period. You can have fruits as snacks throughout the day too. You could make fruits and vegetables your only breakfast daily.

(5) Lunch is best between 12.00 noon and 2.00 p.m. Herb drinks (hot or cold), could be the starter, sweetened with honey and taken 30 minutes before meal. The meal could be vegetable salads, vegetable soup, fish or chicken, with cucumber, avocado pears, tomatoes, lettuce, millet and guinea corn. Some rice, potatoes or similar may not do any harm.

(6) Drink a large jug or mug of vegetable or fruit juice 30 minutes before dinner. Dinner is best between 6.00 p.m. and 8.00 p.m. and could include rice, steamed plantain (ripe or unripe), fish or chicken, baked potatoes or boiled with skin on, boiled yam, steamed vegetables, salads, carrots and garden eggs.

(7) 30 minutes after dinner, take a large jug or two of fruit juice.

(8) Herb drink, vegetable and fruit juices and water can be followed by 15 minutes of exercises, then brush your teeth and have a bath before retiring to bed.

HERBS GENERALLY

There are herbs for every ailment. Herbs are preventive and curative and are the best medicine for humans. Quantity required depends on the severity of the ailment and the constitution of the herb’s user. Unlike synthetic drugs, herbs hardly give side effects from over consumption. In fact, herbs are not just medicine but ideal easily digestible foods as well. Usually, a small amount taken regularly is all one needs to prevent, control, or cure most ailments.

For prevention, appropriate herbs taken daily, as normal food routine, is all that one needs. For the simple task of moving the bowels, one cup of warm or cold herb, taken every morning for a few days, often would be adequate. Headaches might require three cups a day, taken morning, afternoon, and evening, for 1 to 3 days. Blood cleansing might require four to six cups of the relevant herb drink daily, for two to three weeks.

Herbs can be used externally as skin rub, incision around wounds, or in liquid forms. Herbs are also used for sitz baths, steaming, compresses, washes, poultices and douches.

The best way to guarantee the retention of herbs’ medicinal properties is to use them when still fresh because the process of cutting and drying, if not properly handled, could affect the herbs’ potency. In their fresh state, one just needs to wash dirt off, squeeze and drink the liquid, diluted with hot or cold water. If squeezing is not efficient, one could fuse, steep, or soak in hot or cold water, for between 30 minutes and eight hours, depending on the texture of the herbs.

Barks, roots, and thick leaves, usually require longer soaking or steeping period. Cut herbs finely to small sizes before extraction of active ingredients. Roots are usually peeled before processing.

After extracting the active ingredients, herbs are boiled briefly because too much heat destroys the ingredients. Instead of heating, boiled water could be poured on the herbs, then covered and left to simmer for about 20 minutes before stirring and use. Different herbs could be mixed in one concoction. Remnant concoctions could be drunk cold or after brief warming.

Herbs in their fresh state store badly. Use only fresh leaves from the trees or plants, not leaves that have dropped from the plants on their own. If the active ingredients are extracted when the herbs are still fresh, this could be stored in the fridge or a flask until required for use.

Herbs that have begun to rot, wither, or grow moldy, before their active ingredients are extracted, are contaminated, and must never be used or consumed.

For urban dwellers, finding fresh herbs could be a problem. Fresh herbs, when available, could be preserved by drying. For the herbs to retain most of their potency, drying should not be done under direct sunlight or heat. Normal kitchen top-shelve atmosphere is enough for drying herbs.

The herbs should be spread on unprinted plain paper and shuffled now and again to allow even drying. When dry, they can be used, soaked or steeped in cold or hot water, or crushed to make tea, and served as required. A heaped teaspoonful of the dry leaves is all that is needed for a cup of tea.

Most herbs are now available in dry leaves, roots, barks, powder, tablets, or liquid forms, at herb supermarkets and clinics. Herbs are usually measured for use, one teaspoonful or heap to a quarter litre of water when in powder, crushed or dry leaves form.

BIRTH CONTROL

A married couple may want to delay or space out childbirth. The ideal child birth interval is between two to three years. This is for the health of the mother and proper care and development of the child. Some African societies practice what is called mental contraceptive. This entails the active mental concentration of the couple on the idea of the female partner not getting pregnant when the couples meet.

Some rely on superficial means such as magic or the wearing of preventive waistbands called stoppers. There are others who give the name: “The last born,” to a child to stop pregnancy after that child. Obviously these people are communicating with sources not readily available to our present day decadent culture.

In any case, because African traditions generally are against birth control and deliberate abortion, one might be tempted to take some of these ideas with a pinch of salt. Herbs often used successfully to increase menstruation flow, or set the flow off, include Male fern, Aloe Vera, Pennyroyal and Tansy. The safest and surest way to prevent pregnancy, however, is through abstinence and self-discipline.

GYNAECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS

Water is great for correcting gynaecological disorders. Six glasses of boiled, filtered, and allowed to cool water, taken first thing every morning, followed by 15 – 20 minutes exercise for about two to three weeks, are all one might need. Herbs useful for sorting out hormonal imbalances include Mistletoe, Yarrow, Damana, Uva Ursi, Witch Hazel and St. John’s Wort.

Some modern housewives use the ovulation calendar to determine when to get pregnant. Many often get tense and frustrated ticking off dates and sometimes missing counts when all they need to remember is that pregnancy is more than likely to happen a few days before and after menstruation. Most African mothers rely on this simple and sure natural method.

ANTE-NATAL

Expectant mothers must cut down on tuber in-take and rely on fish, snails, plantain, grains (beans, millet, rice, guinea corn), and spicy pepper soup. Under no circumstance must they eat denatured foods, particularly bread, biscuits, soft drinks, canned foods, which are, in fact, non-foods. A fetus feeds on what the mother’s blood provides, and only a natural food diet that includes lots of fruits, vegetables, and fish, can produce healthy bouncing babies.

