Website review: African Labyrinth
rune discovered this in Spirituality
•5 reviews since Mar 27, 2004
spirituality, labyrinth
•africanlabyrinth.com
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Reviews of this website
ezreader rated 13 months ago- African Labrynths: lost in a labyrinth...finding yourself
- JimmyConstantine rated 13 months ago
- Excellent site about the often ignored influences of African mythology and symbology.
- ketogah rated 14 months ago
- about African labyrinths. From the page: "WELCOME TO AFRICAN LABYRINTH... The labyrinth in its many shapes and forms has, throughout the ages, been recognized and used as an archetypal symbol of healing, rebirth, re-generation and transformation. The spider-web labyrinth design is based on the sand drawings of the Tchokwe people of northeast Angola. These drawings (sona) are linked through dots in the sand and show the skill of a visionary/sangoma. According to Credo Mutwa, African labyrinths have existed for eons in Africa and are an integral part of every tribe in some shape or form. Apart from divination, the labyrinth is also used as an initiation tool into Umlando, the Great Knowledge. The African Spider Web Labyrinth The origin of our design or grid comes from the Tchokwe people who inhabit the northeastern part of Angola. The Tchokwe people are well known for their beautiful decorative art, ranging from the ornamentation of plaited mats and baskets, iron works, ceramics, engraved calabashes, and tattoos, paintings on house walls and sand drawings. The sand drawings called Lusona (singular) or Sona (plural) belong to an ancient tradition of transmission of teachings and knowledge and wisdom from one generation to the next. When the Tchokwe sangomas met at their central villages or hunting camps, they would sit around a fire or under a shady tree spending their time in conversations, illustrating proverbs, fables, riddles and animals in the sand. The spider is regarded as the mother of all creation, she is the heroine in African Folktales, she brought human beings to this world. Her web was created as our gateway and a path to follow to the center. Every culture uses the path as an initiation; the sanusis and sangomas have to walk through several gates to reach the center where they perform certain procedures before they can exit. In some traditions one has to follow the path encountering seven dangers to find the green chief (representing the Earth God) without a leg in the center dome, receiving a gift for your journey forward. On the way out various people wearing different masks try to take the gift away, reminding one to take great care of the gifts of life bestowed on us. In the Zulu tradition kings were exposed to nine temptations (representing the nine months in a mother's womb) before they could finally enter the cave of rebirth, where they would find a young virgin sangoma that would usher them into this world giving them a blessing. In some traditions one has to choose the gate of entry, either the Gate of Deception, the Gate of Humility, the Gate of Pride or the Gate of the Unknown, experiencing the nine virtues (love, trust, forgiveness, peace, healing, mercy, honesty, courage, self sacrifice) and the nine vices (murder, jealousy, anger, pride, suspicion, treason, theft, adultery, dishonesty). Inside the center one will find the truth and love represented by two snakes coiled together. In some traditions one will find animals on the path reminding you of certain qualities and strengths as if you will find an answer to a puzzle, in the center you will find the face of God by spinning until you reach a heightened state of trance to see and become filled with spirit. Certain sculptures representing fertility and the different tribes of the world as well as the four directions and elements are represented acting as guardians. These pathways were used as tools of divination as well as healing centers for centuries. The center of the pathway represents a chief's kraal with an eternal fire burning. The path offers protection and brings knowledge from the spirit world."
- erpone2 rated 25 months ago
- Very cool!!!
- digits rated 31 months ago
- Seemed like it *could* have been good. However, it was difficult to navigate and I still do not understand the point of the site.
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