KÜRESELLEŞME ÇAĞINDA GÜNEY AFRIKA’NIN UBUNTU RUHU
Güney Afrika Cumhuriyeti ile özdeşleşmiş olan ubuntu ya da botho kavramı eski bir Afrika dünya görüşünü tanımlar. Temelinde sevgi, şefkat, saygı, paylaşma, birliktelik gibi değerleri barındıran ubuntu felsefesi farklı Afrika topluluklarının dillerinde farklı kelimelerle anılır. Yapılan çalışmalara göre kelime olarak ubuntu’nun 19. yüzyılın ikinci yarısı gibi nispeten yakın bir dönemde ilk defa kullanıldığını gösterse de, kelimenin sözlü kullanımının çok daha eskilere dayandığı tahmin edilir. Kavramsal olarak farklı dönemlerde farklı anlamlarda kullanıldığı düşünülen ubuntu kelimesi, günümüzde bazı kişilerce insanın ahlaki özelliklerini tanımlarken bu tanımdan yaklaşık bir asır sonra ortaya çıkan diğer bir tanımı ise toplumun birbirine bağlılığını ifade eder. Bu yönüyle kavram günümüzde, bir Nguni atasözü olan umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu, yani “kişi diğer kişiler aracılığıyla bir kişidir” prensibiyle iç içe geçmiştir. Ubuntu, Afrika’yı dünyaya tanımlama ve kıtayı dünyaya kendi öz değerleriyle anlatarak hiçbir dış baskı altında kalmadan oluşmuş olabilecek, yani doğal bir Afrika algısına ulaşabilme girişiminin bir parçasıdır. Diğer taraftan Afrikalıların yeni bir dünya vizyonu oluşturma girişiminde önemli bir araç olarak görülür. Bu yönüyle, Afrikalı bakış açısının temele aldığı ubuntu felsefesinin siyasi, sosyal ve eğitim gibi alanlarda kullanılması akademik çevrelerce oldukça tartışılmaktadır. Güney Afrika’nın iç ve dış siyasetini belirleyen temel yapı taşlarından biri olması yönüyle ubuntu ve önerdiği kardeşlik, sevgi ve şefkat gibi değerler, yeni ulus inşası hedefleri ve ülkedeki artan yabancı düşmanlığının önüne geçmek için uygulanmaya çalışılmaktadır. Öğretileri itibariyle ubuntu felsefesinin ve diğer Afrika kültürlerindeki varyasyonlarının başta Afrika kıtası olmak üzere dünya barışına katkı sunacağı savunulur. Bunun yanında, Afrika kıtasının sosyo-ekonomik birleşmesini ifade eden Pan-Afrikanizm idealinin gerçekleştirilmesi için ubuntu’yu referans alan noktadan hareket edilebileceği iddia edilir.
Anahtar Kelimeler:
Ubuntu, Botho, Afrika Merkezli Bakış Açısı, Komünalizm, Pan-Afrikanizm, Zenofobi, Hakikat ve Uzlaşma Komisyonu (HUK), Afrika Çalışmaları
SOUTH AFRICA’S UBUNTU SPIRIT IN THE AGE OF GLOBALISATION
The concept of ubuntu or botho, which is commonly used in South Africa, defines an ancient African worldview. The philosophy of ubuntu, which includes values such as love, affection, respect, sharing, and togetherness, is mentioned with different words in the languages of different African communities. Although studies show that the word ‘ubuntu’ was first used for the first time in a relatively recent period, the second half of the 19th century, the philosophy is estimated to be much older. Conceptually, the word ubuntu, which is thought to possess different meanings in different periods, defines the moral characteristics of human beings. Another definition that emerged about a century after this, expresses the interdependence of society. In this respect, the concept is now intertwined with the principle of umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu, which is a Nguni proverb; “a person is a person through other persons”. Ubuntu is part of an attempt to define Africa to the world and to reach a natural perception of Africa, which could have been formed without any external pressure by explaining the continent to the world through its own values. On the other hand, it is regarded as an important tool to create a new world vision for Africans. In this respect, the use of ubuntu philosophy, which is based on an Afrocentric perspective, in areas such as politics, education, and greater society is highly debated by academic circles. As it is one of the basic building blocks of South Africa’s domestic and foreign policy, ubuntu and its values such as brotherhood, love, and affection are applied in an attempt for new nation-building goals and to prevent the increasing xenophobia in the country. It is argued that ubuntu philosophy and its variations in other African cultures in terms of its teachings will contribute to world peace, especially in the African continent. In addition, it is maintained that, by realising the Pan-Africanist ideal as socio-economic unification of the African continent, ubuntu could be taken as a reference point.
Keywords:
Ubuntu, Botho, Afrocentrism, Communalism, Pan-Africanism, Xenophobia, Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), African Studies,
___
- Akiwowo, A. A. (1986). Contributions to the sociology of knowledge from an African oral poetry. International Sociology, 1(4), 343–358. https://doi.org/10.1177/026858098600100401
- Bam, J. (2000). Negotiating history, truth and reconciliation and globalisation: An analysis of the suppression of historical consciousness in South African schools as case study. Mots Pluriels, 13. https://motspluriels.arts.uwa.edu.au/MP1300jb.html
- Breda, A. D. (2019). Developing the notion of ubuntu as African theory for social work practice. Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 55(4), 439–450. https://doi.org/10.15270/55-4-762
- Broodryk, J. (2002). Ubuntu: Life lessons from Africa. Ubuntu School of Philosophy.