To facilitate ease of delivery, pregnant mothers should take as tea, Ocinum (water leaves) daily, throughout the period of pregnancy. Also reliable for easy delivery is the Newbouldia laevis tree bark, reduced to powder, served one teaspoon, or liquid, mixed in equal measure with Ocinum, and taken as tea. This could be taken at the beginning of pregnancy, and at the end of nine months, or just before delivery.

Raspberry is excellent for stopping nausea and also to facilitate easy labour. Yarrow and Sage are herbs for fighting heartburn, flatulence and constipation. Mistletoe gives strength to expectant mothers who are diabetic. Urine therapy is helpful for clearing the colon, particularly in old age pregnancy.

Some of the natural causes of abortions are emotional disturbances, abnormal heat in lower abdomen, wrong positioning of placenta in womb, fibroids etc. Correctional herbal and medicinal assistance should be sought for these problems in good time. Pregnant women, particularly those with abortion problems, should avoid sex related activities throughout, and definitely not later than fourth month into pregnancy, when fetuses are usually “slack” and could easily be dislocated by excitement or vigorous exercises. Problem of cervix inefficiency during pregnancy can sometimes be handled by the sewing up of the mouth of the womb to enable it carry the baby load, after the third month. Those who loose pregnancies by the third or fourth month should grind, boil, and drink, Snake plant leaves, every morning from the second month of pregnancy.

Herbal soap is the best for bathing when baby is due. Shepherd’s purse is good for inducing quick labour. Phyllanthus amarus, Snake plant, Diode scandens, are reliable for stopping bleeding. Yarrow and Swedish Bitters, taken one cup, three times a day, from two weeks to delivery time, will assist easy labour and the expulsion of plancenta. Swedish Bitters taken in the labour room when placenta is refusing to drop after childbirth, could force the placenta out. Women, who have after birth pains, should avoid eating solid food for, at least, 12 hours after delivery, and rely on fruits, vegetables, and Yarrow herb drink, every three hours.

BREAST FEEDING

Africans believe a child not breast fed at birth would lack affection and even respect for her mother. That the natural bond between mother and child is destroyed and the child could be rude to the mother later in life. The mother would be a stranger and would have no hold on the child.

Scientifically, there is no substitute to breast feeding a baby. Children breast-fed are usually healthier, do better academically, and are invariably less unruly and irrational than the children brought up on bottled milk. This means that breast feeding mothers who eat nourishing natural foods give their children strong head start in life. Mothers with low breast milk can drink eight glasses of water a day to increase the flow. Alfalfa tea, taken 3 cups daily before baby feed, also helps to increase breast milk flow. Milk production can be assisted with Vervain tea.

Other types of milk are heavy and slow to digest which is why they are not as popular (with babies), as breast milk, which are easily absorbed and digested. Mothers should, therefore, not be irritated by their babies’ frequent demand for the high quality breast milk.

Rather, mothers should allow their babies to feed, at least, 15 minutes on each breast and 30 minutes a session. Infants fed on demand tend to be well behaved, gentle, loving, and less greedy later in life, than those that had to yell and yell before being fed or given attention.

A constipated mother would also constipate her child, so bowels must be moved regularly. Anger, agitation, quarrelling, weeping during breast feeding period, poison the breast milk, and make the child sick on consuming the breast milk. Extreme anger could cause violent convulsions in the infant fed on the angry mother’s breast milk. Mothers must remain patient and calm throughout the period of breast feeding, and when irritation is unavoidable, must first wash face and nipples of breast with clean water before feeding the infant on her breast milk.

Sexual or vigorous romantic activities during the period of breast feeding, should be avoided because excitement so generated has damaging effect on the breast milk and could cause the child colic and stomach problems.

Women, who worry about breast-feeding leading to flabby breasts, often do not show the same concern over the romantic antics of their husbands. Such women obviously have their priorities wrong because breasts are provided by nature principally to feed babies. Vitamin E, consumed in natural form daily, can correct breast flabbiness.

Daily intake of 4 to 5 teaspoons of Wheat gem oil, coupled with chest muscle strengthening exercises, will firm sagging breasts, improve slack muscles generally, and reduce weight gain within four weeks.

BABY CARE

African traditions insist on mothers staying close to their new-born babies, to give personal attention, at least, during the first 40 days to three months of birth. Usually when a baby is sick during the first three months of birth, the first question asked is, if the mother had been neglectful of the rule to be by her baby. Immunization regime needs to be meticulously adhered to. This, coupled with the immunization properties of the mother’s nutritious and balanced natural foods’ diet transferred through breast-feeding should check most serious infant ailments.

There are herbs too for all health problems of babies. For convulsions, Catnip tea de-worms, and can be used as enema for constipation. Swedish Bitters tea is good after light meals. A convulsing child may need to be gagged with a small wooden stump wrapped in neat cloth, to prevent the child form biting the tongue. A warm bath from shoulders down-wards, while neck and head are wrapped in cold towel, is good for the child, followed by cold toweling 20 minutes later.

Bed wetting is not an illness and can be controlled with mixed tea made from St. John’s wort, Horsetail, Cornsilk, and Yarrow, served without sweetener. Cornsilk dried before use is particularly good and should be served as tea, 3 cups daily, until situation is brought under control. Parents have to be prepared to wake the child up two or three times at night to use the toilet. Siamweed and shell leaves, stem and flowers, boiled together, can be used to bath and drink as tea for Measles. The concoction clears the rashes. Cough and running nose can be checked with Lemon grass tea. Catnip, Pellucida, Peperomia, Vervain, and Bitter kola tea, help to stop vomiting and running tummy.

To remove fever in Mumps’ attack, give syrup of ground Bitter kola, mixed two-desert spoonful powder to a jar of honey. The child takes one glass of this, diluted slightly in warm water, three times daily. The concoction should be used undiluted to rub around the infant’s ears and swollen parts. These along with a cup of tea, 3 times daily, made from equal part mix of Ginger, Scullcap and Bitter kola should clear the mumps in two weeks.

