Original Research Essay #2

Sojourner truth: bringing order out of chaos

The Western Journal of Black Studies, Winter 2005

From U.S. History in Context

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Born: c. 1797 in Rifton, New York, United States
Died: November 26, 1883 in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States
Other Names: Bomefree, Isabella; Baumfree, Isabella
Nationality: American
Occupation: Abolitionist

Sojourner truth: bringing order out of chaos

Author abstract

This article examines the historical and spiritual significance of the change of Isabella Van Wagener's name to Sojourner Truth. This was a very significant existential act. Isabella Van Wagener took a new name following a mystical revelation on the Day of Pentecost in 1843. It is consistent with the spiritual traditions of Ancient Egypt and Zen Buddhism. In Ancient Egypt, Ma' at was a goddess and a concept that represented a system of defining one's self through the infusion of spiritual energy. In Zen Buddhism, Satori represents an intuitive flash of sudden awareness from which one feels totally at one with the Divine Creator. This sudden feeling of oneness with the Divine Creator and the infusion of spiritual energy into her life is how Sojourner Truth describes the mystical experience that led to her name change and ministry. In short, this paper focuses on the spiritual life of Sojourner Truth, and provides insight into how she brought order out of the chaos of enslavement.

God revealed himself ... with all the suddenness of a flash of lightning, showing [Sojourner Truth] ... that he pervaded the universe--"and that there was no place where God was not." (Narrative p. 65)

Sojourner Truth is a well-known figure in Africana and women's history who has been examined from various perspectives. Sojourner Truth lived a spiritually rich life and in this article she will be examined from a Ma'atian perspective.

Ma'at was usually represented as a goddess with the feather of truth on her head, but during the Pharaoh Akhenaten's reign Ma'at was written phonetically, without the goddess sign. She had become a concept (Freed, Markowitz & D'Auria, 1999, p. 102). The concept of time ... and order are closely related to the domain of Ma'at (Teeter, 1997, p. 34). She most particularly represented the creation of divine cosmic order from chaos. It was the Pharaoh's duty to maintain Ma'at, to maintain order.

Ma'at was symbolized by an ostrich feather, "niw." This is a play on words, for in the mdu neter, "niw" is the word for creation (Obenga, 1995). She was the daughter of the sun god, Re, and rose with him from the primordial waters at the moment of creation. She was considered as essential to the fabric of Kemet as water and the sun (Armour, 1986, p. 164). Thus the domain of Ma'at not only included time and order but also water and the sun.

The concept of Ma'at was so essential to the ancient Egyptians that there is no one word which capture the full meaning of Ma'at. Scholar Maulana Karenga asserts that she represented truth, justice, reciprocity, balance, order, and harmony (1984). Egyptologist E. A. Budge maintains that "Maat meant right, true, truth, real, genuine, upright, righteousness, just, steadfast, unalterable, etc." ([1895] 1967, p. cxix). In a hymn written by the Pharaoh Akhenaten, in addition to cosmic order, he stressed aspects of Ma'at that could be defined as beauty. In short, in the worldview of the people of the Nile Valley, she represented the right things (Monges, 1999)

Afrocentric scholar Molefi Asante in Kernet, Afrocentricity, and Knowledge asserts that Ma'at was a symbol of the search for existential peace (1990, p. 83) Asante stresses the philosophical path that must be followed in order to adhere to the principles of Ma'at. He asserts that "[Ma'at] suggests knowledge of self as the absolute path" (Asante, 1990, p. 87). Ma'at symbolized a process of infusing spiritual energy into one's definition of one's self. From this perspective, Isabella Van Wagener stamped order into the chaos of enslavement by transforming herself into Sojourner Truth. She asserted herself existentially becoming Sojourner Truth.

Historical Background

Isabella was born between the years 1797 and 1800 (Narrative p. 13). She was an enslaved African woman in New York State who was owned by Dutch masters. She was very valuable to her masters because she was a very hard worker who also produced children. Living as an enslaved African in the north was different from living in the slave cabins of the south. One of her earliest memories was of breathing the venomous vapors of the cellar in which she lived under her master's hotel, along with his other enslaved Africansmale and female. She and the other inhabitants slept on straw with a blanket the way horses did.

Its only lights consisting of a few panes of glass, through which she thinks the sun never shone, but with thrice reflected rays; and the space between the loose boards on the floor, and the uneven earth below was filled with mud and water ... (p. 14)

Her father was called 'Bomefree' which is low Dutch for tree and her mother was known as 'Mau-mau Bett'. Her enslaver named her Isabella (p. 17). She was next to the youngest of ten to twelve children, most of whom were taken and sold away from her parents.

