But medicine is also ritualistically practiced by those who have passed down (and protect) the secret properties of plants and herbs throughout the generations, as is the case with the garden in the film’s Hall of Kings. Healing in Wakanda occurs in Princess Shuri’s (Letitia Wright) futuristic lab, with all the latest scientific advances. Medicine and the caring for the physical body is spiritual and sacred work.
The continued existence of traditional medicine, alongside contemporary Western medicine, remains an important feature of African cosmology. It is the heart-shaped plant that gives superhuman power to the Black Panther, and there is also traditional medicine that removes the Panther Spirit when T’Challa needs to engage in ritual combat without his special powers. “Black Panther” references the importance of traditional medicine within African cultures. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios Traditional medicine And while there is generally the affirmation of a singular Creator God, most African cosmology has space for other operative spirits in the lives of believers.Īctor Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther/T’Challa in the new Black Panther movie. In the film, the power of the Black Panther is referred to as the “Panther Spirit.” It references the existence of a pantheon of spirits and deities in traditional African supernatural spirituality, which can endow a believer with certain characteristics, including strength. The veneration of the ancestors in African cosmology rejects a hard wall of separation between the living and the dead. In traditional African worldviews, the ancestors have a functional role in present life and must be honored long after their deaths. Jordan), must seek ancestral wisdom as part of his spiritual journey. King T’Chaka remains active in the life of his son T’Challa, as guide and touchstone, and even his nemesis, Killmonger (Michael B.
Within most African religious worldviews, everything is a part of the spiritual world and so physical combat or clothing or body modification are all infused with sacred resonance. The “Black Panther” movie is rich in African cosmology. Cosmology is a way that one perceives, conceives and contemplates the universe it is the lens, set of beliefs, and religious practices through which one understands reality. It is a movie in which African peoples can see the rich diversity of their continent represented, whether in the lip plates worn by the Mursi and Surma peoples of Ethiopia (among others) cast members speaking the African languages of Xhosa and Hausa the clothing of the Dora Milaje, the Black Panther’s elite bodyguards, modeled after the Masai peoples in Kenya and Tanzania or in the headdress worn by the character of Queen Mother Ramonda (Angela Bassett), similar to what is actually worn by Zulu women in South Africa.Īnd like these other real-world cultural references, the spiritual allusions in the “Black Panther” film reflect a fictional approach to a real-life African cosmology.
The viewer encounters a vibrant spiritual world from the earliest moments of the film, which draws from the cultural traditions of many real African nations by incorporating customs, clothing, languages, art, architecture, body modification styles, and combat techniques found across the continent.Ī scene featuring a lip plate in Black Panther. This pivotal early scene in the movie engages African cosmology and varieties of African spirituality on many levels. This ritual is overseen by the elders, who function as moral authorities for the kingdom of Wakanda, but also as spiritual midwives and griots for its people. The newly appointed King T’Challa must be buried he must die to his old life and he must be resurrected. T’Challa must undergo a rite of passage to assume the throne he faces physical challenges that attest to his strength, and takes part in religious rituals in which he encounters his ancestors and must seek their wisdom. Members of the Dora Milaje, elite personal bodyguards of the Black Panther, in a scene from the movie.