First serve Swedish Bitters tea to a Polio sufferer. Then give a sitz bath of Yarrow and Horsetail liquid added to the bath water. Tea made from equal part mix of some or all of the following: Mistletoe, Calamus roots, Valerian roots and Catnips, steeped in hot water, should be served every two hours. Children indulging in Smoking, and drinking alcohol, can be patiently discouraged through rich, nourishing, natural foods, that include lots of fruits juices, vegetables, fish, chicken, and grains. Serve them a mix of Lemon grass, Garlic, Ginger, and Cloves, regularly, as teas and spices, and Mistletoe as tea daily.

PREVENTIVES AND CURES

Several ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ have been pointed out already. One modern habit that needs drawing urgent attention to is television watching, particularly among the youths. The habit is already so strong that parents are going to have a tough fight weaning their children from the popular culture, but fight every parent must. Of course, we all know already that constant and prolonged television watching is damaging to the eyes. If that was the only problem, we could probably tolerate it with resignation to the use of eyeglasses.

Recent studies have shown that the eyes are not just organs for vision, but channels of gland activation through ‘light’ energy, to produce hormones that affect blood radiation. Research has shown direct correlation between visual excitation and growth acceleration associated with aggressiveness, drug use, depression, etc., in children. So, it is not the messages transmitted through the tubes alone that are causing decadence in society, our blood radiation is being transformed through hormone energization, to make us and our young ones restless, destructive, and uncaring. There are probably herbs for this modern ailment since nature seems to have taken care of every thing well in advance. But until the herbs are found, we must minimize hormone stimulation through visual excitation caused by constant television watching, in our youths.

All herbs are preventive. Since no one can have access to all known herbs at any one time, some easily available ones need to be highlighted for their peculiarly rich range of active ingredients. This list is not exhaustive and every region or group of people must have popular local ones that could be added.

The spices are the easiest to remember and include Pepper, which are digestive, alterative, carminative, rubefacient, and stimulative, with tonic and sialagogue properties. They are very popular among Africans for seasoning. Lots of Onions – good for headache and purifies the blood. Ginger is for fever, indigestion, worms, acne, boils, cold, cough, sleeplessness and pure blood.

Garlic is an antibiotic, good for infection, colic, catarrh, stomach pains, sleeplessness, sore throat, headache, cold, cough, nervousness and conjunctivitis. Now you know why these herbs are popular among Asians, for instance, who tend to eat lots of them in raw state. Eaten raw, garlic and onions leave strong odours on the breath, but used as seasoning or as tea, the odours are tolerable but the herbs’ potencies are reduced although not so significantly if used in generous quantities.

Thyme is antibiotic, good for sleeplessness, stomach pains, headaches, and cleansing of blood. Chickweed is alterative, demulcent, refrigerent, mucilaginous, pectoral, resolvent and discitient, and is good for itching, eczema and moving bowels. Marjoram is for headache, nervousness, and blood cleansing. Parsley is for blood purification. Celery including seeds, is for blood cleansing and arthritis.

Bitters, leave bitter taste on the tongue to stimulate the brain and activate the body organs, of digestion and elimination. Aloe Vera is one of such bitters but must not be consumed by pregnant women because it activates uterine contraction. Aloe Vera plus honey, cleanse the colon, and is perfect for controlling sickle cell attacks.

Comfrey heals wounds so fast, top of wound could heal to leave abscesses below. It contains allantoin in both roots and leaves, for tackling gastric and duodenal ulcers. It is the ideal herb for stopping haemorrhage generally and improving hiatus hernia condition. It is also used for heartburn, cough, diarrhea, and eczema.

Golden Seal is for eczema, catarrh, appendicitis, infection, itching, sore throat, tonsillitis and menopause. It has laxative, tonic, detergent, antiseptic, and diuretic health properties.

Honey is mucolytic, disinfectant, and perfect for dressing wounds and scalding. It is body building and makes men more virile. Easily digestible because it is 98% pre-digested by the honeybee. It provides instant energy. Its natural sugars come with thiamine to break down glucose for digestion and assist the build-up of the body’s constantly depleting thiamine reserve. It contains sodium, phosphorus, iron, calcium, manganese, aluminium, chlorine, silicon, several enzymes and essential oils. One or two teaspoonful of honey in a glassful of herb should be drunk daily.

Mistletoe: the berries are poisonous and must not be consumed under any circumstance. Harvest Mistletoe when the sun is up. Mistletoe is the nerve and blood pressure herb. It lowers high and raises low blood pressure. Used over a long period, it corrects hormonal imbalance, hardens arteries and removes original cause of diabetes. It is good for controlling stress, strokes, circulatory ailments, and stops chronic cramps, dizziness, buzzing ears, and intestinal bleeding, caused by typhoid or dysentery. It is perfect for restoring menstrual order, banishing barrenness, and arresting further cancer growth. One cup, is one heap of teaspoon soaked in one-quarter litter of cold water over night or for eight hours. Warm and sieve before drinking. Drink 3 cups a day for 3 weeks, 2 cups a day for 2 weeks, and one cup daily, with honey, as a routine thereafter. Mistletoe is diuretic, that is, it tends to increase urine flow.

Water is probably the cheapest, handiest most useful health facilitator for most urban dwellers. It flushes, transports, assimilates, and finally eliminates whatever is no longer useful in the stomach. At first sign of indigestion, constipation or stomach cramp, drink as many glasses of water as you can (between 4 and 6 glasses of boiled and filtered, pure, cold water at a time), and exercise for 15 minutes.

Water in-take can never be too much. It helps to give the skin fresh look. If you feel your system clogged, fast on water, or fruits and water, for a week or two. In fact, do this as a matter of routine regularly. Fast on water and fruits for one week in every three months, to detoxify your body, and assure yourself of radiant health.

