Ancestral Veneration in the Yorb Tradition by Iya Alaade Ojekemi Adebisi (Darasia Selby) In the Yorb tradition the

spiritual world is not a remote place that we only have contact with after death. Instead, it is a very vibrate and alive realm that we have access to even as we experience life in the physical realm. The level that everyone, even the uninitiated, has access to is the level of the ancestors. The ancestors, called egngn in Yorb and often shortened to egn, are those relatives in our family who have passed over into the spiritual realm. Far from just being dead relatives our ancestors, by virtue of their connection to us through blood, provide an essential component to our spiritual development and progress. The Yorb recognize that all living things have a consciousness and part of our consciousness is directly inherited from our ancestors. Just as we carry the physical DNA of our ancestors we also carry the spiritual DNA of our ancestors. Our destiny on this earth is not just an individual or personal one; it also includes a family or ancestral destiny. Connecting with our ancestors is an important aspect to understanding and fulfilling our destiny. The ancestral shrine is an essential tool for connecting with and growing with our ancestors. The ancestral or egn altar is the space we create to let the ancestors know that we want to develop our relationship with them and to give light, love, respect and acknowledgement to those who have gone before us. While our ancestors can provide guidance no matter where we are the egn altar is the focal point for us to pray and give offerings to our ancestors. As we work with our ancestors we will find that the ancestral shrine not only becomes a space to lift up prayers for ourselves and our family but also for the ancestors themselves. Sometimes we have ancestors in our bloodlines who are so distressed and imbalanced that we need to pray and do ritual for their healing and elevation. If you feel negative or imbalanced energy as you create and pray at your shrine you will need to find initiated priests or priestesses to guide you through ritual to uplift your ancestral line. Essential Materials for the Egn Altar Cloth for cleaning Florida Water Bottle of liquor (gin, rum, or something your ancestors enjoyed) Flowers and/or a plant

Glass of water (a large glass bowl or vase if you can; if not, a simple glass is fine) White 7-day candle (you can place your 7-day candle in a bowl of water for safety precautions) Egn stick (must be consecrated by a priest or priestess. You can and should create your altar even if you do not have this but you will eventually want to get this) White cloth (if you are using a table) Sage and incense for smudging (this is only needed the first time you create your altar and when you feel the need to cleanse it. If there is a particular incense you already use for cleaning or smudging feel free to use it.)

Optional Materials for the Egn Altar Hot coffee or tea Cigar Bowl of fruit A piece of efun (highly recommended) Pictures of your ancestors (only pictures of the deceased should be on your egn altar. If you have a picture of a dead person and a living person this picture should not be placed on the altar) A list of all your ancestors

Setting Up the Egn Altar Reserve a quiet and out-of-the-way space in your home where you can set up your altar. Try to pick a space that doesnt invite a lot of traffic as the altar is a sacred space and people should not just pick up or touch the things on your altar. If you cannot do this due to your living arrangement then explain to those you live with that they should not touch your altar. Some people have their altar in a cabinet or some other closed space. You can choose the space that makes the most sense for you and your situation. Some prefer to set up their space for their ancestors directly on the floor as the floor represents the ground where our ancestors are buried (in traditional Yorb culture the ancestors are often buried in the floor of the family compound). Some do not find this practical and instead prefer to have a table. Either method is fine and as you work with your ancestors you may feel them

leading you to do one or the other. The most important thing now is to set up a space to honor your ancestors. Once you have chosen your space and gathered your materials you must consecrate your space. Consecration is simply cleansing and setting aside a space for spiritual work. An easy way to consecrate something is to smudge it or cleanse it with the smoke of herbs. Sage is the herb I recommend because it is an excellent purifying herb and many people have it right in their kitchen cabinets (yes, you can use that sage!). Simply light your charcoal and place it in a charcoal burner (or ashtray or ceramic plate). Then place your sage on the charcoal. If you have the actual sage leaves you can light those leaves without the charcoal. Once you have a nice smoke burning, you can first cleanse yourself by fanning the smoke over your head, then down your neck, to your chest, and all the way down your body. As you do this, pray that all negativity and negative energy would leave you. Once you are done, fan the smoke around the area you are consecrating for your egn altar and the objects you have gathered for your altar and pray the space would be cleansed and blessed and that only positivity would dwell there. Then you are going to take your cloth and cleanse the space with Florida water. Put some Florida water on the cloth and rub down the wall where your altar will be placed. If you are using a table, shelf, or cabinet, rub it down with Florida water. Then rub down all of the items you have selected for your ancestral altar with Florida water, except paper materials (unless you have them in a frame). As you do this, pray that all of your items would be cleansed and consecrated. If you are using a table, shelf, etc. place the white cloth on your table. Then you can begin to place all of your items on the table or on the floor. Creating the ancestral altar is very personal and there is no universal arrangement. Arrange your altar as you feel the need to. Some people may want to place dirt or artifacts from their homeplace on the altar. Some people may want to write the names of their ancestors on a sheet of paper and place it in a nice frame while others may want to create their family tree on a poster and put it above their altar. Some may feel the need to have a special liquor or a special plant or flower. Do as you feel led but do not just put something on your altar because it looks nice. Place only those things your ancestors have requested, either through divination or through communicating with you directly. Once everything is set up on your altar, you can seal the space by using efun to draw a half-circle around your altar. This is not necessary but efun is a

material used to draw positive spirits so it is recommended that you have some on hand. You can find efun at most botanicas or spiritual stores. The Spanish name for efun is cascarilla and if you go to a botanica you may hear it referred to by that name. Draw a half circle around your altar with a nine lines going through the line of the semicircle, similar to the drawing of the sun (see below). This is a symbol of the setting sun, the place of our ancestors. Nine is the number of the ancestors. Again, this is not necessary and if you cannot draw this due to your living space, all is well. However, you can sprinkle some efun on your altar from time to time. Wall

