How do non-initiates communicate w/ their Ancestors and the Abosum?

[OlOrisa Olokuntogun Ifasehun Ojedele]

I was wondering how to do non-priests communicate w/ their Ancestors and the Abosum? Is there a form of divination that is open to devotees, like what we have in Orisa'Ifa? Something I've always wondered, but never got around to asking anyone.

[Nana Baakan Agyiriwah]

Greetings,

This is a very interesting question. I will attempt to answer it to the best of my knowledge. In the Ghana your ancestors are as close to you as your mother and father and their lineage. You are aware of where you come from, from birth in most instances. If you do not know where you come from that lack of knowledge can impact on almost every aspect of your life, from marriage, to job, education, to politics, etc. because this information is standard. It is seen in your name, in the area from which you come, in the shape of your head or even your nose, to how you walk. There is an identification with your clan, and that specifically gives you an identity and pride. When someone asks where you are from, you speak volumes when you tell them. Like your standard national id card!! Of course much is changing in Ghana, but for the most part, this is common knowledge.

For Africans across the diaspora, that becomes a little bit harder to determine. Some people have been able to trace their ancestral roots thru DNA testing. But many of us find out through some form of divination.

In Ghana, the Akwasidae festival that is celebrated every 42 day is a festival to honor the Ancestors. Anyone can participate in this festival, which typically begins at home with the feeding of the family ancestors before attending a large public ceremony. Certain foods are given to the Ancestors as well.

Here in the diaspora, you will find a variety of ways to connect spiritually to the Ancestors. We understand that there is a hierarchy and that this is important to acknowledge. For example, there is the national, the community, the family ancestors, along with others we may have a particular affinity too. It is also important to stress that we are getting in touch with the Righteous qualities that were displayed by our Ancestors, near and far. I would like to add, that if we sincerely wish to connect with our Ancestors, we can not do it with a bias, that is saying which nationality of folks we want to acknowledge as our ancestors and forsaking the rest. We must be clear that our Ancestors may be of any nationality, and not get caught up in allowing some and disowning the others, because to do so would be to cut off our nose to spite our face. Their blood is in our veins whether we like it or not.

Simplistically, prayer is the first place to begin. In the Akan spiritual tradition, our prayers are the pouring of libations. It is understood that if you say, "let us pray", there will be the pouring of libations. Libations are done in many instances from small gatherings to National Gatherings. During these libations the Ancestors and the Abosom are invoked. While it is common knowledge to know the difference between the two pantheons, it is not common to separate them from one another. That is, a separate libation for the Abosom and another for the Ancestors. Both are seen as viable and integral parts of the social fabric, while the Abosom are in the express care of the initiates or Akomfo.

The best way to initiate this process is through the auspices of an Initiated Akan Priest/ess. You can get in touch with them on your own, but the guidance of a Priest/ess is strongly encouraged. In this vein, you are also given protection because the burden of the responsibility with how this work is done, is not on you, but on the Priest/ess. Of course if someone is interested in another walk other than the Akan, then of course I would encourage them to find someone in that walk to assist them in doing it properly.

In the Akan spiritual tradition, the Ancestors are there for the family, the village, the clan to communicate with. In the case of the Abosom, going to an Okom festival would be the best way to see them and interact with them. We do not encourage folks to communicate with the Abosom on their own or in the privacy of their living rooms. Simply because the Abosom love to be called. They can be called by singing, dancing and drumming for them. If this is done, and there is no one there to help you, then it may cause a problem. But if you are someone who feels a strong affinity to the Abosom, then it is best to go to an Akan priest/ess and let them know. Get a reading and see what the Abosom are saying about you. Many times they call us in just that way, by having us feel the need to be close to them.

I pray that this post has given you some clarity. All praises.

[Yao]

Meda ase for the reply, Nana Agyiriwah.

I bought Nana Opokuwaa's book(Quest for Spiritual Transformation) a couple of years ago and it gave instructions on how to set up a basic altar to our ancestors/ ancestresses. I did so according to her instructions in her book and got some advice from other people who practice Akan spirituality and other Afrikan forms of spirituality as well. I don't know if I should have without actually seeing a priest/ priestess first at the time though. ***side note: Later, I did receive divination and was told that I should set up an altar to my ancestors/ ancestresses and to acknowledge/ venerate/ give thanks to the Obosom of my day of birth.***

What do you think about that? Is it ok for non-initiates to set up altars to their ancestors/ ancestresses without seeing a priest/ priestess for an actual divination first?

Also, I wanted to get a bit of clarity on something you said in your response.