Since a Japanese Professor proved some years ago that water easily heals several ailments, experiments have confirmed this around the world. Water cures amnesia, constipation, arthritis, asthma, blood pressure, bronchitis, cough, debility, disorderly periods (menstruation), dysentery, facial paralysis, gastroptosis, haemorrhoids and diabetes, headaches, hyperacidity, kidney, leucorrhoea (whites), liver diseases, meningitis, obesity, palpitation (heart), paralyses, prolapse, rectal rheumatism, tuberculosis, ulcer (intestinal), uterus and breast cancer. Water treatment entails taking six glasses of water first thing every morning. Children take 1 glass per 10kg/s weight. All the six glasses should be drunk without pause. Those who cannot drink six glasses at once should exercise for, at least, 20 minutes. Many are likely to urinate a lot initially but this would soon settle to a regular routine.

Those who feel a headache or stomach ache after drinking, probably have calcium and magnesium salts and other impurities in their water. Boil the water and let it rest overnight, carefully sift and drink the clean water above the residue in the morning. This will stop the headaches and stomach aches. Take all your normal water needs during the rest of the day but don’t eat substantial meals just before going to bed. Avoid eating apples throughout the period of the water treatment. Water treatment has been used to cure constipation in one day, gastroptosis in 3 days, diabetes and gastritis in one week, blood pressure and cancer in one month, lung problems and tuberculosis in three months. For arthritis or rheumatism, elderly patients recovered fully in one week of taking the water cure, three times a day after meals.

Wheat, particularly unrefined wheat is one of nature’s most exciting herb gifts. It has lecithin, which dissolves cholesterol in blood. Cholesterol is needed for the formation of brain matter and the maintenance of blood capillaries and genital viability. It has rutin, which strengthens the walls of arteries and assist in recovery from varicose veins. Its fibber greatly facilitates digestion. The germ is rich in Vitamin E, the antioxidant, which promotes fertility and growth. It helps the heart, muscles and cells survive conditions of inadequate oxygen such as in sickle cell cases.

All these properties are completely destroyed in the refining and milling process of making wheat flour for bread, pastries, cakes, etc., resulting in increasing incidences of heart and artery disorders, blood pressures, and heart problems. The brain’s basic food is glucose but it cannot consume this without thiamine or Vitamin B1. As the brain begins to starve in the midst of abundant glucose it cannot use, the problem of loss of memory and poor muscle co-ordination begin to occur.
SOME DISTURBING MODERN AILMENTS

There are hundreds of ailments that can attack the human body but most people do not know that even the most deadly among these can easily be prevented or managed with herbs and good eating habits.

Cancer prevention – Drink a lot of water and eat lots of fruits and vegetables daily to nourish and cleanse your system. Boil a handful of Stinging Nettle, Calendula, Marigold, Chickweed, (mix all), and drink two tea cups daily, one in the morning, the other in the evening. The tea is a blood cleanser. Cancer curative – The first thing to do to cure any illness is to detoxify the body. Cancer is no exception. Eat a fruit diet of avocado pears, oranges, pineapples, lemons, grapes and apples, (one type of fruit per meal), for 20 days. Eat celery, cucumber, lettuce, carrot, tomatoes, and parsley, as main meal. These would stimulate the liver, skin, kidney, lungs and move the bowels. Drink a lot of fruit juices to restore P.H balance. After 20 days on the above diet, add mashed potatoes (boiled with skin on), brown unpolished rice, cabbage, tender corn on cob, tender peas, okra, onions, garlic, cauliflower, radishes, sprouted wheat, water melon, soybeans and millet. Exercise by walking in sunlight and fresh air. Let sun into your room. Use Swedish Bitters as hot compress on liver, stomach, spleen and spine. If the case is not too far-gone before this natural treatment begins, improvement and recovery would soon be noticed. The ailment would generally not deteriorate any further. Herbs to indulge in include: Mistletoe, Stinging Nettle, Vervain, Chickweed, Basil, Myrrh, Horsetail, S.F.Willows herb, Dandelion, Plumbago, Common Club Moss and Cayene.

Diabetes – Fruits are the must food for the diabetic. Lots and lots of fruits all the time to provide energy. Apart from fruits, meals should consist mainly of soybean milk and cheese products, cucumber, lettuce, okra, cauliflower and unpolished rice seasoned with plenty of garlic and onions. Eating raw carrots helps to build up the kidney and repair the pancreas. Blood sugar can be reduced with the regular consumption of celery tea or drink. Take Mistletoe tea, 3 cups a day for 3 weeks, then 2 cups a day for another 3 weeks, and 1 cup daily, thereafter. A diabetic on herbs should discontinue use of drugs and injections unless the herbs have not shown signs of improving his or her health, which could be due to wrong use.

Hypertension (i.e. high or low blood pressure), stress, acute depression, are generally caused by worries, unhappiness, and jealousy. The first requirement for cure is to drop all damaging habits to the body such as smoking cigarettes, using drugs, drinking alcohol, soft drinks i.e. soda, or minerals), non-herbal teas, coffee, and eating eggs, meat, carbohydrates, and denatured foods.

Hypertensive people should eat lots of vegetables, fruits, grains, such as millet and beans, plantain, guinea corn, soybeans, fish and birds. Alfalfa leaves, as tea, taken 3 cups daily for 3 weeks, will control hypertension. Passion flower tea is good for inducing sleep and arresting the debilitating headache that accompanies tension. Take one cup of Passion flower tea, last thing before retiring to bed, for 2 weeks. If blood pressure is caused by blockage of the artery or high cholesterol, then take Speedwell and Ramsons leaf tea, 3 cups daily for 6 weeks. Hibiscus leaves as tea is also effective but melon needs to be added to stop hibiscus from drawing like okra. Vervain herb tea, would control fever and Periwinkle petals, a sedative, is beneficial for calming nerves in both high and low blood pressure and ulcer patients.

