We are the embodiment of Ubuntu
Ubuntu (Zulu pronunciation: [ùɓúntʼù]) is a Nguni Bantu term meaning "humanity." It is often translated as "I am because we are," or "humanity towards others," but is often used in a more philosophical sense to mean "the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity."
In the words of Michael Oynebuchi Eze:
The lesson of Ubuntu ...(happens when)... we find our shared humanity in the encounter with others. The masks of fear, suspicion, and strangeness are removed and the gifts become visible. Ubuntu does not ask that we erase differences and become the same. It asks that we interpret others positively, recognizing that whatever our differences, our humanity is equal. It is an invitation to dialogue, to understanding, even without agreement, and with understanding comes compassion, tolerance, nobility, sharing. Sharing is divinity, just as food is divinity in African culture. Ubuntu tells us: Go and share food with the person you don’t like. Something will shift. In dialogue you need not come to agreement, but you will come to understanding.
In the words of Michael Oynebuchi Eze:
The lesson of Ubuntu ...(happens when)... we find our shared humanity in the encounter with others. The masks of fear, suspicion, and strangeness are removed and the gifts become visible. Ubuntu does not ask that we erase differences and become the same. It asks that we interpret others positively, recognizing that whatever our differences, our humanity is equal. It is an invitation to dialogue, to understanding, even without agreement, and with understanding comes compassion, tolerance, nobility, sharing. Sharing is divinity, just as food is divinity in African culture. Ubuntu tells us: Go and share food with the person you don’t like. Something will shift. In dialogue you need not come to agreement, but you will come to understanding.
Language is a window on culture, and in many African languages the word for a human being is closely related to the word ubuntu, or botho. The concept of ubuntu is bound up with the very idea of what it is to be human. Many African proverbs are also expressions of ubuntu.
- Motho ke motho ka batho / umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu – A person is a person through other people.
- Feta kgomo o tshware motho – Life is greater than wealth.
- Kgosi ke kgosi ka batho – A king is a king by the grace of his people.
- If your mother nurses you to grow your teeth, you nurse her to lose hers. (Akan)
- If a child shoots an arrow that reaches the top of a tall palm tree, then surely an elder carved the arrow for him. (Yoruba)
- Ofu aka ruta mmanu ozuru oha – When one finger is contaminated with oil, it spreads to other fingers. (Igbo)
- It is an unthinking man who achieves prosperity and then finds with time that his body can no longer pass through the door. (Malawi)
- The man who remembers others remembers also his creator. (Malawi)
“Umntu Ngumntu Ngabantu” or “I am, because you are” is how we describe the meaning of Ubuntu. It speaks to the fact that we are all connected and that one can only grow and progress through the growth and progression of others.
Ubuntu has since been used as a reminder for society on how we should be treating all living beings.
Ubuntu has since been used as a reminder for society on how we should be treating all living beings.