What Is Said About Homosexuality in the Himbacracy Philosophy?

 

What Is Said About Homosexuality in the Himbacracy Philosophy?

 

The premise of the assertion that homosexuality is expressly condemned by the forefathers in the Himbacracy Philosophy. One of the most persistent ethical difficulties across Ovahimba traditions is sexual variety, I have written in the personal study based on Himba culture over the past year since I started writing more frequently on my blog about the Himbacracy Philosophy. One of the first questions on this subject that many Ovahimba ask is, "What does the Himbacracy Philosophical point of view say about attraction to someone of the same sex?"

The term "homosexual" wasn't even coined until late moved to Windhoek when we moved to Windhoek to further our study, so it's unlikely that the Himbacracy philosophers had any understanding of the same sexual orientation. Nevertheless, for many Himbacracy, the Himbacracy Philosophy is looked to for timeless guidance on what it means to honour God through our ancestors with our lives.

Before I explain how Ovahimba culture upholds the authority of the Himbacracy Philosophy and affirms sexual diversity, it might be helpful if we first gave a brief but clear overview of some of the presumptions underlying many Himbacracy Philosophy approaches to understanding the Ovahimba culture.

What is the Ovahimba Philosophical point of view?

It is well known among Ovahimba culture, to whom the Ovahimba culture is God's very spoken word, that God created its contents through divinely inspired human authors to recount the tale of God's creation, the origins of sin, and the redemption found in our ancestors and their salvation.

In this regard, the Ovahimba culture is frequently seen as the key resource for teaching us how to live as members of the Himba civilization. Although it is crucial to emphasize, being in Himba culture does not imply that we learn what is right or bad by listening to isolated portions. Instead, most Ovahimba people make these difficult decisions by analyzing what the entire spoken word has to say about a particular subject, looking into the linguistic, historical, and cultural context in which the words were spoken, and then comparing their findings to what is known about the nature of Ovahimba culture more generally. While Ovahimba's history states that "ancestors are the same yesterday, today, and forever," our capacity to comprehend and apply the teachings of the Himbacracy Philosophy evolves and deepens as we develop in our faith and gain knowledge of the outside world.

What is Bible Interpretation?

I enjoy reading, and one book that I enjoy is the Bible. Whenever someone reads the Bible, an interpretive process begins. When people who are attracted to people of the same sex reach affirming conclusions about their relationships and identities, they are frequently admonished that they are "elevating" their experience over Scripture. They are frequently informed that doing this directly denies the Bible's authority over their life. But it begs the question: Is this a fair and true judgment? Exist neutral interpretations in any way? If so, who decides what is the one true or accurate method to understand the Bible? Reading the bible has helped me realize how closely related our society and the bible are, especially the old testament.

Hermeneutics, the study of biblical interpretation, aids Christians in answering concerns of this nature. When someone takes a text and asks "What does this mean?" rather than merely "What does this say," they are engaging in hermeneutics. Their duty is to investigate what the pertinent biblical verses on the subject meant in their original context and what they mean for them now. They accomplish this by asking, "What does the Bible say about homosexuality" (or, more accurately, "What does the Bible say about attraction to someone of the same sex").

The Trouble with Exclusive Interpretations

The majority of Ovahimba people, as well as those who support African cultures, believe the answer to this question is "yes." Their interpretation is that God's creative goal cannot be reflected in same-sex couples. Their justifications include, but are not limited to 1) the "unbiased" interpretation of the relevant verses that they were always taught to apply; and 2) a fundamental conviction that sex distinction is an essential component of Ovahimba marriage. The latter is extremely significant since, in our culture, marriage is regarded as the primary representation of the love shared by men and women. To us, same-sex couples are specifically barred from participating in this symbol because they fall short in one or more aspects of the frequently ill-defined category known as "gender complementarity."

While it is true that gender complementarity has its roots in cultural passages, it is important to remember that while these stories claim that God first created humans of the male and female sex (defined as the complex product of combinations between chromosomes, gonads, genes, and genitals), there is nothing to suggest that God only created this binary in the course of human history or in our own history. About gender or the social and cultural norms and behaviours that correlate to what is deemed masculine and feminine, this account says very little to nothing. I personally had never met a gay person until moving to Windhoek, and I did so at a university.  I am aware that there are still residents of our community who have never met a gay person. It is obvious from this that these individuals do not belong to us and do not reflect our culture. While they claimed that polygamy was against humanity when we practiced it, they praised democracy for gays and lesbians.

Our culture is very important

To all Ovahimba people, let's teach our children to traverse diversity and to treat everyone with an equal amount of respect and dignity. To do this, we must first challenge constrictive gender stereotypes, instances of our gender culture, and same-sex beliefs. Our kids need to understand that a boy must stay a boy and a girl must stay a girl. It also entails having conversations with kids that ask them to evaluate the messages they hear from others and grabbing opportunities to broaden their worldview. Our kids can interact with others, but they must always act in a way that honours our culture. Our culture is very important to us, so we don't need to explain it to people who don't understand it since we do. Early exposure to our culture is important for our children.

Children who resist parents’ intervention

We must not let such activity because our children are our property and will behave in the manner we desire as they begin to internalize messages from the outside world to direct and express their own identities as gendered beings. Continue to teach your kids that a boy is a boy and a girl is a girl so that there is no confusion about gender in our society. Also, teach them what to wear and what not to wear according to their gender, how to style their hair, and how to act. Children shouldn't have holes in their ears. This is expected and simply emphasizes the significance of your efforts to change these mindsets. The traditional "broken record" method is the greatest technique to handle kids who resist your interventions.

 If you've said that toys aren't for everyone and that boys and girls must use different toys, then keep repeating your point quietly and deliberately. You don't need to come up with anything new; simply stick to your position until it is accepted or it becomes clear that you should leave. Boys must play soccer, while girls must play netball. Boys' games are for boys, whereas girls' games are for girls. 

As a result of our ancestors' adherence to our culture, we did not have any of these individuals in our community. People who are unwilling to accept our culture should not be heard. People can grow their abilities and skills in an environment that celebrates cultural diversity. One can learn from a wider variety of same people with the same culture by having a breadth of ideas and knowledge. It can also improve one's ability to solve problems, as well as their happiness and productivity.

 

Uerimanga Tjijombo

The Himbacracy Philosopher