Integrating the Orisha into the lives of those who follow other paths...

My dear Sistah Goddess Raet...mommy, phenomenal woman and author of Holistic Parenting from the Pan Afrikan Perspective says...

Great post, I have a question, "What advice can you give to parents who are not initiates of the orisha tradition, but still want to the Orisha to be a part of their children's lives?"

Raet

Well those who do not use the Yoruba tradition as their primary spiritual system can still intergrate the names and qualities of the Orisha into the lives of their youth by teaching them to the children as Forces of Nature. For example, explaining to a child on a windy day that the force they are experiencing was called Oya by some of our West Afrikan Ancestors or sharing that the ocean's name was Yemonja in ancient West Afrika.

Afrikans are part of a global family as well as a global majority. We exemplify this to our children when we acknowledge all Afrikans as Afrikans and as our sisters and brothers and we do this when we respect and teach as many Afrikan spiritual systems as we can to our youth as well.

I feel that it is important for my children who are raised in the Yoruba system to understand that RasTafari is an Afrikan tradition, Voodoo and Hoodoo are Afrikan traditions, the Akom system is Afrikan, and the KMTic system is ours as well.

When we teach our children this oneness we also assist them in not feeling alone or singled out or abnormal. We help them to understand their place in the Universe.

I suggesst giving your youth several Afrikan names for the same phenomena...fresh water is known as Oshun in the Yoruba language, Het Heru in KMT, Tingoi in Sierra Leone, Faro in Gambia; the ocean is Agwe in Haiti, Naete in Dahomey (Benin),Olokun in the land of the Fon and so on.

I also suggest making those parts of any Afrikan system that is moving to you , part of your normal worship routine. My children and I perform libation in the Yoruba language, chant oriki (praise chants) to our personal orisha, recite the Yoruba pledge as created by Kabiyesi (iba ara torun) of Oyotunji Village for the Royal Academy and then we chant a KMTic hesi and utter the 42 negative confessions of Maat as part of our morning ritual. Throughout the day we listen to RasTafari music as well as Native American and East Indian music to keep ourselves grounded and uplifted.

As mothers and fathers it is imperative to be in tune with the behavior of your youth and then implement whatever ancient Afrikan practice you feel would be effective in managing this behavior. Sometimes this may be a ritual from the spiritual practice that guides your life, sometimes it may come from another part of our vast Afrikan tradition. Do NOT be afraid to claim that which is yours. Pull wisdom from all corners of the Earth...the tradition of any brown people is yours to use.

Any and all resources must be used to actually raise, uplift and fortify our children this is THE REVOLUTION.