317 lines
12 KiB
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317 lines
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<span class="auto-style1">Sacred Metal Working in Africa</span></p>
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<span style="line-height: 1.22em;">
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<br clear="none" style="line-height: 1.22em;" />
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<br />
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<span class="auto-style17">
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<span class="auto-style6">Metal working in Africa was and still is
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considered a form of magick. Metal workers are feared and also respected
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in some African societies because of their potential to benefit or
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negatively effect the lives of those around them. These people were
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venerated and held important positions in society alongside royalty and
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other authorities.<br />
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<br />
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</span></span></span>
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<span class="auto-style17">
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<h1 class="auto-style10">In Africa, when one examines closely, there is
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an ancient cultural reference to a spirit or god of iron and
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metalworking. In the Yoruba this god is called
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</span>
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<span class="auto-style9">
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Ogun* </span>
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<span class="auto-style17">
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and in North Nigeria, the god is called </span>
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<span class="auto-style9">
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Ogu</span><span class="auto-style17">
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or </span>
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<span class="auto-style9">
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Gu</span><span class="auto-style17">. Traditionally in the West African region, one chooses
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to make the position of smithing a sacred and secret trade.</h1>
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<h1 class="auto-style10"> </h1>
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</span>
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<h1 class="auto-style3"><span style="line-height: 1.22em;">
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<span class="auto-style17">
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<span class="auto-style11">In the Mande culture, blacksmiths are said to
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control a force called </span></span><span class="auto-style16">Nyama </span>
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<span class="auto-style17">
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<span class="auto-style11">which is liken to chi, witch-power and prana
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life force. It is a hot and wild force that must be mastered and used to
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transform when forging metals that are worked with, ultimately creating
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a form of powerful art. The ability to control this energy is said to be
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carried through the family. They believed this ability to be hereditary
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and that metal working is controlled by the ancestors and
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spirits. Members of the blacksmith family are taught the Daliluw, which
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is the secret knowledge of the use and nature of nyama. </span></span></span><span class="auto-style17"></h1>
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<h1 class="auto-style10"><span style="line-height: 1.22em;">
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<br clear="none" style="line-height: 1.22em;" />
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</span></h1>
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</span>
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<h1 class="auto-style22">As quoted
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from a book on art forms in Africa concerning the Mande people-</h1>
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<h1 class="auto-style3"><span style="line-height: 1.22em;">
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<br clear="none" style="line-height: 1.22em;" />
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</span></h1>
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<h1 class="auto-style8">“Nyama is the foundation that nourishes the
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institution of smithing, so that it may nourish society, is the simple
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axiom that knowledge can be power when properly articulated…. One must
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first possess it (nyama) in substantial amounts and then acquire the
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knowledge to manipulate and direct it to capitalize on its potential
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benefits. Acts that the difficult or dangerous—like hunting, or
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smelting, and forging iron—demand that a greater responsibility of
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energy and a higher degree of knowledge be possessed by the actor
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(Perani, Smith 1998: 71)."</h1>
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<h1 class="auto-style3"> </h1>
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<h1 class="auto-style18"><span class="auto-style11">It </span>
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<span style="line-height: 1.22em;"><span class="auto-style11">is
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interesting to note that many of these blacksmiths and metal workers are
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also practitioners of divination (seeing into the future or unknown),
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amulet making and medicine and many were also trained to be high
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priests. These initiates and trainees would separate themselves from
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society and conduct many rituals before they went into the "mother"
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(earth) to become a metallurgist. Rituals of purification and fasting
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was done in preparation to engage in this sacred and magickal act and
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ensure the timing was correct to go along with this.</span></span></h1>
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<h1 class="auto-style3"><span style="line-height: 1.22em;">
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<br clear="none" style="line-height: 1.22em;" />
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</span></h1>
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<h1 class="auto-style10"><span class="auto-style17">In ancient Africa, the metal worker was often