Low blood pressure is caused by the build up of toxins in the blood as a result of the consumption of white flour products, canned foods, butter, cheese, pork, coffee and non-herbal teas. The best foods for the patient are fruits, vegetables, carrots, beets, maize, millet, guinea corn and unpolished rice. Dandelion, Hyssop, Vervain, Scullcap, Blue Cohosh are good herbs to take as (mixed) tea, 3 cups a day for 3 weeks.

The all in one herb for both high and low blood pressure is the Mistletoe. Take 3 cups a day for 3 weeks and one daily as a general routine thereafter.

Obesity can either be caused by hereditary factors or over eating, particularly the indulgence in starchy, fat saturated foods and lack of regular exercises. Both hereditary and self-inflicted obesity can be controlled with vigorous regime of exercises and herb teas of the following mix. Chickweed, Zea Mays (silk of corn dried, it is diuretic). Parsley could be taken regularly. Aloe Vera (which must not be taken by pregnant women), is the perfect herb for slimming and is taken 3 cups daily until weight is brought under control.

Sickle Cell – the first secret about controlling sickle cell crisis is good eating habit. No cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, soft drinks, coffee, non-herbal teas, bread, pastries, eggs, meat, carbohydrates, or denatured foods generally. Instead, eat lots and lots of fruits and vegetables. Add grains, millet, unpolished rice, fish, and birds.

Chew Fagara roots as chewing stick every morning. Extract active ingredients from the bark of Fagara roots with boiled grape juice, steeped for eight hours or overnight. Add Aloe Vera’s active ingredients and pure honey. Drink freely to alleviate pains and stop immediate crisis. In severe crisis, add Almond fruit tree leaves to the herb mix, to stop the pains and crisis. Take 2 cups daily of Stinging Nettle (it has lots of iron), one part, blended with Yarrow (good for bone marrow), one part. Add Pumpkin leaves one part, Almond leaves three parts, plus 2 teaspoonfuls of pure honey, to reduce the need for regular blood transfusions and keep crisis minimal or even at bay. Experts say Urine therapy has urea that can correct the shape of the sickle cell. Unfortunately, the quantity of urea required, cannot be produced by the patient in a lifetime. Still, urine is excellent for stopping crisis and can be used along side the herbs.

Ulcer – Internal or peptic ulcers are of two types, gastric and duodenal. They are prevalent in modern society due to increased tension and poor and irregular eating habits. The habit leads to excessive secretion of hydrochloric acid, which eats up the duodenum or stomach wall. The best foods for stomach ulcers are those rich in Vitamin A, C, and E, which can be derived from a combination of the following foods. Wheat (including the germ), green peppers, liver, tomatoes, green vegetables, fruits, whole milk, parsley, cabbage, nettles, roselips, lettuce, pears, potatoes, corn oil, brown rice, pumpkin seeds, nut and raspberry leaves.

To aid digestion after a not so well combined heavy meal, chew ginger or non-fertilizer sprayed orange peels. Tea from ginger, catnip, peppermint, chamomile and bay leaves are good for indigestion. For gas relief, use onions, garlic or parsley. To control gastric ulcers, take teas made from the following regularly, chickweed, cayenne, comfrey, golden seal, sage, calendula marigold, (St. John’s wort, best for external ulcer), and if it is cancer-like, clean the sore thoroughly and apply Swedish Bitters daily for 3 weeks. Even a diabetic patient would be healed.

Paw-paw leaves, roots, seeds, and tree ripe paw-paw fruit, are excellent for ulcer treatment. They contain enzymes to repair stomach lining and facilitate digestion of protein. Chew a handful of the seeds to stop constipation. Very little paw-paw leaves are required for tea because it is a very strong laxative. Paw-paw roots are even more potent as herb. Steep diced-paw-paw roots in boiling water for 15 minutes and drink.

Avocado pear is the wonder cure for stomach ulcer. Fast on the pear for 14 days. Eat nothing else but Avocado pears during the 14 days. You are probably going to hate the smell or site of avocado pear after the 14 days fast on it, but you would most probably be cured of your ulcer. Drink plenty of water at appropriate intervals during the fasting on the pear. Avocado pear is rich in Vitamin C. It fights hypertension and is a great sedative. It helps with the proper functioning of the heart and is effective for building glands, tissues and treating colitis, colic, and malnutrition.

RESPIRATORY HERBS

Asthma use comfrey, chickweed, coltsfoot, thyme, lobelia, passionflower, lavender, wild cherry. Bronchitis use bitter kola (ground), plus honey, and vervain. Coughs and colds, use vervain, peppermint, lemon grass, chamomile, thyme, and honey, lemon, paw-paw, platoon, mango, guava, and cherry juices. Heart – exercise regularly and drink lots of water. Use Angelica, Blue cohosh, Cayenne, Capsicum, Coriander (seed), Golden seal, Peppermint, Vervain, Mistletoe, Garlic, Onions, Wheat germ. Sinusitis – use Swedish Bitters, Lemon grass, Chamomile, Maxillary sinus, and Onions tea. Chew seeds of paw-paw. Sore throat – Garlic, Golden seal, Oak bark.

FREQUENT AILMENTS’ HERBS

Colic, use Ginger, Peppermint, Valerian. Colon, use Aloe Vera and honey. Constipation, use Aloe Vera, Chickweed, Paw-paw leaves, seeds and fruits of the ripe paw-paw. Flatulence, don’t rush food. Chew ginger and drink it as tea. Use Catnip, Parsley, Peppermint, and Chamomile teas. Headache, use Peppermint, Red sage, Catnip, and St. John’s wort. Jaundice, use Vervain, Stinging nettle, Swedish Bitters, Dandelion. Kidney, use Catnip, Horsetail, Chickweed, Vervain, Swedish Bitters, Aloe Vera. Liver, use Dandelion, Ginger, Agrimony, Golden seal. Piles, use Aloe Vera as compress and as tea. Worms use Garlic and Wormwood.

