There is no historical reality which is not human.There is no history without humankind, and no history for human beings, there is only history of humanity, made by the people and in turn making them.These are words of Paulo Freire the author of The Pedagogy of The Oppressed. I feel these words resonate with my today's topic.Methinks it is important for people to understand their history and accept to be shaped by the same.History is the reference point in the pursuit of social development.To claim to have no history is to doubt the very existence of ourselves since history is a product of our activity and it forms a foundation over which we walk.Anyway this is not a lecture about history.I want to talk about three elements of the Turkana philosophy.
The Turkana people live in the northwestern part of the Republic of Kenya.They are nomadic people. Descriptions aside.They are human beings.Period.The three factors making up their philosophy are; Time,Place,The unknown(s). I will try to interrogate each factor and how it contributed in shaping the lives of these people.
TIME.They say time is invisible.That we only feel its effects.But for the Turkanas time is a concrete factor.It is visible.We can touch it and talk to it.How?Age is all about time.It is the total time somebody has lived.It is a measure of somebody's capability to think and reflect.Not just for the sake of thinking.But thinking productively. Yes! Being capable of giving tangible results.It is being capable of changing lives.Leaders were measured on the basis of this.That in the course of ones lifetime,what contributions did he/she make.How many souls did he empower.How many families did he raise.It was (and it is still) an important factor.In today's language we call it "track-record" - the actions and thoughts of men in the course of time.
PLACE.Places were characterized with roles.People from certain places were thought/believed to be good in certain activities.Different places had different challenges hence different social makeup.This reminisced "specialization".This kind of specialization was healthy for the community for it "pushed" for cohesion and respect of each other.Every member new and understood that.Respect was important for it formed foundation for exchange of "talents and experiences." Failure to do it was catastrophic to all.
THE UNKNOWNS.This talks of uncertainties of life.The invisible forces influencing the actions of man.The moral conscience of a people - the virtues that ought to be followed.The relations between man and his fellows,man and his environment and man and his Creator - AKUJ (God). This is the pillar of all the three factors.It is out this that the other two come into existence.It characterized how the weak were supposed to be treated;how women were protected and taken care of;how strangers were treated as they were believed to be "messengers of fortune". It defined the role of men and women.It provided mechanisms for conflict resolutions.This factor was(and is still) highly regarded.
Any lesson? Life is a web of activities.It is made complete by actions and thoughts of others.We learn through the mistakes of others.It is through this that life becomes "complete". Leaders are subject to public scrutiny.They are rated on the basis of their "record". The populace are inter-connected.They are morally and "humanely" bound to help each other.Apart from the visible world,there exists the invisible one.The one that "inspects" and supervises our actions.This invisible force is supreme and is the fountain of wisdom and goodwill. Therefore everybody worked hard to please this supreme Being to attract blessings and goodwill.
** ENJOY EXPLORING YOUR HISTORY**
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