Kaya 959 Umoya: On African Spirituality

Umoya: On African Spirituality

With new episodes out every second Thursday, Umoya is a podcast that seeks to share the various modes and influences of spiritual practice in our lives and work. We want to understand how modern Africans are thinking about their sense of being and belong. Who are we? What makes us human? And to explore these questions within the realms of indigenous knowledge systems. Yintoni ubuNtu ngezintsuku? What is the role of love and spiritual identity in the aftermath of apartheid? While the conversations would encompass universal principles of spiritual practice, we are particularly interested in excavating the numinous values and practices of African Spirituality.
Weekly English South Africa Religion & Spirituality · Spirituality
22 Episodes
1 – 20

Episode 10: The Past and the Present: Freedom and Music with Thandiswa Mazwai

For more than two decades, singer Thandiswa Mazwai has captured, probed and illuminated our public imagination with her unyielding loyalty to an African world view, shared through her music, first as a member of Bongo Maffin and in latter years, her solo career. In our final episode of Umoya, we…
29 Aug 2019 53 min

Episode 9: Integrating African Spirituality and Christianity

With an increasing number of Africans seeking to explore how their Christianity can co-exist with indigenous African spiritual practices, episode 9 features Methodist priest, theologian and marriage healer Reverend Mandla Gamede, who integrates Christianity with African spirituality in his work with the Magadlela Institute of Authentic Leadership. Reverend Gamede is…
22 Aug 2019 1 hr 02 min

Episode 8: Umlindelo wamakholwa: A gathering of believers

In this episode we speak to photographer Sabelo Mlangeni about his photography with a particular focus on the 2018 exhibition Umlindelo Wamakholwa. This exhibition was a deeply spiritual representation of AmaZiyoni who occupy a marginal place in the cultural imagination. Sabelo shares his journey with photography and how it intersects…
15 Aug 2019 1 hr 07 min

Episode 7: Dreams: We are never alone

In this episode we explore the world of dreams through personal reflection with friends. This episode takes a seemingly taken for granted aspect of our humanity—dreams—and sheds light on the thin veil between the world that is seen and unseen. Given the nature of dreams, the conversation was deeply personal…
8 Aug 2019 1 hr 11 min

MInisode: Creativity, Communion, Community

In this excerpt, we explore the influence of collaborating in Msaki’s musical journey. While the music industry can commodify these relationships Msaki is aware of the need to approach these relationships with care because abantu badibanisa imimoya yabo. Msaki shares the nexus of the 3Cs which have influenced her music:…
20 Jun 2019 8 min

Minisode: Healing and the grace of ukuzilanda

In this excerpt Msaki reflects on the sound of her dreams which have influenced the threshold moment in her musical journey. It was through her relationships with friends such as Nduduzo Makhathini and Sisonke Papu who opened her up to the ideas about the generosity and grace in African spirituality…
20 Jun 2019 12 min

Minisode: Finding a home for oneself through truth and forgiveness

In this excerpt Zoya tells us about her own journey about bringing herself home to herself. It was through a personal experience that Zoya was confronted with finding the power of truth and how it is intricately linked to her work. Zoya also share her own journey with forgiveness as…
12 Jun 2019 12 min

Minisode: Retrieving the power of voice

In this excerpt Zoya shares her journey with finding her voice. While she grew up knowing she had a talent for the stage and public speaking, it was while she was working in a corporate environment that she began to notice that her voice was being stifled. It was the…
12 Jun 2019 9 min

Minisode: Rites of Passage and the Womb

In this excerpt Gogo Sophia speaks about the effects of controlling the womb through contraceptives. The effects of contraceptives means that women’s bodies are numbed, thus disrupting the energetic flow of the womb. The conversation highlighted the importance of rites of passage for women in order to mark the sacred…
6 Jun 2019 11 min

Minisode: The Womb As A Sacred Space

In this excerpt we explore the womb as a sacred space. Our guest, Gogo Sophia, brings to light the conversation about women’s bodies. This conversation is often shrouded in shame and silence.
6 Jun 2019 16 min

Minisode - From an African world view, what is romance and sex?

How do we show up authentically in relationships? What are some of the habits we’ve picked up from popular culture and what do they do to the establishment of peace, joy, healing and love in our intimate relationships? And how else can we understand and deal with breakups in ways…
31 May 2019 21 min

Minisode - How do we enter into intimate relationships more consciously?

From our episode on the metaphysical and spiritual aspect of our sexual and intimate relationships, healers Mpho Makhanya and Vela Maseko define intimacy, love, sex and relationships in ways we haven’t considered, and quite frankly, needed to hear. This was one of the most insightful conversations about arguably the most…
31 May 2019 13 min

Minisode - What is non-racialism, how do we demystify it?

When South Africa’s poet laureate, philosopher and author, Ntate Mongane Serote was first recruited into the ANC, he did not believe nor understand the notion of non-racialism. This fourth minisode of Episode 1: On National Healing, he speaks about how he came to learn about its deep foundation while in…
31 May 2019 9 min

Minisode - Relationships between African men and women after apartheid

One of the bonds that have continued to suffer in the aftermath of apartheid is the relationship between African men and women. In the second minisode from Episode 1: On National Healing, Ntate Mongane Serote focuses on how African families were built and what we could learn from these formations.
28 May 2019 8 min

Minisode - On National Healing

On National Healing, South Africa’s poet laureate, philosopher and author ntate Mongane Serote talks about the special bond he shared with his grandmother, and shares some insights on the unexpected magnanimity of her generation, having been on the receiving end of a daily racism during apartheid.
23 May 2019 11 min

Episode 6 : The spirituality of friendship

The hosts of Umoya turn their gaze to the spiritual nature of their own friendship. In this episode Milisuthando Bongela and Athambile Masola allow themselves to be vulnerable in order to navigate the vantage points that their friendship roots itself in. As spiritually observant storytellers, Milisuthando and Athambile throwback to…
2 May 2019 1 hr 08 min

Episode 5: The Art of Fetching Oneself with Msaki

As a burgeoning spiritual practice and carrier of ancestral energy, song has been a search light for song catcher Msaki’s journey into Ukuzilanda: the Art and Practice of Fetching Oneself. In this episode of Umoya: On African Spirituality, Athambile Masola and Milisuthando Bongela sit down with their friend and peer…
18 Apr 2019 1 hr 06 min

Episode 4: The power of the voice with Zoya Mabuto

Voice is that which we use to express ourselves in various contexts, but more often than not we find it challenging to speak from a place honesty. In this episode, Milisuthando Bongela and Athambile Masola speak to award-winning public speaker, Zoya Mabuto about her journey in discovering her authentic voice…
4 Apr 2019 1 hr 03 min

Episode 3 : Metaphysics of ukujola

How do romantic relationships and the act of sex intersect with African Spirituality ? This is the grand question explored on the latest episode of Umoya. Athambile Masola and Milisuthando Bongela sit down with healers, Mpho Makhanya and Vella Maseko to unpack the metaphysics of Ukujola.
21 Mar 2019 1 hr 31 min
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