Ifa-Americanized, Europeanized, Individualized

When I write posts like this I always try to be careful not to step out of place being that I am so young in this culture. I have been thinking about something since we came back from our visit with our Iya , Yeye, Baba 'Fakoyode, and the rest of the Ile.

We took our vessels down to be fed. During a part of the ceremony I watched as Yeye did something that I wouldn've thought was bullshit or a parlor trick had I not seen it myself. I won't mention it here as I don't know if it's appropriate. I was thinking that that kind of Ase can ONLY come from the continent. Not that she can't teach us the same things here as we are ready to learn them, but that the knowledge has to come from the source and must remain unchanged in order to maintain the same amount of Ase. Although she lives in the states, she returns home to Nigeria to continue training from master teachers there.

On FB, there is a group that is basically a mixture of all kinds of African spirituality and even mixes of particular traditions. The more I study the more I realize that we, as children of the diaspora, try to take these traditions and make them our own. The funny thing is that it sounded like a good thing not so long ago. Now, I see more and more that we MUST keep the traditions as they are intended to be kept.

There are reasons that Ifa has morphed into other paths such as Santeria. This was to keep the tradition alive in the face of the HORRIBLE slavery (Maafa) that our ancestors endured. Well, now that it doesn't have to be kept secret anymore, many choose to no longer acknowledge that the source of their Santeria belief is Ifa that originated in Nigeria. Here is an article about it. It would seem that Africa continues to be the mother of ungrateful bastard children that refuse to honor Her as their source.

As most of you know, I don't not glorify integration. There are somethings that are better executed within particular groups, and I do NOT believe that we have to share all of our belief and concepts with each other. We simply should respect them and keep it moving. Think of it like the human body. There are parts of the body that are not to be seen by everyone. They are considered sacred. Why then, do we feel obligated share the secrets of our traditions with people that have constantly/consistently sought to destroy us in the name of integration and belonging? An example of Americanization and Europeanization can be seen here. When I was first trying to find my way, I found that there are a lot of "others" writing about African tradition and cultures and their materials are being mainstreamed while those who are actually able to accurately teach/write are not pushed into the limelight in the same way. I guess everyone many people want to make money and bend Ifa to their own will. This brings me to my next point of individualize practices.

Now, I have learned from my elders that there are certain things that you may be told to do differently from someone else. For example when my husband and I do our morning prayers, it looks different. We teach our children our differences, which are VERY slight and we teach them why we have chosen to do it the way we have. Clearly, this is not the individualism that I am speaking of. I am talking about people who are angry, jaded, or just plain arrogant and have decided that they don't have to learn from anyone, teach anyone, or participate in a community. NOBODY in the world knows all of the mysteries of Ifa so that means that we ALWAYS have more to learn and the way this culture works is that we have teachers. This culture is NOT based on writings as it is an originally an oral tradition. Oral traditions by their very nature mean that you MUST interact with others...a community. We live in NC, but our ile is in Ga. We have been down twice and although we would love to go more often we stay in constant communication, we study a lot with materials suggested by elders, and we double check that information to see if it is the same as what is done in our lineage. The connection that we feel with our Ifa family is unbreakable. We are truly blessed beyond measure. We are truly ride-or-die for each other. As for the teaching, my husband and I are not in an official position to teach, but of course we teach our children whatever we learn. I even teach the concepts I learn in Ifa to others by putting it in plan language. Because Ifa is not a conversion "faith" I've found that no matter who I am talking too and what they believe, unbeknownst to them they find Ifa to be strong and true. ;)

I realize that this post was really long, but I had some thangs on my chest. Please feel free to respond to what has been said if you agree and especially if you don't agree. lol