The report card on African-American health is grim:
*African Americans have the highest death rate for cancer than any racial and ethnic group in the US.
*The death rate for Black Americans with diabetes is 40% higher than other races and cultures.
*Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness among African-American men and women.
*African-Americans have twice as many strokes as white americans, and black women are more likely to get heart disease and die from complications than any other group.
Experts say these inequalities are linked to glaring social and economic disparities in work, wealth, income, education and housing. And the fact that millions of African-Americans have no health insurance further compounds these problems.
But there’s also a glimmer of hope…
A growing number of African-Americans are embracing African healing traditions and other alternative health practices that can help save lives, leading experts say.
“There are aspects of health that are not being met by modern science,” says Charles Finch M.D., a physician and scholar who has worked extensively with traditional healers in West Africa. Finch believes modern science has a lot to learn from African healers.
A graduate of Yale University and the Thomas Jefferson School of Medicine, Finch blasts the Western medical establishment for suppressing indigenous healing systems and ridiculing traditional healers who have been providing outstanding health care for thousands of years.
African healers are highly trained and can often diagnose and treat illnesses using spiritual methods long before their Western counterparts can even detect them, Finch says.
Divination is the key to understanding what is happening with the client. Ifa divination, a system that originated with the Yorubas of Southwest Nigeria, is the most popular from of divination in the West. This ancient system can also be found in Santeria, an Afro-Cuban spiritual tradition that blends Yoruba religion and Roman Catholicism.
David Cumes M.D, a South-African born surgeon who has also been initiated and trained as a sangoma, or healer, is also a firm believer in the efficacy of African healing traditions.
“African healers laugh at us,” says Cumes. “Africa has aboriginal spiritual technology that we are only now beginning to appreciate. Theirs is the original medicine. Western scientists believe that they are on the cutting edge of the new age of healing. However, we may have missed the boat entirely. We may be technical wizards, but when it comes to the human spirit, we are really only beginners.”
Finch and Cumes will share their insights in the upcoming documentary film, “Across The King’s River,” which explores how African healing traditions intersects with science.
James Weeks, producer of “Across The King’s River,” says one of the goals of the film is to clear up misconceptions about African healing traditions. The film will be directed by acclaimed director Stanley Nelson, whose latest film, “Freedom Riders,” won three Emmy Awards for outstanding picture.
For more information about “Across The King’s River,” visit www.acrossthekingsriver.com
Very few people think of Africa when they turn on their lap-tops.
But one leading scientist insists that “every lap-top, every electronic circuit and every personal digital assistant (PDA) began in Africa.”
According to mathematician Ron Eglash, not only did the roots of digital computing begin in Africa . . .
The roots of the binary code that every modern computer uses can be traced back to the intricate divination systems that traditional African priests and healers use to communicate with the spirit world.
Dr. Eglash, a mathematician and Associate Professor of Science and Technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, says people are always shocked when he reveals that the binary code and the roots of digital computing began in Africa.
In this brief lecture on TED, Dr. Eglash discusses African fractals and the evolution of the binary code:
Eglash is one of several scholars that will be featured in Across The King’s River, an upcoming documentary film that explores modern science and African healing and spiritual traditions.
Across The King’s River producer, James Weeks, says the Western world owes Africa a huge debt – and a huge apology. “It’s one of the greatest ironies. Very few people realize that the binary code originated in Africa. It’s a significant contribution, yet African spiritual traditions have been demonized and ridiculed for centuries,” Weeks said.
Weeks added that one of the reasons he embarked on the film is to clear up misconceptions about African spiritual traditions and to showcase the contributions that Africa has made to modern science and technology.
Across the King’s River explores the sacred and healing traditions of three African cultures: the Yoruba of Southwest Nigeria, the Dagara of Burkina Faso, and the Lebu of Senegal.
Stanley Nelson, an award-winning African-American filmmaker who has showcased several films at Sundance and on PBS, will direct Across The King’s River. Among Nelson’s notable films are Freedom Riders (2011), Jonestown: The Life & Death of People’s Temple (2006), The Murder of Emmett Till (2003), A Place of Our Own (2004), Sweet Honey in the Rock: Raise Your Voice (2005), Wounded Knee (2009).
“Men get caught up in the socio-economic nightmare of giving away most of their time in order to survive,” says best-selling author and shaman Malidoma Some. “We didn’t come into this world to give all our energy to stay alive, we came here to live. The biggest dragon is the one that tells us we have to work eight hours a day, and we end up being so tired that the very thing our soul is yearning for we don’t have time for.”
“The dragon wants us to be introverted,” Malidoma says on his website. “Men usually fool themselves into serving the big dragon. We must endanger the problem by confronting it,” he insists. “It is to be dug out of its hiding and exposed to the air. It cannot breathe oxygen. The light of day is lethal to it. That’s why the dragon tells us that we should be safe, because the dragon wants to be safe. We end up actually serving the very thing we want to be rid of.”