You stated:

"I would like to add, that if we sincerely wish to connect with our Ancestors, we can not do it with a bias, that is saying which nationality of folks we want to acknowledge as our ancestors and forsaking the rest. We must be clear that our Ancestors may be of any nationality, and not get caught up in allowing some and disowning the others, because to do so would be to cut off our nose to spite our face. Their blood is in our veins whether we like it or not."


What exactly do you mean here because I'm unsure. I know that many of us have our blood mixed with Yoruba, Bakongo, Igbo, Ewe, Fon peoples and so on. Are you speaking of those of us who may hold some prejudice to other Afrikan nations of people( and to their blood being in our veins) simply because of their nationality? Basically, I'm wondering if you're speaking about those of our people who, due to conditioning under the social engineering system of racism with the goal of white supremacy, have issues with self-hatred. Because I have heard about some of us who go back to these practices in some sort of way but they don't want to get too deep as in finding out what their own Afrikan nationality is, clan and so on. They have a fundamental problem with Afrikanness.

Meda ase in advance.

[Nana Baakan Agyiriwah]

Greetings,

I do not believe that a person needs the auspices of a priest or priestess to honor their ancestors. In fact, you are closer to them than any one else but another family member can be. I do think that some traditions may offer a word of caution particularly if they are in the business of possessing the Ancestors. In that case, I would confer, that possession should not be done without the assistance of a priest/ess. Some traditions may not even allow the possession of Ancestors at All!

It is very curious to me, how many taboos have been set up about how to venerate our ancestors. Many, many times we are doing it without knowing what we are doing, or calling it Ancestor veneration. If you have a mantle piece covered with the pictures of family members(some of whom may be deceased) then you are acknowledging the Ancestors. Christians and others, may scoff at those of us who acknowledge our ancestors, yet they give awards, build monuments, set up museums, write books and name highways, bridges and places of interest, for people who are deceased. Is this not also Ancestor veneration? Yet because the African way of doing it, has been frowned upon and often times seen as pagan idol worship, the separation is made between the two approaches, which are one in the same, Ancestor Veneration and Invocation for that matter.

I believe that one of the biggest issues that the Western world has in the spiritual sense is the inappropriate or lack of acknowledgment of their deceased. There are hauntings and strange behaviors that go on and blamed on "ghosts, goblins and demons" when a trained spiritist could determine what exactly is happening and help to put these misconceptions and the Ancestors to "rest."

I do strongly encourage everyone, anyone, to find a divination system that works for them and to use it with proficiency. That can only come through practice. With this tool you can always check in to see if the "spiritual energy" that may be coming through to you is positive. I use the term portal when explaining the function of an altar. It provides a portal, the items placed on it are conduits and the person creating the altar is the receiver or receptor. The oracle acts as a filter, to determine the purpose and benefit of the energy that may be coming through to the receiver. In the event, an individual wishes to delve deeply into this practice, then indeed, a trained individual is the order of the day. But we must also take into account that someone may be very receptive, the ancestors may become very excited, and a host of other things may occur before one is able to get to a priest/ess.

Now we have moved into the realm of lifestyle. It is highly important to live a clean and healthy lifestyle, inside and out. This acts as a shield to any energetic form that may want to cause harm or upset you in anyway. So I guess what I am saying here, is that more than anything, one who wishes to delve into the occult, or unseen world, must be of righteous temperament and intention. Again, we are not talking about a practice, we are talking about a lifestyle.

Blessings, and I apologize for taking so long to get back to this. I hope this information was of some help to you on your spiritual journey.

[Nana Baakan Agyiriwah]

Yao said.
"What exactly do you mean here because I'm unsure. I know that many of us have our blood mixed with Yoruba, Bakongo, Igbo, Ewe, Fon peoples and so on. Are you speaking of those of us who may hold some prejudice to other Afrikan nations of people( and to their blood being in our veins) simply because of their nationality? Basically, I'm wondering if you're speaking about those of our people who, due to conditioning under the social engineering system of racism with the goal of white supremacy, have issues with self-hatred. Because I have heard about some of us who go back to these practices in some sort of way but they don't want to get too deep as in finding out what their own Afrikan nationality is, clan and so on. They have a fundamental problem with Afrikanness."

Greetings,

Here is what I mean. I mean that some people of African decent, would not only wish to acknowledge the ancestors of certain African Nations or genealogy that they choose, but also of other nationalities beyond African. I mean that we cannot deny our Ancestors purely on the bases of Nationality, where ever they may come from. For example, let's look at our President Elect Barack Obama. He is clearly half and half. As a spiritual person, a truly spiritual person, he must acknowledge both sides of his family, whether he calls himself African-American or not. His genealogy reports that he is related to many on both sides of the spectrum, therefore, he cannot ignore, denigrate, refute or admonish his ancestral lineage.