Spiritual Education

Her mother, Mau-mau Bett, was her primary spiritual guide and she referred back to the lessons learned from her mother, during the rest of her life. Man-man Bett taught her and her siblings about a Divine Power who would neither fail nor forsake them:

My children, there is a God, who hears and sees

you.... He lives in the sky ... and when you are

beaten, or cruelly treated, or fall into any trouble,

you must ask help of him, and he will always hear

and help you (p. 17).

Her mother taught her a belief system, which was Ma'atian in principle in that it was focused on truth. She entreated her to tell the truth and not to steal, and to obey her masters, as much as possible. She taught her to kneel and pray. Mau-mau Bett also taught Isabella to connect with energy forces more powerful than she by teaching her to look at the stars and bond with them. She told her:

Those are the same stars, and that is the same

moon, that look down upon your brothers and

sisters, and which they see as they look up to them,

though they are ever so far away from us, and each

other (p. 18)

This was a part of Mau-mau Bett's African heritage. The stars feature in the beliefs of many African peoples (Mbiti 53). Mountains, hills, and other high standing earth formations are considered by many African people to be concrete manifestations of divine presence. For many African people the stars are points of contact, which draw humans together with other spiritual beings and the Divine (Mbiti p. 55). Thus Mau-mau Bett infused in Isabella, very early in her life, the African spiritual tradition.

The African tradition is one of a close relationship with the Divine. In traditional Africa the spiritual is intertwined with the material. Isabella demonstrated this closeness with the Divine. According to her Narrative:

She always asked with an unwavering faith that

she should receive just what she plead for,--"And

now, she say, "though it seems curious, I do not

remember ever asking for any thing but what I got

it. And I always received it as an answer to my

prayers [Emphasis in text] (p. 27)

Her masters once controlled her thinking. Isabella believed in the institution of slavery so she followed its principles with the same passion that she would later follow in the abolition of slavery. She wrote that she believed that her masters were "a God; and believed that he knew of and could see her at all times, even as God himself" (33). In the pursuit of truth, she used to confess her and other enslaved

Africans' alleged transgressions to her master. Dr. Carter G. Woodson expressed it so eloquently when he said:

When you control a man's thinking you do not

have to worry about his actions. You do not have

to tell him not to stand here or go yonder. He will

find his 'proper place' and will stay in it. You do

not need to send him to the back door He will go

without being told. In fact, if there is no back door,

he will cut one for his special benefit. His education

makes it necessary (p. xiii) During the process of

becoming spiritually enlightened, Isabella saw the

errors of her ways.

Her original moral system was a combination of that which was taught to her by her mother Mau-mau Bett and by her master. Her mother taught her honesty as part of a moral system. The masters also stressed honesty to the slaves. Thus, when she became a mother, she would at times whip her children when they cried for food, rather than give them food that was not their own (Narrative p. 34) Her moral system, even though sometimes misguided, was always strong and directed by her principles.

When Isabella became enlightened she still did not regret the time she had spent being faithful and true to her master, because "[ii t made me true to my God." Using everything in life as a lesson, "It helped her form in her a character that loved truth, and hated a lie, and had saved her from the bitter pains and fears that are sure to follow in the wake of insincerity and hypocrisy" (Narrative p. 34). Truth is a Ma'atian principle.

The Pursuit of Freedom

Isabella was legally a free woman on July 4, 1827 but her master refused to grant her freedom. She had a diseased hand for a year, which greatly diminished the amount of work that she could perform. Her master refused her freedom because he had sustained a loss of profit. She pleaded with him, but probably because of her faithfulness and honesty, he was very reluctant to give her up. So Isabella, even though she was a legally free African, decided to escape.

As with all things, she discussed it in detail with God. She got an idea to leave just before dawn and thanked God "Yes, said she, fervently, 'that's a good thought! Thank you, God, for that thought!" [Emphasis in text] (Narrative 41). She left and prayed to God for a safe asylum. While on her journey, a thought came to her about a man who lived in the direction in which she was traveling, who would be likely to befriend her. She went to his house and he indeed welcomed her, but since he was on his deathbed, he referred her to two other places that might welcome her. She remembered that the inhabitants of the first house were hospitable people. She followed her inner spirit and stopped there. The Van Wageners not only welcomed her, they hired her.

Isabella's master eventually found her and accused her of running away. She replied that she did not run away but had walked away in daylight because he had promised her freedom. Mr. Van Wagener stepped in and agreed to buy her services for a year. He then told her not to call him master because the only master was God. At first, she did not believe that he did not want to function in a masterslave relationship, but he did not. She perceived the Van Wageners to be relatively kind people. She made a decision to bring more order into her life by redefining herself. She became Isabella Van Wagener.

