Rethinking Time: Unpacking John Mbiti's African Philosophy of Sasa and Zamani

A recent viral video by "Colourful Radio x Studios" featuring @mumbipoetry has ignited discussions around the profound insights of Kenyan philosopher John Mbiti, particularly his revolutionary concept of time in African societies. The video unpacks Mbiti’s famous line from his 1969 work, "African Religions and Philosophy": “Africans have no concept of the future.”@mumbipoetry clarifies that Mbiti did not imply a lack of foresight or planning. Instead, he proposed that for many African societies, the future is not perceived as a far-off, endless horizon. "Time has to be experienced in order to be real," the video explains, elaborating on Mbiti's two dimensions of time: Sasa and Zamani.Sasa encompasses the "now-period," including the immediate past, the present, and the immediate future that can be experienced. It is a period of immediate concern, where events have taken place or are about to take place. Zamani, on the other hand, is described as "the vast endless past where all events eventually go on to live forever." Events "move backwards" from Sasa into Zamani once they are realized.This perspective stands in stark contrast to the Western linear view of time, often seen as a commodity to be "spent, saved, wasted, or lost." The video highlights how this fundamental difference shapes various aspects of life, from politics and economics to daily routines. For instance, Mbiti observed that foreigners might perceive Africans "sitting under a tree" as wasting time, whereas in African thought, this act could be seen as "waiting for time or producing time."The video concludes by emphasizing that in African thought, the "golden age" lies in the Zamani, the rich, experienced past, rather than a distant, unexperienced future. This cyclical understanding of time, where "seasons, years, birth, marriage, death, it's all a cycle," offers a powerful alternative to Western-favored narratives of continuous progress and development. The discussion has resonated widely, prompting viewers to "decolonize their minds" and reconsider their own relationships with time.