Bantu Philosophy

Mutombo Nkulu-N'Sengba

Bantu philosophy refers to the philosophy, religious worldview, and ethical principles of the Bantu people articulated by the first generation of African intellectuals and founders of contemporary African philosophy and theology. Originally it referred to research done on traditional culture between 1950 and 1990 in Central Africa, and more specifically in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda by philosophers and theologians such as Mulago Gwa Cikara Musharamina, Alexis Kagame, John Mbiti, Mutuza Kabe, and Alexis Kagame. This research was part of the process of decolonization of knowledge that began with the collapse of European colonial empires in the wake of the first and second world wars. This research intended to rediscover the ancestral philosophical worldview and spiritual values that had been denigrated and distorted by the colonial education. This goal was accomplished by analyzing African proverbs; the structure of Bantu languages, songs, art, and music; and various ...

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