All too often, African Americans who have found a traditional African spiritual custom, wish to acknowledge only that part that is comfortable for them. They believe they have found their true origins and proclaim that any other is to be cast of or ignore. This is a critical juncture that all African Centered People come to. If we are to be truly "Spiritual" we know that there is no room in "Spirit World" for these biases along with many others. If any of us go back far enough we may find that we in fact may be related to the Slave Master who raped our great, great, great Ancestor.... or on the other hand who married them. We cannot go back in true "spiritual honesty" to our roots and stop at the gate of the first European, Indian, Chinese, etc., Ancestor that we may find. I have found that there may be some valuable lesson, skill, ability, and/or understanding that we may be able to get from that Ancestor, that may show up in the "persona" of a different race then our own. That is why I stated, "we may cut our nose off to spite our face."

As African descendant folks born here in America, our background may be more varied than any other for historical and cultural reasons. If we find that we are in fact related to someone of another nationality, it would behoove us to be careful in our judgment as to the worthiness of that Ancestor in our rituals of Ancestor Veneration.

Medase Pii

[Yao]

Medase Pa for the response Nana Baakan.

I have a follow up.

Thus far, I have been taught by elders in the tradition that not everyone who dies becomes an ancestor/ ancestress - that it depends on things such as Suban Pa(Good Character) and Obra Bo(Ethical Existence & Generativity). This is one of the conflicts I've heard of that occurs with our people because we want to follow the tradition, but there is a strong resistance to the concept of venerating people who were molesting/ raping our male & female relatives from the time they were children, not to mention other atrocities committed against our family members. When I've asked the elders, I've been assured that such actions are against the concepts of Suban Pa and Obra Bo and therefore disqualify them from ancestorhood. This made sense to me and it resonated with me as well.

You spoke up above about how we have to be careful about what spirits we're contacting at our altars - that we don't want to come into contact with any spirits that may want to cause us harm, so maybe I'm misunderstanding you. So I'll ask straight up. Are you saying that we should venerate people who committed all types of atrocities against us simply because their blood is mingled with ours with no consideration whatsoever of the fact that this was accomplished through the genocidal acts of child molestation and rape under the auspices of chattel enslavement?

Medase in Advance

Yao

[Nana Baakan Agyiriwah]

Greetings My Brother Yao,

I sincerely understand what you have stated in terms of "Venerated Ancestors" being those who have live exemplary lives. Those who qualify for such acknowledgment certainly deserve to have it. It is important to maintain that while we may assume that certain ancestors are "exalted" we may find in some instances that this may not be true. To further this discussion, let me say this, there are certain members in our community, particularly those whom in our "ignorance" we have given great deference to; yet we may find out later that they may have been responsible for "crimes" against our people that we were not aware of. I could name a few in this instance but will refrain from doing so. In any event, their names go into the annals of history as people of good character simply because their secret never got out.

On the other hand, there may have been outright atrocities done to our people by people who were supposedly of our kilt and kin. What I mean is that there is a high incidence of incest, sexual abuse and violence against our children, perpetrated by their own parents, elders, or other family members outside of the confines of "chattle enslavement". This is a painful but true fact. But the definition of ancestor in its "loosest sense" is one who has passed on. We can determine through our prayers how we wish to acknowledge these people who are in fact a part of our family line. Yet we are conflicted because of the pain they caused.

I understand that there are several categories of ancestors. There are the Exalted Ones who without question have lived a life in the utmost of manner. In some religions, these people are lifted to the state of Sainthood. In the African tradition, they may become deities. For example, Sango, the war god of the Yoruba tradition is noted for having committed suicide, Ogun is noted for having molested his own mother, Auset cohorted with her son. We can be linear in our approach to acknowledging our Ancestors or we can approach it with an open mind, understanding that Ancestors were once human beings, and human beings are known for making grave mistakes against themselves as well as others. Yet we are poised to learn the lessons from their lives and their indiscretions and pattern our lives around the benefits they bring to us.

We can look at these categories: 1. the National Ancestors 2. the Communal Ancestors 3. the Familial Ancestors 4. Guardian Angels/GodParents, Any one who we have found to be of benefit to our spiritual growth and development and 5. the departed ones who could be anyone who died prematurely after birth and/or anyone who may have been a part of our lineage, but yet we have some issue with how they lived their lives.