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seen as a very powerful sorcerer and had the power to direct the forces
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of nature. The will of the smith was used to transmute metals despite
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the danger in the act. It is also interesting to note that Mande
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blacksmiths were called "the first sons of the earth" and near their
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forge were the forms of the 4 elements present to aid in their smithing
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and ritual practice. </h1>
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<p class="auto-style10"> </p>
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</span><span class="auto-style20">
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<h1 class="auto-style10"><span style="line-height: 1.22em;">The
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blacksmith was known as an enlightened one and one who deals with
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numerous amounts of universal energy.</span></h1>
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<h1 class="auto-style10"> </h1>
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<h1 class="auto-style3"><span style="line-height: 1.22em;">
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<span class="auto-style11">Though the actual act of forging metal is
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performed in these African societies to make weapons and tools, the
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spiritual and allegorical significance still remains. The Mande culture,
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along with majority of true African culture, has been infiltrated. The
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Mande still have their ancient beliefs but many of them have adopted the
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poisonous program of Islam due to centuries of invasion. This is the
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case in many traditional African religions such as in Vodun/Voodoo.</span></span></span></h1>
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<h1 class="auto-style3"><span style="line-height: 1.22em;">
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<span class="auto-style11">
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<br clear="none" style="line-height: 1.22em;" />
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</span></span></h1>
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<h1 class="auto-style10"><span class="auto-style17"><span style="line-height: 1.22em;">The metal
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working tradition relates to spiritual transformation and for those of
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you not aware, "metal work" or "metal working" is spiritual alchemy and
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the metals are the Chakras. </span></h1>
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<h1 class="auto-style10"> </h1>
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</span><span class="auto-style20">
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<h1 class="auto-style10"><span style="line-height: 1.22em;">In my study
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of metal working in traditional African religion, it seems that this one
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spirit that has smithing, craft and metallurgy under his domain is in
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association with Azazel and the other gods who specialize in spiritual
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alchemy.</span></h1>
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<p class="auto-style10"> </p>
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<h1 class="auto-style3"> <span class="auto-style11" style="line-height: 1.22em;">Azazel
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is known as a master at spiritual alchemy and in the Bible and in enemy
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grimoires, it reads that he is known to have taught men to make swords,
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shields and body armor and that he is a master at working with metal,
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minerals and geology. This is all spiritual.</span></span></h1>
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<h1 class="auto-style3">
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<a href="../www.angelfire.com/empire/serpentis666/Azazel.html">
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<span class="auto-style9">Azazel</span></a><span style="line-height: 1.22em;"><br clear="none" style="line-height: 1.22em;" />
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</span></h1>
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<h1 class="auto-style3"> </h1>
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<h1 class="auto-style19">In reference to
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"first sons of the earth", it connects with the black race being one of
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the first races created. It also references the Mande's connection in
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working with earth, mining and using it to gain spiritual
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transformation. Working with the earth in a spiritual way in alchemy. <br clear="none" style="line-height: 1.22em;" />
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</h1>
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<h1 class="auto-style3"><span style="line-height: 1.22em;">
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<span class="auto-style21">*Ogun/Gu</span><span class="auto-style16"> is
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also an aspect of the
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<a href="../www.angelfire.com/empire/serpentis666/Sacral_Chakra.html">
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<span class="auto-style9">Sacral chakra</span></a> ruled by Mars and
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associated with Iron.<br />
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</span></span></h1>
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<h1 class="auto-style3"><span style="line-height: 1.22em;">
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<span class="auto-style16">
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<br clear="none" style="line-height: 1.22em;" />
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</span></span></h1>
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<p class="auto-style3"> <span class="auto-style20">Hail Satan!</p>
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<h1 class="auto-style5"> </h1>
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</span><span class="auto-style17">
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<h1 class="auto-style5">Sources:</h1>
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<h1 class="auto-style5">The Unknown lore of Amexems's Indigenous People,
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Noble Meyer</h1>
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<h1 class="auto-style10"><span class="auto-style4">Perani, Judith. Smith,
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Fred T. (1998) The Visual Arts of Africa, gender, power, and life cycle
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rituals</span></span></h1>
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<h1 class="auto-style3"><br clear="none" style="line-height: 1.22em;" />
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</h1>
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