I first interviewed Malidoma more than 10 years ago in a tiny office in the hills of Oakland, CA. You can hear excerpts of our conversation at my other website, tamarindyears.com. But little did I know back then that I would one day be working on a film – and that Malidoma would appear in it. As I read his words about “slaying the dragon” I thought about my own escape from Corporate America earlier this year and how leaving the rat-race to pursue my passion was the best thing for me and my family.
A refugee from Corporate America – a happy refugee. That’s how I think of myself these days. Malidoma’s lifework and message about slaying the dragon strongly resonates with me at this juncture of my life. I’ve come to believe that we are all called to slay dragons – “dragons” that stand in the way of who we are and what we are called to do. Dragons that stand in the way of what’s healthy for us and our communities.
My journey toward this film has taught me that it’s possible to fight the dragon and win. No, it wasn’t a quick, easy fight and at times I’ve had my doubts. But we are on the verge of receiving funding for a film that will have a significant impact on the lives of millions. For now, it seems like the dragon has retreated to the corner. With the help of the ancestors and the orisas, hopefully it will stay there!!
P.S. For a treasure-trove of wonderful newsletters by Malidoma Some that have been archived, click here:
“We all came from Africa, and we need to go back to our roots,” says David Cumes, a South African-born doctor who is on a mission to bridge Western medicine and African healing wisdom. Cumes says Western medicine and African medicine complement each other.
I had the good fortune of speaking to this kindred spirit recently. In my upcoming film, he will share his unique perspectives as a Western-trained medical professional AND shaman who has been initiated and trained in the South African healing and spiritual traditions. He is certain that since humanity was born in Africa, the healing arts began there as well.
Trained as a urologist, Cumes has taught at Stanford Medical Center and has published extensively in professional journals. He also has a successful private practice in Santa Barbara, California. But little did he know that he would one day be initiated as a sangoma (medicine man) and would “throw the bones” to provide spiritual guidance for others.
In 1992, when he was first told in Africa that the ancestors were calling him to embrace African spiritual and healing traditions he was skeptical and resisted the message from Spirit.
According to an article on his website: “after returning to the States, he began to experience incessant migraines and back pain he had never had before. He made his way back to Africa, not just to seek a cure for his physical ailments but also to discover if he really was destined to become a sangoma. After a series of meetings with other sangomas, Cumes finally relented and was initiated into the tradition.”
These days, Dr. Cumes combines both his skills as a surgeon and as a sangoma to provide healing to others. He returns to South Africa on a regular basis for advanced training.
In the story of Dr. Cumes’ long journey to self-discovery, I also hear my own story. I was initiated as a priest of Ifa, but it took me many years to accept my destiny because I was skeptical when I first received the call from the ancestors.
I’ve come to believe that if we don’t fulfill our purpose we put the lives of others at risk. The gifts that we have within must be cultivated. We all have a role to play in the healing of humanity.
As Dr. Cumes says: “the movement toward the inner world is our primary purpose on the planet. If we deviate from our soul’s path, we create imbalance and poor health. Each patient must find the healer and healing technique that best connects them to Self.”
“Western medicine has brought us many boons but there are glaring deficiencies as well,” he adds. “We focus too much on the intellectual, cognitive and scientific and too little on the intuitive, receptive, artistic, compassionate and mystical. Going back to our root or core self with the help of ancient African wisdom gives us not only an understanding of our origins but a clear perspective of a new and, at the some time, very old paradigm of healing not confined to the space/time continuum.”
For more information about the life and work of David Cumes, visit: www.davidcumes.com
All praise to the ancestors! We expect the film to be fully funded in Jan, 2012. Then another phase of the project begins. I’ll be meeting with acclaimed director Stanley Nelson soon, and we’ll come up with a game plan for how we approach the film, who the crew members should be and what segments of the story ought to be filmed first. We will also work on story development and logistics.
It’s been four long years since I went to Nigeria with the dream of doing a film. My initial concept was to focus on Yoruba sacred traditions. As time went on, the vision expanded. I felt the need to explore other cultures as well. Hence, the vision of also going to Senegal, Burkina Faso, Egypt and the Caribbean was born.
The size of the crew has also expanded. I traveled alone to Nigeria in 2008 and did everything by myself. I am delighted that I will be working with a team of solid professionals moving forward. I’ve had many challenges over the years on the journey toward this film. But my elders in Africa – a team of senior Ifa priests and diviners have been with me each step of the way.
Always maintain faith! Understand that your ancestors have better plans for you than you have for yourself. There is a bigger picture. A higher order. Never give up the vision!
