Wade Nobles: The Intellectual as Healer

Abstract

Healers and priests were archetypes of intellectuals in West Africa that were maintained in the cultural memory of Africans in the diaspora in spite of enslavement. The presence of these intellectuals/healers countered the perpetuation of Eurocentric thought because they were guardians of African culture and possessed the ability to transfer and transmit collective cultural and historical memory. Wade Nobles positions his intellectual work and activism in the tradition of healers that countered European cultural hegemony while affirming the humanity of African people. Nobles defines the Sakhu as the process of illuminating the human spirit and utilizes the various manifestations and functions of the Sakhu to demonstrate the intricate connections between spirituality, science, and culture. Through seeking, defining, unlocking, and applying the Sakhu, Nobles articulates a worldview grounded in African spirituality that attempts to heal the minds and spirits of African people.