Once you have everything on your altar set up you can light the candle. The light of the candle, along with the water, draws your ancestors to you. Some people may want to blow cigar smoke on their ancestral shrines as tobacco smoke is often used to draw spirits. However, some spirits are also repelled by cigar smoke so you can do this only if you feel it is necessary. However, it is important that you tell your ancestors that you have created this space for them and that you only want positivity and light to dwell there. Right now, this is not a time where you want to draw ancestors that need healing. Lets start with those ancestors who are in a good space and who can help us assist those who need healing. Praying to the Ancestors Praying to your ancestors is very simple and requires very little knowledge of ritual. There is no right or wrong way to pray to the ancestors but it is important to open our prayers with libation. Libation is simply an offering of water or other liquid to the spirits. In the Yorb tradition there is a very simple libation you can use. The Yorb and English translation is below:

Omi tutu, ona tutu, ashe tutu. Tutu ile, tutu or, tutu egngn. Tutu Laroye1, tutu ariku babawa. Cool water/may the water be cool and refreshed, cool path/may my path in life be cool and refreshed, cool spiritual energy/may my spiritual energy be cool and refreshed. Cool home/may my home be cool and refreshed, cool head/may my head be cool and refreshed, cool ancestors/may my ancestors walk in coolness. Cool Eshu Laroye/my the messenger be cool and precede my prayers with coolness, may there be coolness that has no end.2 You can sprinkle water on the floor and on your altar as you say this libation. If you have liquor you can pour some on the floor or spray the liquor on your altar with your mouth. Like the water, liquor is an offering to the spirits. Once your libation is complete you can begin to pray. Again, there is no set format but you should start praying at your altar by telling your ancestors that you have created this space for them and that you only want to attract positivity. You can pray something simple like this: This is your child (state your name), daughter/son of (state your mothers name) and (state your fathers name). I have created this space to honor and give light to you, my ancestors. I pray that only those ancestors who dwell in light, love, and positivity would come into this space. I pray for the upliftment and elevation of all of my ancestors who do not dwell in light and love but I ask you, good ancestors, to please protect me from any negative energies or spirits. Thank you for your assistance and I pray that you will lead and guide me. Ashe, ashe, ashe3. If you know the names of your ancestors you can call on their names at this point. I recommend only calling the names of those ancestors you knew personally and who led good lives. As you progress in working with your ancestors you can begin to call on all of your ancestors but this is when you could potentially be calling on people who are not dwelling in light. So begin with those you knew personally first.
1

Laroye is one of the names of Eshu, the orisa who carries all of our prayers to the spirit world. We always make sure to pay homage to Eshu before praying. 2 Coolness is an ideal state of energy in Yorb thought. It represents peace, calm, and composure as opposed to hotness or heat. Consider how we use the word hot-headed in English as a person who is angry and impulsive. Cool-headed is the opposite of this and this is why we ask for coolness before we pray. 3 Ashe here is similar to the Christian word Amen which means so be it; it is so.

Once you have done this you can simply ask your ancestors to speak with you. You can ask a simple question like, How are you? Ask your ancestors to give you wisdom and let them you know you are open to their guidance. When you are finished, you can offer a closing prayer. You can say something as simple as: Thank you for your guidance, my ancestors. As I leave this space I pray that you continue to give me your protection and guidance. Ashe, ashe, ashe. It is important that you visit your egn altar regularly. How regularly is up to you but you do not want to pray and ask for assistance only when there is a crisis. The more you direct your prayers and offerings to your ancestors the more empowered they will be to support you. If you only come to them in a crisis the connection between you and them is weakened.

Some Frequently Asked Questions Concerning Ancestor Worship...

Can I honor ancestors who werent blood family but who were adopted or married into my family (adopted brother, step-mother, etc.)? Yes. Your ancestors include any deceased person who was in your family, even by marriage or adoption. This is especially true if you had a very close relationship with the person. Can I honor people who werent blood relatives, or even adopted or step relatives, but who were very close friends of the family? Yes, but not in the beginning. In Black culture we have extended family members that we often call Aunt, Uncle, or Cousin even if they werent related at all and it is good to honor their contributions in our lives. Chances are that if they assisted you when they were alive they will continue to assist you in the spirit world. However, when you first begin your ancestral altar you should focus on those who were your family members. As you work more with your ancestors you can include those who were in your extended family. If you dont know any of your blood relatives then call on those extended family members as soon as you create your altar but be sure to acknowledge your blood ancestors.

Can I honor national ancestors, like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.? Yes, but not in the beginning. The first step in spiritual development is working with those spirits who were in your bloodline because you have inherited their spiritual DNA. As you progress, you may feel the need to honor those ancestors who have led our collective community either at your altar or by creating a separate one. What is an Egn Stick? The egn stick (called igi egn in Yorb) is a stick consecrated to call upon the spirits of the ancestors. A knowledgeable priest or priestess has to instruct you on how to prepare it and must consecrate it for you. This is an important step in honoring your ancestors but you can begin working with your ancestors before you have an egn stick. What kinds of foods should I offer to my ancestors? Anything! The bowl of fruit on the altar is optional but many people like to leave a bowl of fruit as it is a food offering that doesnt perish quickly. However, you can always offer your ancestors some of your food or you can cook special meals for them if you feel led to. Coffee or tea is often prepared as an offering to the ancestors every morning. Can I use an artificial plant or flowers? No. The plant or flowers represents the earth element and is the one thing on your altar that is alive.

Iya Alaade Ojekemi Sangogbemi (Darasia Selby) 2012