My father never gave me much attention while I was growing up, in fact, I was his sordid secret, since I was born while he was married to another woman. In his elder years, he committed suicide. I could refrain from calling his name, simply because of the pain he caused me and the fact that he despaired to the point of killing himself. Or I could look at him as my father, whose blood runs in my veins and forgive him and ask God to forgive him and bring peace to my anger towards him for abandoning me. Though I don't know all the particulars, I do know that my father was a very sensitive person, very talented with his hands and was quite charming. He has given me my youthful looks and my youngest daughter looks more like him than I ever have:)

Many Africans in the diaspora have mixed blood. However that mixture came about, the truth is that we have varied ancestors from a variety of origins. This is a uniquely Africans in the diaspora experience. Something our indigenous brothers and sisters did not have to bear. In fact, we have married people and bore children knowing little or nothing about their family lineage. Not knowing this leaves a huge chapter of our children's lives undisclosed. For our indigenous brothers and sisters, it is extremely important to know these things. This is one reason why marriages are arranged. There needs to be knowledge about the lineage of each person, so that mental and physical health issues, financial issues, academic issues and the like can be discerned.

We do not necessarily know who we are related to, and in some case, if we are adopted, we may not know our relatives at all. Nevertheless, we carry their dna, and that is inescapable. We can turn away from them in disgust for the wrong they have done, but to deny them is to deny our being here. So yes, the cruel and inhuman things that happened during slavery, is an abhorrent part of the history of our people. However, the fact remains, that we are here today, in the flesh because that took place. We may not like that fact, we may be angry because of it, but we are here because someone gave birth to our grandparents, our great grandparents and so on.

Our anger may alter our willingness to acknowledge this fact. But in the spirit world among spiritual things we have to take another look at it. Then we have to ask some questions. If we start with how we came to be, then go back to the African Motherland, and look at why slavery came about and who was responsible on both sides of the aisle, we see that we have, as the descendants of such grievous crimes, the opportunity to heal ourselves and our departed relatives.

I strongly suggest that if this an uncomfortable concept for anyone, that the search continue to the point of finding out in which way one's own Ancestors may be feuding and in which way, we as spiritual people can begin the healing process because we have knowledge of this world as well as the spirit world. As I may have mentioned, in discussing the acknowledgment of our ancestors, we may find that our nationalistic politics are brought to bear.

Every being on this planet is a being of light, with the potential to do constructive things with their lives or destructive things. I believe that if we align ourselves with the most positive energies that each Ancestral being has exhibited we can be certain of taking the right road towards our own spiritual evolvement. If we are concerned about this issue, we can clarify it in our prayers by acknowledging all the righteous deeds of our Ancestors(known and unknown) and determine for ourselves that it is those deeds that we align ourselves with and the energy that those deeds put forth.

We in the African Diaspora, do not have the luxury of even knowing many of the "Great People" in our family line who preceded us because we are so dispersed. But we can express that those whom we don't know, but who were indeed of good character help us in our every day lives. We can welcome them into our hearts and spirits. We can also warn them that we are not willing to extend our energy to the point of welcoming their destructive energies. In some instances, we may even find ourselves connecting to the Ancestors of our friends and associates. Why? Because we are in spirit, and spirit knows that we know, therefore, they may need to use us to show our friends and associates that they are alive in spirit. We can open them up to this fact and perhaps give them an opportunity to connect with their ancestors as well.

This is a very broad topic, and can barely be touched in just one posting. So I welcome any other concerns, questions or need for more clarity that you may have.

Blessings,

Nana Baakan Agyiriwah

Yao said:

Medase Pa for the response Nana Baakan.

I have a follow up.

Thus far, I have been taught by elders in the tradition that not everyone who dies becomes an ancestor/ ancestress - that it depends on things such as Suban Pa(Good Character) and Obra Bo(Ethical Existence & Generativity). This is one of the conflicts I've heard of that occurs with our people because we want to follow the tradition, but there is a strong resistance to the concept of venerating people who were molesting/ raping our male & female relatives from the time they were children, not to mention other atrocities committed against our family members. When I've asked the elders, I've been assured that such actions are against the concepts of Suban Pa and Obra Bo and therefore disqualify them from ancestorhood. This made sense to me and it resonated with me as well.

You spoke up above about how we have to be careful about what spirits we're contacting at our altars - that we don't want to come into contact with any spirits that may want to cause us harm, so maybe I'm misunderstanding you. So I'll ask straight up. Are you saying that we should venerate people who committed all types of atrocities against us simply because their blood is mingled with ours with no consideration whatsoever of the fact that this was accomplished through the genocidal acts of child molestation and rape under the auspices of chattel enslavement?

Medase in Advance

Yao