Harvard EdX says religion is about culture. It shows how people want to live together and what truths they want to follow. It is about more than just dealings with spiritual entities and physical death.

When I was a little girl, I had so many questions about Christianity. I searched for a sense of identity for a long time, and I seemed to find it with the Hebrew Israelites, who were rejected by all the people around them. Many African Americans found their identity with this group. Many African Americans wanted to please their parents and their communities.

However, as I grew older, I had real experiences with helpful spirits, saw the wrongs done by Christians, and longed for a deeper connection to a culture and a people based on my internal truths. I left Christianity.

I began searching for how Christianity came to be. Why did we stop offering sacrifices to God? The explanations didn’t make sense. Jesus became a living sacrifice? That’s easy to say, but it didn’t make sense to me. As I grew older, I began to feel that a group of men behind the scenes were pulling the strings of Christianity. I felt manipulated into doing what they wanted me to do, all to avoid the threat of “hell.” They used the superstitions of people of color against them. Christianity no longer matched my internal truth.

Nature led me to African Traditional Religions, or ATRs. Luckily for me, the people of the Caribbean and some educated African Americans worked hard to keep ATRs alive on my side of the world. This happened even while some Africans were trying to be accepted by Western culture and were leaving their own traditions.

I appreciate that this religion is not open. It is a closed religion, meant only for those who are called by the Orisha. This calling must be confirmed by a priest of the religion in a special reading. It is for its people, its kind, and its future generations. That is why it makes sense to me. Every reading feels right. Every ebbo (a type of offering) is helpful. The religion works with the true laws of nature and rejects the false ideas of imperialism. Everything I learned made sense.

I’ll admit there are some dishonest people who try to take advantage of the religion, but that is common in our world today. However, I long for a day when my people, my land (wherever that may be), and I can reunite with nature. I want to embrace the values of ancestral worship, the powers of the Earth and nature, the laws of the universe and reincarnation. I want to fully accept the incredible truths of IFA and the deep happiness and safety they bring.

I also hope that you will find your people’s creed. We are all different as are the species of birds and trees and grasses, etc.. One world order is not natural. Diversity is the way. It is in your own blood and soul, that you will find your true spirituality, your past and your destiny. Good luck to you in your search.

Ase.

#oshasanteria, #ancestralreligion, #culturalidentity