Editing Ubuntu philosophy (section)

== By country ==

===Zimbabwe===

In the [[Shona language]], the majority spoken language in [[Zimbabwe]], ubuntu is ''unhu'' or ''hunhu''. In Ndebele, it is known as ubuntu. The concept of ubuntu is viewed the same in Zimbabwe as in other African cultures. The Shona phrase ''munhu munhu nekuda kwevanhu'' means a person is human through others while ''ndiri nekuti tiri'' means I am because we are.

[[Stanlake J. W. T. Samkange]] (1980) highlights the three maxims of Hunhuism or Ubuntuism that shape this philosophy: The first maxim asserts that 'To be human is to affirm one's humanity by recognizing the humanity of others and, on that basis, establish respectful human relations with them.' And 'the second maxim means that if and when one is faced with a decisive choice between wealth and the preservation of the life of another human being, then one should opt for the preservation of life'. The third 'maxim' as a 'principle deeply embedded in traditional African political philosophy' says 'that the king owed his status, including all the powers associated with it, to the will of the people under him'.<ref name=Samkange1980/>

===South Africa===
[[File:St John's church tutu (cropped).jpg|thumb|Archbishop [[Desmond Tutu]] is often associated with "[[ubuntu theology]]"]]

Ubuntu: "I am what I am because of who we all are." (From a definition offered by Liberian peace activist [[Leymah Gbowee]].)

[[Archbishop]] [[Desmond Tutu]] offered a definition in a 1999 book:<ref>{{cite book | last = Tutu | first = Desmond | author-link = Desmond Tutu | title = No Future Without Forgiveness | publisher = Image | year = 1999 | isbn = 0-385-49690-7 }}</ref>
{{Blockquote|A person with Ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, based from a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed.}}

Tutu further explained Ubuntu in 2008:.<ref>{{cite web
| date = January 24, 2012
| publisher = Ubuntu Women Institute USA
| title = Brief Meaning of African Word 'UBUNTU'
| quote = Archbishop Desmond Tutu further explained
| url = http://uwi-usa.blogspot.be/2012/01/ubuntu-brief-meaning-of-african-word.html}}</ref>
{{Blockquote|
One of the sayings in our country is Ubuntu - the essence of being human. Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can't exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness. You can't be human all by yourself, and when you have this quality - Ubuntu - you are known for your generosity.

We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole world. When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity.{{Unreliable source?|date=December 2021|reason=The source is quoting Tutu from an unnamed 2008 work but does not give original info|certain=|name=}}}}

[[Nelson Mandela]] explained Ubuntu as follows:<ref>[[:File:Experience ubuntu.ogg]] Experience Ubuntu Interview.</ref>
{{Blockquote|A traveller through a country would stop at a village and he didn't have to ask for food or for water. Once he stops, the people give him food and attend him. That is one aspect of Ubuntu, but it will have various aspects. Ubuntu does not mean that people should not address themselves. The question therefore is: Are you going to do so in order to enable the community around you to be able to improve?}}

[[Tim Jackson (economist)|Tim Jackson]] refers to Ubuntu as a philosophy that supports the changes he says are necessary to create a future that is economically and environmentally sustainable.<ref name="Ted Talk">{{cite web | url=http://www.ted.com/talks/tim_jackson_s_economic_reality_check.html | title=Tim Jackson's Economic Reality Check | access-date=2010-12-09 | author=Jackson, Tim | date=July 2010 | work=Speech | publisher=TED}}</ref> Judge Colin Lamont expanded on the definition during his ruling on the [[hate speech]] trial of [[Julius Malema]].<ref name="Lamont">{{Cite court
  |litigants=Afri-Forum and Another vs. Malema and others
  |vol=
  |reporter=
  |opinion=23
  |pinpoint=
  |court=The Equality Court, Johannesburg
  |date=2011
  |url=http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAEQC/2011/2.pdf }}</ref>

At Nelson Mandela's memorial, United States President [[Barack Obama]] spoke about Ubuntu, saying,

{{Blockquote|
There is a word in South Africa – Ubuntu – a word that captures Mandela's greatest gift:  his recognition that we are all bound together in ways that are invisible to the eye; that there is a oneness to humanity; that we achieve ourselves by sharing ourselves with others, and caring for those around us.

We can never know how much of this sense was innate in him, or how much was shaped in a dark and solitary cell.  But we remember the gestures, large and small – introducing his jailers as honored guests at his inauguration; taking a pitch in a Springbok uniform; turning his family’s heartbreak into a call to confront HIV/AIDS – that revealed the depth of his empathy and his understanding.  He not only embodied Ubuntu, he taught millions to find that truth within themselves.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-nelson-mandela-memorial-service-speech-full-text-2013-12|title=Obama's Tribute To Nelson Mandela At Memorial Service - Business Insider|date=10 December 2013|work=Business Insider}}</ref>}}

===Malawi===
In [[Malawi]], the same philosophy is called "uMunthu" in the local [[Chewa language]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/67211|title=Pambazuka - Teaching uMunthu for global peace|work=pambazuka.org|date=4 March 2016}}</ref> According to the Catholic Diocese of [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Zomba|Zomba]] bishop Rt. Rev. Fr. [[Thomas Msusa]], "The African worldview is about living as one family, belonging to God".<ref name="freireproject.org">{{cite web|url=http://freireproject.org/content/umunthu-peace-and-education-malawi%E2%80%99s-44th-independence-anniversary |title=uMunthu, Peace and Education: On Malawi's 44th Independence Anniversary|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722234550/http://www.freireproject.org/content/umunthu-peace-and-education-malawi%E2%80%99s-44th-independence-anniversary|archive-date=22 July 2012|author=Steve Sharra|year=2008 }}</ref> Msusa noted that in Africa "We say 'I am because we are', or in [[Chichewa]] ''kali kokha nkanyama, tili awiri ntiwanthu'' (when you are on your own you are as good as an animal of the wild; when there are two of you, you form a community)."

The philosophy of uMunthu has been passed on through proverbs such as ''Mwana wa mnzako ngwako yemwe, ukachenjera manja udya naye'' (your neighbor's child is your own, his/her success is your success too).<ref name="freireproject.org"/> Some notable Malawian uMunthu philosophers and intellectuals who have written about this worldview are [[Augustine Musopole]], [[Gerard Chigona]], [[Chiwoza Bandawe]], [[Richard Tambulasi]], [[Harvey Kwiyani]] and [[Happy Kayuni]]. This includes Malawian philosopher and theologist [[Harvey Sindima]]’s treatment of uMunthu as an important African philosophy is highlighted in his 1995 book ''Africa’s Agenda: The legacy of liberalism and colonialism in the crisis of African values''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=2327|title=Community of Life: Ecological Theology in African Perspective.}}</ref> In film, the English translation of the proverb lent its hand to forming the title of [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]]'s 2008 documentary, ''[[I Am Because We Are]]'', about Malawian orphans.