- Caromba, L. (2015) [Review of the Book Imagined Liberation: Xenophobia, Citizenship and Identity in South Africa, Germany and Canada, by H. Adam & K. Moodley] Politikon, 42(2), 295–298. https://doi.org/10.1080/02589346.2015.1057676
- Edozie, R. K. (2017). “Pan” Africa Rising – The cultural political economy of Nigeria’s Afri-Capitalism and South Africa’s ubuntu business. Palgrave. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59538-6
- Engelbrecht, A. (2006). Textbooks in South Africa from Apartheid to post-Apartheid: Ideological change revealed by racial stereotyping. In E. Roberts-Schweitzer (Ed.), Promoting Social Cohesion through Education, Case Studies and Tools for Using Textbooks and Curricula (s.71–80). The World Bank. https://doi.org/10.1596/978-0-8213-6465-9
- Eze, M. O. (2013). Pan Africanism: A brief intellectual history. History Compass, 11(9), 663–674. https://doi.org/10.1111/hic3.12074
- Gade C. B. N. (2011). The historical development of the written discourses on ubuntu. South African Journal of Philosophy, 30(3), 303–329. https://doi.org/10.4314/sajpem.v30i3.69578
- Gade, C. B. N. (2012). What is ubuntu? Different interpretations among South Africans of African descent. South African Journal of Philosophy, 31(3), 484-503. https://doi.org/10.1080/02580136.2012.10751789
- Gallup. (2020). Global law and order. https://www.gallup.com/analytics/322247/gallup-global-law-and-order-report-2020.aspx
- Horsthemke, K. (2005). Redress and reconciliation in South African education: The case for a rights-based approach. Journal of Education, 37, 169–187. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/AJA0259479X_159
- Lumumba-Kasongo, T. (2018). Ubuntu and Pan-Africanism: The dialectics of learning about Africa. In E. J. Takyi-Amoako & N. T. Assié-Lumumba (Eds.), Re-Visioning Education in Africa – Ubuntu-Inspired Education for Humanity (s. 35–54). Palgrave. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70043-4
- Makgoba, M. W. (1996). In search of the ideal democratic ideal for South Africa. Sunday Times, October 27.
- Mamdani, M. (2019). Why South Africa can’t avoid land reforms. The New York Times, Haziran 17. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/17/opinion/south-africa-land-reform.html
- Maris, C. M. (2020). Philosophical racism and ubuntu: In dialogue with Mogobe Ramose, South African Journal of Philosophy, 39(3), 308–326. https://doi.org/10.1080/02580136.2020.1809124
- Mbeki, T. (2008). Address of the president of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki at the National Tribute in Remembrance of the victims of attacks on foreign nationals, Tshwane, https://www.polity.org.za/article/sa-mbeki-national-tribute-in-remembrance-of-xenophobic-attacks-victims-03072008-2008-07-03
- Mbiti, J. S. (1969). African Religions and Philosophy. Praeger.
- Mojolo, A. O. (2019). Ubuntu in the Christian theology and praxis of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and its implications for global justice and human rights. In J. Ogude (Ed.), Ubuntu and Reconstitutions of Community (s. 21–39). https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvh4zgdk
- Ogude, J. (2019). Introduction. In J. Ogude (Ed.) Ubuntu and the Reconstitution of Community (s. 1–20). Indiana University Press.
- Okoro, N. K. (2015). Ubuntu ideality: The foundation of African compassionate and humane living. Journal of Scientific Research & Reports, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.9734/JSRR/2015/16982
- Okoro, N. K. & Nkama, C. L. (2018). Ubuntu ideality: The solution to xenophobic practices in South Africa, World Journal of Research and Review (WJRR), 6(3).
- Polakow-Suransky, S. (2002, Nisan 1–5). Historical Amnesia? The Politics of Textbooks in Post-Apartheid South Africa. Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA, ABD.
- Republic of South Africa (RSA), Department of Basic Education (DBE). (2018). Executive summary of the History Ministerial Task Team.
- Teffo, L. J. (1996). The other in African experience. South African Journal of Philosophy, 15(3).
- Tshaka, R. (2016, Kasım 15). Afrophobia versus xenophobia in South Africa. Unisa. https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/News-&-Media/Articles/Afrophobia-versus-xenophobia-in-South-Africa
- Tutu, D. (1999). No Future Without Forgiveness. Doubleday.
- Venter, E. (2004). The notion of ubuntu and communalism in African educational discourse. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 23(2–3). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SPED.0000024428.29295.03
- Writer, S. (2020, Kasım 20). South Africa ranked among unsafest countries in the world – as citizens live in fear. Business Tech. https://businesstech.co.za/news/lifestyle/450267/south-africa-ranked-among-unsafest-countries-in-the-world-as-citizens-live-in-fear/
- Yenga, J. A. (2015). The spirit of ubuntu. http://www.jackyyenga.com/the-spirit-of-ubuntu/
- Yayın Aralığı: Yılda 2 Sayı
- Başlangıç: 2021
- Yayıncı: İnönü Üniversitesi
Sayıdaki Diğer Makaleler
SUDAN’DA ULUSAL BİRLİK: GEÇİŞ DÖNEMİNDE BARIŞ VE ENTEGRASYON
KÜRESELLEŞME ÇAĞINDA GÜNEY AFRIKA’NIN UBUNTU RUHU
COVID-19 DÖNEMİNDE TÜRKİYE-AFRİKA SAĞLIK İŞBİRLİĞİ
NİJERYA’YA ŞİİLİĞİN GİRİŞİ VE YAYILMASINDA/GELİŞİMİNDE İRAN’IN ROLÜ
YOKSULLUK KISKACINDAKİ AFRİKA’DA TARIM POLİTİKALARININ GELİŞTİRİLMESİNDE SELEM’İN ROLÜ