FATIGUE ETC., HERBS

Brain, use Chamomile, Passion flower, Avocado pears, Almond, and Lemon leaves. Epilepsy, use Mistletoe, Vervain, Black cohosh, Scullcap, Swedish Bitters. Chew three cloves of garlic with a pinch of salt. Also useful, add ten cloves of garlic to one glass milk, boil with one glass of water to reduce all to one glass; drink half a glass, three times daily for 30 days. Fatigue, use Stinging nettle, Yarrow, St. John’s wort, Thyme, Horsetail. Insomnia, use Valerian, Catnip, Skullcap, Hops, Avocado pear leaves. Add Almond leaves for strong dose in serious cases. Nightmares, use Thyme, Catnip, Peppermint. Rheumatism, use Black cohosh, Celery seeds, and Yarrow.

EAR, NOSE, THROAT, ARTHRITIS

Arthritis and Gout, use Alfalfa, Rosemary, Comfrey, Stinging nettle, Sage, Cornsilk, Parsley, Ivy (ground), Swedish Bitters, Black cohosh, Celery seeds. Boils, use Garlic, and Wild indigo. Ears use Garlic and Blue flag. Use juice of Onions or honey and drops. Ears, Nose and Throat, use Balm of gilead, Golden rod, Golden seal, Hyssop, Peppermint, Sage, Elder flowers, and Eucalyptus. Use, Swedish bitters as compress and drops. Hair, wash and shampoo with squeezed hibiscus leaves for healthy rich growth. Hair-loss, massage scalp with castor oil and onions juice and stay in sun for 30 minutes to stop falling off. To promote shine, use Aloe Vera shampoos, Chamomile, Rosemary lotion, Stinging nettle all seeped and boiled in grape juice and massaged into scalp. Dice onions and leave in boiled grape juice for 24 hours to make tonic. Strain, comb hair well every night and massage little mixture into scalp. It will stop further balding and hair will regain new healthy look.

MALARIA

Malaria, chew and drink Ginger. Use as tea, Chamomile, Mango, Paw-paw, Dandelion, Stinging nettle, Calendula Marigold, Plantain, Yarrow, Speedwell, Walnut, Golden seal, sweeten with honey. Take 3 – 4 cups daily. Skin, use Wheat germ oil for itching and honey plus garlic wrap around whitlow. Lemon juice undiluted is good for stings and insect bites. Use Golden seal, Comfrey, and Dandelion tea for skin health. Eat apricot daily to control acne and pimples. Eat green pepper, one carrot, one stalk of celery, and a teaspoonful of brewer’s yeast daily, for a month for skin care. Tonsillitis, use Garlic, Golden seal, Red sage. Toothache use Cloves. Travel Sickness; use Peppermint herb as tea.

Holidays: Whatever you do, whether self employed or otherwise take, at least, a two weeks holiday every year. Get away from familiar scenes and work to relax and receive new experiences into your life. If you are in the Diaspora, come home to Africa and live on a farm. The Myk is developing a quality (health resort farm) for members in a suburb of Lagos. Two weeks at the Myk farm, eating only natural foods, fishing, milking cows for your milk, listening to birds sing, watching the sun go down and the moon rise, being close to nature while being treated with herbs will transform your life and do your health a world of good. We are not saying we can cure all ailments, but we will try.

FUNDING ACTIVITIES

It is a well-known fact that as a race, we are the most wretched on the face of the earth right now. This has been our experience for nearly 500 years, despite various efforts collectively and individually to reverse our ugly plight. Right now, the majority of our people have lost all hope of ever winning respect back for our race.

Some of us believe that all hope is not lost yet, which is why we revived the concept of our global collective, the Pan-African Movement, through the cosmology of the Myk. We believe that we can, by working together, and contributing our individual widow’s mite in energy, ideas, and resources, make a significant difference to our lives.

We are inspired in the belief by the examples of other once oppressed groups like the Jews, who have now transformed their plight to become the masters of the world. What the Jews did was very simple and basic. They came together as a family and one people, through the instrumentality of kabalism, to build their lives together from nothing up.

They started out with fewer resources individually and collectively than we as Black people have at our command right now. What they had in abundance from the start, which we seem to lack at the moment, is the spirit of self-help, mutual trust, and co-operation with one another.

We believe strongly that we can take back the leadership of the world with our widow’s mite, and that our main handicap is our low self-esteem and lack of unity as a people. This is the legacy of our slavery experience, and the Myk is determined to reverse it by inviting each one of us to contribute into a common pool, our labour, time, goodwill, ideas, and the odd dollar, pound, naira or cedi, freely, to build back our lives together from scratch.

Black must mean wealth, power, supreme spirituality, and scholarship again, as it was at the cradle of civilization. We as a people cannot afford to continue to sit on our butts waiting for manna to fall from heaven. If this happened in early Biblical days, it is not happening now. The world no longer has patience for people who don’t want to help themselves, if it ever did. We can change our world by simply trying. One thousand people, pooling ten dollars each a week can put substantial deposit down on a housing estate for its members in a year, at least.

Without a binding force we cannot do it, and the Myk is that binding force. Myk stands for a rich and powerful race of people that love each other, and are ready to use their widow’s mite to build together and to share. Myk means we are strong because we are one. Our Movement’s slogan is: ‘Working together, moving forward together.’ Many of our members live in capitalist societies where numerous opportunities abound to make it legitimately if we know how and work at it together. We have suffered long enough, waiting for some remote godfather to do things for us. Now is the time to take our destinies into our own hands because we can.

Someone phoned us recently to ask whether we like the phrase, Afrocentric or Afro this and that? We said no, and that we need to begin to create definitions for ourselves, although that is not where to concentrate our energies right now. That our urgent project now, is to be rich and successful, because successful people create definitions for themselves and others.