Isabella's Sacred Place

Her first and foremost spiritual teacher, her mother, Maumau Bett, taught her to pray. She believed that she could only pray by speaking out to the Divine when she was alone (Narrative p. 27) so she created a sacred place.

It was "a small island in a small stream, covered with willow shrubbery ... It was a lonely spot chosen by her for its beauty, its retirement, and because she thought that there, in the noise of those waters, she could speak louder to God, without being overheard by any who might pass that way" (Narrative p. 60). She would use her sacred place for intimate discussions with the Divine force. At this point, she did not have any formal religious instruction. Her spirituality was based on her intimate relationship with the Divine. Mau-mau Bett was her minister and spiritual role model. She stated that when she arrived in New York City in 1829, "She had known nothing of religion a few months before-not even that Jesus Christ was the Son of God" (Stetson and David p. 68). When she moved to New York she first joined the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. In 1832, she joined a religious community but later left it.

Reading Sacred Text

Real education means to inspire people to live more abundantly, to learn to begin with life as they find it and make it better (Carter G. Woodson 29)

Isabella Van Wagener continued to develop and engage in the process of becoming. She was illiterate but wanted to understand the Bible. She wanted the text read to her without comment so that she could translate its meaning for herself. She found that she could get children to read to her without comment, more easily than she could adults. They did not mind reading the same sentence over and over. Thus, even though she was illiterate, she was able to study the sacred text and make her own interpretations. She wished to compare the teachings of the Bible with the witness within her; and she came to the conclusion, that the spirit of truth spoke in those records, but that the recorders of those truths had intermingled with them ideas and suppositions of their own [Emphasis Supplied] (Narrative p. 109)

In all aspects of her life, Isabella Van Wagener showed indications of being an independent thinker. She desired to live life more abundantly. She was constantly seeking knowledge of herself and acting upon it. Like the sun, her life manifested the potent, unfailing energy of becoming.

The African view is ... th[e] idea of unity with the cosmos. In the sense of the Zulu declaration, one says "I am river, I am mountain, I am tree, I am love, I am emotion, I am beauty, I am lake, I am cloud, I am sun, I am sky, I am mind, I am one with one." There is no difference between human beings in-knowledge-of-themselves and the cosmosbecoming. The symbols, which suggest Ma'at, provide existential connections to those who would decipher the orator's message (Asante p. 83)

When she moved to New York, she first joined the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.

In 1832, she joined a religious community in Sing Sing, New York. Elijah Pierson led it first and then later Robert Matthews, who was better known as The Prophet Matthias, whom she believed, was an avatar of God with equanimity. He had a long white beard and appeared to her and others to look similar to the pictures of Jesus Christ that were in many Bibles (Stetson and David p. 68). She was the only Black person in the community and by all accounts was treated as an equal. Matthias and his disciples believed that after death bodies would not be resurrected, but the spirits of former saints would enter the bodies of the present generation and begin heaven on earth, with Matthias and Pierson being the first to become saints (Narrative p. 95-6). The community ended in controversy. Mattias was eventually arrested for, but was later acquitted, of the charge of murdering Pierson. Isabella eventually escaped the negative consequences suffered by many others in the community. However, she became disillusioned, and disassociated herself from the group.

Spiritual Epiphany: From Isabella to SoJourner Truth

It was in New York City that Isabella had a spiritual transformation and became the person with whom we are most familiar. On June 1, 1843, the day of Pentecost, Isabella felt called to leave New York City. Like Buddha, she "awakened," as with an epiphany experience. She had never been outside of New York State nor did she know any one outside of the state. Yet Isabella felt that she was meant to go east' and that all would be well for her on her journey. She did not tell her children or her friends because she felt that they would try to discourage her (Narrative p. 100).

She put a few items in a pillowcase. An hour before leaving, she informed Mrs. Whiting, the woman in whose house she was living, that she was a new person, Sojourner Truth, and that she was going east. Truth's taking a new name that was not connected to a master or a husband was a Ma'atian act. She proclaimed herself existentially as a "self-determining agent responsible for the authenticity of her choices" (Webster p. 678). Her taking on a new name was what Zen Buddhists refer to as the ultimate spiritual experience, Satori, an intuitive flash of sudden awareness. Clinical psychologist and psychotherapist John Weiwood describes Satori as an immense, cosmic felt shaft, where one's whole life suddenly changes, and one walks away a new being (Welwood p.98). She described her experience as a revelation that came as sudden as a flash of lightening and she felt totally at one with the Divine Creator (Narrative p. 65) She re-defined her existence. It was an act of faith. When Whiting asked her, "What are you going east for? Her answer was, "The Spirit calls me there, and I must go" (Narrative p. 100)

