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Rhythm is a fundamental component of African Tradition. Let us pick up its story in 12,500 BC when African Sages more aggressively went after the fashioning of a path to reach the Heaven Afterlife. A brilliant insight was that to convert the chaotic information they had about the Cosmos into an understandable "Order" constituted a way to discover the Truth. Believing Nature to be the home of Truth, the most obvious ordered thing in Nature was the stars in the sky. Furthermore, they believed Cosmic Rhythms were responsible for that Order. Since those rhythms consist of vibrating Universal Energy (which springs out of God's Mind), then to detect and understand the ordered rhythms embracing the earth and those generating the cycles of nature, the stars, the constellations, and body mechanics meant this led to the Truth of the Laws of the Cosmos. Amazingly, they figured out by math that the laws which operated in Earth World Nature were the same laws which operated in distant realms (e.g. the sky)--and on into the higher realms they could not see. For example, they envisioned that cycles of the Nile River were reflected in the in the sky's Milky Way--and on higher into the Celestial river called the Nun (the Subjective Realm which contained material potential possibilities).
In the process, African Sage-astronomers, using rhythms of things readily available (e.g. Nile River Cycles) to them, devised mathematics. That math was then used to calculate events occurring in the sky. Hence, math showed a unification of the Earth world and the Celestial world laws of Nature. By God designing mystical elements of the Cosmos to orchestrate all spiritually related creatures and creations implied that it was necessary for the people to harmonize themselves with Nature's Rhythms. Besides, not only was each member of the African "organism" an "indivisible individual" but each also had a unifying spiritual connection with fellow Africans and Nature--Wholism. Their Ethos occurred from the natural rhythmic cycle of social and environmental experiences shared by everyone within the culture. Hence, more importance than what happened to an individual was the effect of that happening on the group. This core concept of African Tradition showed, for example, in their legal system. Rather than deal with which party was right or wrong, the court's decision was based on what is in the best interest of the community.
Court decisions were specifically made by the spoken word because it represented a mechanism for transmitting life and spirit to, and sharing harmony and unity with, others. The human voice and the inherent spiritual power of the Spoken Word were said to gain power from natural rhythms--rhythms each individual acquires from self-knowledge and by ones inner vision regarding and connection with Cosmic rhythms. Thus, the communications of those striving to live a Ma'at life (love in action) are spiritually enriched and governed by the natural rhythms of life. When the divine spirit is in the Spoken Word-or Nommo-and that Spoken Word is carried to its conclusion (i.e. doing what you say you are going to do), one is in tune with the rhythm of the universe. One is also in tune by establishing the setting for and then properly relating to humans, animals, and God in a manner that fashions a sense of harmony. This is the ultimate in being "Human."
Joseph A. Bailey, II, M.D.
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