That is what the Myk is about in essence. Success for every member of our race, and the only resources we have, to ensure this right now, is to put everything we can scrape from our poverty together, to pull us collectively out of the pit of squalor and neglect. There is no virtue in being poor, and definitely none in being forever poor and without hope. We can be rich and successful by diligently working at it. We can be the greatest race of people on earth again by being determined, consistent, and pooling our meagre resources together to tackle our problems together. Apart from special fund raising activities by individual Mwanzos to support special projects, the following funding projects are strategic to our collective well-being and fortunes:

ZAWADI KWAFRICA
(Gifts of and from the people of Africa)

Zawadi Kwafica are Swahili words meaning gifts of and from the people of Africa. Instead of perpetually begging the West and others for handouts, we want to use our widow’s mite collectively, to make a difference in our lives as a race.

Every Black person alive or yet unborn owes the Black race, a hundred units of their local currency once in a lifetime. In Kenya, a hundred Shillings. In South Africa, a hundred Rands. In Nigeria, a hundred Naira. In the USA, a hundred Dollars. In the UK, a hundred Pounds. Where a hundred units of the local currency is less than USA $25, send USA $ 25.00. All others, send a hundred units of your local currency. This once in a lifetime obligation to the Black world is to be paid into Zawadi Kwafrica Fund, sometimes referred to as the ‘Africa Fund.’ The Fund is to be pooled as soon as possible to set up the African World Bank (AWB). No withdrawals can be made from the ‘Fund.’ The African World Bank would from take off manage the ‘Africa Fund’ by using profits from the ‘Fund’ to empower and develop the entire African world.

Directors of the African World Bank are the ‘Hundred Africans’ who use their seed money for the take off of the African World Bank. They choose their own Chairman. The funds of the bank including contributions from the entire African world are to be managed as commercial banking investments with zero risks at maximum profit, such that the bank’s capital and contributions to it, never reduces but rather keeps increasing. Twenty percent of the annual net profit of the bank is ploughed back to enhance the capital base and 80% of the net profit is used interest free to develop the entire African world as of need. Names and addresses of contributors are recorded in the shareholders permanent registry of the African World Bank.

We invite every Black person alive to make their obligatory contribution of one hundred units of their local currency right away to enable the African World Bank take off immediately and soon. For a change, let’s do something together on our own for our collective empowerment.

MJANE MSAADA

Every Myk member contributes an agreed levy weekly (could be fifty or more units of the local currency), into a pool called Mjane Msaada (meaning moving up with our widow’s mite), which the Mwanzo builds up to finance community projects. This contribution is compulsory like Zawadi Kwafrica, and continues for as long as one remains a member of the Mwanzo. During the first year or two of contributions no withdrawal can be made from the fund. The intention is to build up considerable financial base in the first year or two to begin to use to set up businesses.

All contributions go into what is called the Mjane Msaada Fund to be kept with a reputable bank and to be earning interest. The bank is mandated to manage the fund for the Mwanzo branch during the first year or two. As soon as there is enough money in the fund to launch a finance agency the fund is converted into such or into a branch of the Mjane Msaada Bank. Every Mwanzo applies for permission to set up the Mjane Msaada Fund or Bank, from the headquarters of the Mjane Msaada Bank at the Ta-Mwanzo. It is the headquarters of the bank too, that employs the staff of the funds and banks, although the branch pays the staff salaries. Professionals are employed.

The branch fund or bank’s board is constituted from the leadership of the Mwanzo with the Aggar-Ra or Aggar-Re as the Chair, and the following leaders as board members: SobekHt or AsobekHh, AdoNeft or AdoNoH, MzeeptaHh and MzeMaaTt, Nana-Hath and Nana-Nurh, Baba-Teuti and Baba-eTeu, MwanguZii and MwanguZaa, the branch bank Manager, Treasurer, Executive Secretary and others the branch board may decide to invite.

The bank branch or fund is free to solicit for aids, grants and funds from NGO’s, Foundations, from around the world and from other banks and sources of funds, to help grow the Mwanzo members businesses. The Shareholders of the branch fund and bank are the Myk members of the Mwanzo contributing to the fund and bank. Each week’s contribution by each member, in the agreed weekly amount, constitutes one share. Therefore, a Myk new member just joining, could in the first week of contribution have one share of one week’s contribution, while another member that has been in the Mwanzo and contributing weekly for two years, would have 104 shares made up of 52 weeks’ contributions per year for two years.

Every Myk member of the Mwanzo is entitled to receive priority loans from their branch Mwanzo’s Mjane Msaada fund or bank as long as the loan applicant’s project, after professional vetting, is found to be viable in the normal microfinance banking business practice, and the applicant can (and must) pay back the loan at the agreed time with the standard interest. In the case of employment, Myk members have employment advantage in their branch Mwanzo’s businesses as long as the Myk applicant is adequately qualified for the job.

With 100 Myk members, each contributing ten dollars, for instance, every week, the Mwanzo would have a business start-off fund worth over $50,000, at the end of its first year. The Mwanzo with a 100 members, each contributing $50 weekly would have a business start-off fund worth over two and a half million dollars at the end of the first year. An Mwanzo of 1000 members contributing $100 each, per week, would have $5.2m and $500 each per week, $26m take off fund in a year. The most financially exciting Mwanzos have a minimum of 1000 members and grow staggering funds in a year. Contributors to Mjane Msaada never stop contributing even when they have started reaping immense benefits from their investments. That way, staggering funds are built up in no time for major projects for the members.

Of course, the fund would continue to build up after the first year to serve as a buoyant financial cushion to promote business activities that have the greatest promise to immediately enhance the quality of life of the Myk community. A well run Mwanzo is expected to become a successful, efficient, and highly respected, hub of social, spiritual, cultural, political, intellectual, and economic activities, in its community within a short time. Three to five years at the most, buying up manufacturing companies, large farms, housing estates for members, investing in the stock exchange, owning office complexes to be rented out, schools, hospitals, publishing facilities, radio and television stations and so on, and turning members into millionaires and business tycoons. Housing estates are priority projects for the benefit of the Myk members.