Going east to Truth meant traveling "up and down the land" (Stetson 93)

She told the abolitionist writer, Harriet Beecher Stowe, the story of her transformation:

My name was Isabella: but when I left the house

of bondage, I left everything behind. I wa'n't goin

to keep nothin' of Egypt on me, an 'so I went to the

Lord an' asked him to give me a new name. And the

Lord gave me Sojourner, because I was to travel up

an' down the land, showin' the people their sins an'

bein' a sign unto them. Afterwards I told the Lord I

wanted another name, 'cause everybody else had

two names; and the Lord gave Truth, because I

was to declare the truth to the people (Stetson and

David p. 88)

It was also an act of courage. She had the courage to affirm herself and to step out into the unknown. She believed then, as always in her life, that she was in direct communication with God and her needs would be met. Her mission was to testify to the hope that was within her (Narrative p. 101). Thus she:

... left the city on the morning of the 1st of June,

1843 ... and taking the rising sun for her only

compass and guide, she "remembered Lot's wife"

and hoping to avoid her fate, she resolved not to

look back till she felt sure the wicked city from which

she was fleeing was left too far behind to be visible

in the distance ... (Narrative p. 100)

At first she would speak to people as she found them already assembled during her travels, but eventually she began to advertise her own meetings. She spoke across the nation on issues of personal empowerment through the spirit, abolition of enslavement, and women's rights. She was a skillful and popular orator and Truth testified that she and her audience had "a good time" (Narrative p. 101)

Conclusion

During Isabelle Van Wagener!s personal transformation into Sojourner Truth, she became a fighter for justice for enslaved Africans and all women. Truth's life continues to empower and inspire today. She inspires people to live life more abundantly, define their existence, pursue truth and justice, live by the principles that are just, and have the courage and faith to see it through.

Sojourner Truth was the archetype of Ma'at. She lived in the midst of chaos. She suffered horrendous physical, mental, sexual, and spiritual torture. She endured the loss of parents, siblings, a spouse, and children. She chose to redefine herself. She embodied Ma'atian principles. She pursued truth with a passion and it was truth that set her free. She constantly sought balance in her life. Her good deeds outweighed her negative acts. Ultimately, she brought order out of the chaos of enslavement.

References

Armour, R. (1986) Gods and Myths of Ancient Egypt. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press.

Asante, Molefi (1990) Kemet Afrocentricity and Knowledge. Trenton: Africa World Press.

Freed, R. E., Markowitz, Y. J., & D'Auria, S. E. (1999) (Eds.) Pharaohs of the Sun. Boston: Bulfinch Press.

Karenga, Maulana (1993) Introduction to Black Studies 2 Edition. Los Angeles: The University of Sankore Press.

Monges, Miriam M. (1999) Candace Rites of Passage Program: The Cultural Context As an Empowerment Tool. Journal of Black Studies 29, 827-840.

Obenga, Theophile (1995) A Lost Tradition African Philosophy in Worm History. Philadelphia: The Source Editions.

Stetson, Erlene and Linda David (1994) Glorying in Tribulation The Lifework of Sojourner Truth. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press.

Teeter, Emily (1997) The Presentation of Maat Ritual and Legitimacy in Ancient Egypt. Chicago: The' Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.

Truth, Sojourner Narrative of Sojourner Truth A Bondswoman of Olden Time With a History of Her Labors and Correspondence Drawn from Her "Book of Life_(1878/1991) Ed. Gates, Henry. The Schomburg Library of NineteenthCentury Black Women Writers. New York: Oxford University Press.

Woodson, Carter G. (1990) The Mis-education of the Negro 1933. Trenton: African World Press.

Webster New Universal Unabridged Dictionary (2nd ed.) (1996). United States: Barnes and Nobles.

Welwood, John (2000) Toward a Psychology of Awakening Buddhism Psychotherapy and the Path of Personal and Spiritual Transformation Boston: Shainbhala.

MIRIAM MA'AT -KA -RE MON GES--CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, CHICO

Miriam Ma'at -Ka -Re Mon ges, at the time of her passing, was a Professor in Social Work at Cal State Chico. She obtained both Master's and Doctoral degrees from Temple University and a B.A. from Brooklyn College.

Monges, Miriam Ma'at -Ka -Re

Citation Chicago

Monges, Miriam Ma'at -Ka -Re. "Sojourner truth: bringing order out of chaos." The Western Journal of Black Studies 29, no. 4 (2005): 682+. U.S. History in Context (accessed April 18, 2017). http://proxy.deltacollege.edu:8080/login?url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A180909280/UHIC?u=sjdc_main&xid=44882d74.