Yoruba Words: Elements & Universe
The Yoruba people are from western Africa, mainly Nigeria, Benin, Togo and parts of Ghana. With the onset of the chattel slave trade Yoruba culture expanded across the world to Trinidad, Cuba, Saint Lucia, Benin, Togo, Brazil, Guyana, Haiti, and Jamaica, to name a few.
This season and this week especially is deeply steeped in ancestral connection (Samhain, DÃa de Muertos, All Hallows Eve, etc.). It got me thinking about my own ancestors and the traditions that come from West Africa.
The Yoruba believe that when we die, we enter the realm of the ancestors where we still have influence on earth. Around this time of year, annual homage is paid to the grave sites of ancestors and the family elders are responsible for honoring the deceased members of the family with ceremony, dance, masked performances (egungun) and gatherings.
Connecting with our ancestors can be found in ancient traditions around the world. Rituals in the Northern Hemisphere tend to take place in the liminal space between Fall and Autumn when our earthly experience mirrors death, hibernation and darkness.
A concerted effort by the Church and the commercialism of the Americanized holiday, Halloween, sought to destroy or bury many of the practices that the global community uses to remember where they came from.
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What customs, rituals and songs did your ancestors use to connect with elders and ancestors? How did they honor the wisdom and remember the journeys of the people that went before them?
#ancestralhealing #yoruba #egungun #orishas #samhain #diademuertos #diadelosmuertos #rememberwhereyoucamefrom #comebackhome #ancestorsrising #elderwisdom #woowoo #semiwoo #bipochealing #bipocconnection
