Lecture Notes: Dogon Mythology and African Critique of European Culture

Dogon Mythology

• Irugu is a mythical figure from Dogon mythology.
• Dogon people: Considered primitive by Europeans but possess complex cosmology.
• Ama: Creator deity in Dogon mythology, created beings with twin souls (male and female parts).
• Yorugu: A being who separated from the gestation process early, trying to compete with Ama.
  • Created an incomplete universe due to his own incompleteness.
  • Forever searching for his missing female part, leading to a state of destruction and unfulfillment.

Purpose of the Study

• Personal Reason: To avoid being used to study African communities for European control.
• Ideological/Political Reason: To unmask Europeans' intentions towards African people.

Themes in "Urugu"

• Examines European culture as a mechanism for power and control.
• Critique of Education: European systems indoctrinate African children to deny their strengths.
• Academy: Used historically to de-spiritualize the universe.

Objectivity and Cultural Study

• Objectivity is a European concept used to control Africans.
• European scholars promote a particular worldview, not objective truth.

Cultural and Psychological Extinction

• African cultural and psychological extinction is a threat.
• Focus on young Africans to maintain spiritual and cultural identity.

African Consciousness

• African people may not fully realize what has been lost culturally.
• Importance of African-centered education to reconnect with historical cultural power.

Maafa and Its Implications

• Maafa: Period when Africans were stripped of their culture.
• Conditioning led to perceived inferiority and dependency on Europeans.

European Cultural Features

• European success attributed to power-seeking cultural core (Asili).
• Other cultures exhibited aggression but lacked the European model for world domination.

Differences between African and European Worldviews

• African worldview emphasizes spirituality and connectedness.
• European worldview emphasizes individuality and separation.

Plato's Influence

• Plato's ideas contributed to European thought, emphasizing rationality and hierarchy.
• Creation of "object" separated thought from emotion, establishing a hierarchy of rationality.

Europeanization of Consciousness

• Denial of spirit and materialization of the universe facilitates oppression.
• Acceptance of European standards leads to internalization of inferiority.

Role of Religion and Ideology

• Religion often serves to sacralize nationalist ideology.
• Christianity used to serve European power and expansion.

Greek Myth and European Violence

• Greek and Indo-European myths often valorized violence.
• European progress linked to control and consumption of nature.

Challenges to African Empowerment

• African Americans face challenges in identifying with European models.
• Emphasizing individualism undermines African values of community and connectedness.

African Spiritual and Educational Approach

• Need for African-centered education to reflect spiritual universe and holistic development.
• Question standard educational practices and develop culturally affirming environments.

New World Order

• European global ambitions masked as ecumenical ideals.
• Consistent historical thrust of European culture toward world domination.