Not every business requires huge financial investments from the start. Activities such as office or factory cleaning franchises and similar, should also be explored by Mwanzo branches to provide immediate employment for their least qualified members. Every Mwanzo must create and run a giant business wing called Mjane Msaada Agency to coordinate its business activities extending over multi-faceted areas of business, employing its productive unemployed, and turning all its members into millionaires or big business players within five years or so. A Mwanzo performing less than this in five years is a failure and needs to examine what it is doing wrong. Critical self-examination of activities should be done, at least, yearly, at every Mwanzo anyway. It is principally for the material empowerment and spiritual fulfillment of Myk members that we are a brotherhood, sisterhood, working with one mind, sharing and moving up together with our widow’s mite.

KIBUYU

Calabashes are to be passed around at every public function and during Mwanzo weekly services to collect voluntary contributions from members, guests and visitors, for the administration and general up-keep of the Pan-African Movement and its Mwanzo branches. Fifty percent of all KIBUYU collections is to be retained by the Mwanzo branch and accounted for for its running. The remaining fifty percent of all KIBUYU collections is to be sent to the National Pan-African Movement/AFRICAN PEOPLE’S UNION secretariat. Twenty percent of all such receipts by the National Secretariat is to be sent to the International Secretariat of The Pan-African Movement/AFRICAN PEOPLE’S UNION. Every receipt and expenditure must be meticulously accounted for at every level of operation of the movement.

Other funds include Kuhiji Kuweka (which means pilgrimage place fund), and requires ten units of the local currency to be contributed annually by each Myk member to be used to develop and sustain a befitting place of retreat in Africa for all Myk members from around the world.

REPATRIATION, RELOCATION

We have several flexible arrangements, all of which are based on taking advantage of dual citizenship. While relocation may describe aspects of what takes place, the person relocating is encouraged to earn the rights to come and go as he or she pleases. In other words, you can own a piece of the action in both the countries from and to which you are relocating. One easy possibility is to receive a lifetime visa to an African country of your choice.

The arrangements include:
(1) You may have your independent or private relocation arrangements such as a job, or starting your own business, or getting married or working through family and friends etc, and may only need us as consultants on critical issues requiring vetting or third party (with your interest at heart), elucidation, or guarantee.
(2) You may want us to help you start a business, rent or buy a home, advise on where when and how best to relocate etc, due to your special peculiarities and circumstances.
(3) You may want to be involved in our relocation/industrial villages plans. Acres of rural land are already available (and more acres of land are still being negotiated), for those desirous of immediate relocation. The conditions are (1) a monthly pension (2) a simple retirement or business plan and (3) savings to buy a plot of land and build in the special relocation/industrial villages. These facilities are available at the moment in Nigeria but plans are on hand already to replicate them all over Africa in due course.

Senegal announced on the 18th January 2010, a few days after the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti, arrangements to receive and rehabilitate all Haitians that decide to relocate to Senegal. This is the ultimate positive Pan-African gesture and it is very commendable indeed. We expect it to be replicated by all continental African countries and extended to all our Diaspora kith and kin so affected in the new world.

JOIN THE MOVEMENT NOW

Whether in Africa or the Diaspora,
we are a special breed of people,
the cradle of humanity,
the origin, the first, which means
the best in any language.
We have no business
being put down
by the West, Arabs, or anyone
because as their parents
we taught them to walk and think.

We pioneered civilization
and now that the tyrants
are at it again beating war drums
of hate to tear the world apart
is time to again lead mankind aright.
We are the children of Ausar
Auset, Imhotep, Chaka, Nzingha,
Nehenda, Prempeh, Toure, Hannibal,
Boukman, Truth, Douglas, Shadd,
Dessalines, Tubman and Kuzwayo.

The blood of Marcus Garvey
Dubois, Azikiwe, Nkrumah,
Kenyatta, C.L.R. James, Padmore,
Albertina, King, Malcolm X,
and Mandela runs in our vains

Membership of the Pan-African Movement (PAM) is the birthright of every Black person in the world. The right is inherited at birth, the same way we acquire our family names the day we were born. When you subscribe to your PAM birthright, you are helping to build one of the greatest movements of people the world has ever known. Registration is USA $25. Annual subscription is USA $25 and entitles you, among other facilities to:

(a) ONE BLACK WORLD, the Pan-African Movement’s newsletter.
(b) Join the ‘Reparations’ Brigade.
(c) Join the Pan African Passport (PAP) lobby.
(d) Be guided on repatriation/relocation strategies to Africa, which includes cultivation of dual citizenship of your birthplace and of an African country of your choice on the continent. In the first instance, we have acquired acres of rural land in Nigeria (and more acres of land are being negotiated) for those desirous of immediate relocation to Africa.
(e) Join the Myk.
(f) Participate in AP, the annual African Pilgrimage.
(g) Hold office in Myk and or PAM.
(h) Aspire and if qualified, become a Muse of the Menephtheion (mm.).
(i) Of course, be a shareholder in the African World Bank (AWB) along with every other Africans alive, through the Zawadi Kwafrica Fund.

NAIWU OSAHON Hon. Khu Mkuu (Leader) World Pan-African Movement); Ameer Spiritual (Spiritual Prince) of the African race; MSc. (Salford); Dip.M.S; G.I.P.M; Dip.I.A (Liv.); D. Inst. M; G. Inst. M; G.I.W.M; A.M.N.I.M. Poet, Author of the magnum opus: ‘The end of knowledge’. One of the world’s leading authors of children’s books; Awarded; key to the city of Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Honourary Councilmanship, Memphis City Council; Honourary Citizenship, County of Shelby; Honourary Commissionership, County of Shelby, Tennessee; and a silver shield trophy by Morehouse College, USA, for activities to unite and uplift the African race.

Naiwu Osahon renowned author, philosopher of science, mystique, leader of the world Pan-African Movement.