New Orleans
VOODOO CROSSROADS
BY SEVERINE "MUSLIMA" SINGH

Dedicated to furthering global awareness and cultural exchanges among all people.
"We revere the Ancestors and Serve the Sprits."

The practice of Voodoo is probably as old as the African continent itself. The word "Voudun" itself means God Creator or Great Spirit. It has been greatly distorted and misused; human sacrifices, vampires, dripping blood and devil worship all make the stuff of spooky novels and movies. Yet none of these originated with or even belong to Voodoo! Voodoo is a life affirming practice that encourages its participants to better understand the natural processes of life and their own spiritual natures.

If one looks in the dictionary, Voodoo is likely to be defined as an ancient religion from Africa that involves the cult of the Ancestors, of various animistic spirits, and of the use of trances to communicate with such spirits. It is true that Voodoo did originate in Africa. Today, it is practiced by millions throughout the world, in Africa, the Caribbean, Central, North and South America, in various forms, often with elements of catholicism mixed in. However, its main purpose remains as always to heal: to heal the individual in relationships within himself or herself, and ultimately with God. 

Around 1510 the slave trade began, slaves being taken from the West Coast of Africa (Gulf of Guinee) from what is now Senegal and Gambia to the Congo region. The slaves who were torn from their native land brought with them their beliefs and regional practices. Many were first brought to the Caribbean islands to work the plantations and be forcibly christianized. Their owners ("masters") did not recognize the mystical qualities of their native ceremonies. Rather, they considered them to be savages, incapable of abstract concepts or spirituality. Yet in the terrible condition of their enslavement, the African's only hope lay in their very faith. Amidst broken tribes and families, they found unity and solace in God and ancient rituals. Although African slaves came from many different regions, most influential were the tribes from Nigeria and Dahomey. In 1729, the Dahomey conquered their neighbors the Ewe and sold their prisonem to the slave ships often in exchange of European goods. Many from Dahomey were also kidnapped. Both tribes had incorporated snake worship into their rites and some priests of the religion unwillingly found themselves on route to Haiti and the new world. Within one generation of their arrival, these priests had already established temples and developed a following in spite of their captivity and severe opposition of the French and Spanish church. The term Vo-Du came from the Funs of Dahomey. The other great influence came from Yorubaland (Nigeria), the site of the sacred city of Ile-Ife. Among the Yombas, the Loa (spirits) are known as Orishas. Other people that contributed to modern Voodoo are the Arada, Nago, lbo, Congo, Senegalese, Mandingo, Ethiopians, Sudanese and Malgaches.

The Voodoos recognize one supreme God - a very abstract, omnipotent yet unknowable force. Below this almighty God, Spirits or Loa rule over the world's affairs: in matter of family, love, happiness, health, work, the harvest or the hunt, offerings are made to the appropriate Loa to ensure success. Each Loa has its preferred fruit or vegetable, color, number, day of the week, etc. The Loa also manifest through elements of nature: the wind and rain, lightning and thunder, the river, the ocean, certain animals, trees and stones. Ancestors are revered and consulted for guidance and protection. A rich and deep mythology exists which attests to the amazing memory and poetic ability of the "Griots" who passed it orally from elder to youth. It is truly a remarkable body of spirituality and a code by which African life was ruled. A very complex system of divination also exists, known as "Ifa."

Upon their arrival in the West Indies, the slaves found themselves unable to continue the practice of their ancestal rites, sometimes under penalty of death. But they quickly understood the essential similarities between their beliefs and those of the Catholics; the Catholics praying to their Saints to intercede to a higher God in their favor. A substitution took place; the Loa took on the names and sometimes attributes of the Saints. The elaborate ceremonies and costumes of the church also had great appeal for the Africans. In the Spanish Islands, the new religion became Santeria (the worship of the Saints). In other islands and in New Orleans the term Voodoo remained. Because of its unique blend of French, Spanish and Indian cultures, New Orleans offered a perfect setting for the practice and growth of Voodoo. In 1809, many Haitians who had migrated to Cuba during the Haitian revolution found themselves cast out and came to New Orleans. They brought with them their slaves who incorporated their rites and beliefs to those of the existent slave population - Africans from Senegal, Gambia and Nigeria previously brought to Louisiana by the "Cornpanic des Indes". Voodoo in Louisiana was enriched and revitilized. It also incorporated the worship of the Snake Spirit (Damballah). To the Africans, Voodoo was not only their religion, it was also their natural medicine, their protection and certainly a way of asserting and safeguarding a sense of personal freedom.

Today about 15% of the population of New Orleans practices Voodoo. Modern Voodoo has taken several directions: Spiritualist Reverends and Mothers who have their own churches, Hoodooists who integrate superstition, elements of European witchcraft and the occult, and traditionalists for whom the practice of Voodoo is a most natural and important part of their daily lives, a positive search for ancient roots and wisdom. The practice of Voodoo involves the search for higher levels of consciousness, in the belief that - as all of the ancient scriptures teach - it is we who must open the way towards the Gods. For when we call out from our hearts, the Gods hear and indeed must respond. Voodoo is a powerful mystical practice that encourages and facilitates direct communication between (Wo)Man and God thus saving him (her) from further estrangement from the very universe that (s)he is bom into.

The first step into the future takes place when we dare look into the past. 

Westerners may tell you that they do not worship their ancestors and consider this to be a primitive custom. We do live in a society which promotes fear of death, tries to negate its existence and deifies youth and the physical body. Yet all civilized societies in the world do worship their ancestors, through the maintenance of burial grounds, monuments, statues, and plaques. In our homes we keep portraits and photographs of our deceased family members, mementos and souvenirs. In reality there is nothing more familiar to us already or more logical than ancestor's worship. Our ancestors are the root cause of our very being and to truly understand our place in the miraculous chain of life, we must look back upon our origins, understand them and thus determine the course of our destiny.

Understanding our destiny can be tricky because we all have a physical past but we also have a spiritual past. In African spirituality we teach the doctrine of reincarnation. A soul eternally inhabits various bodies at various times. This very doctrine leads us to some very serious conclusions:

• The soul is eternal but the body is ephemeral. We are not this body. The body is subject to disease, old age and death. After death the soul joins the realm of the Ancestors, the spiritual world that is closest to ours. Those souls who were particularly elevated may become Loas (Orishas or Voudou Spirits).

 
• By keeping the body healthy, free of contaminants and in a peaceful environment, we are more apt to discover our eternal soul qualities.

 
• It is especially important to keep the family, the tribe, the society and the environment healthy, balanced and spiritually elevated as to encourage great spirit souls to reincarnate among us. Thus the population becomes increasingly more advanced on all levels. 

In voodoo it is believed that ancestors often come back into the tribe or family if it is kept in good and harmonious order. The ancestral soul, newly bom into a child, brings all of its ancient wisdom and eternal qualities; though a few months after birth, the child will have seemingly forgotten all that came before and will have to overcome the usual trials of life as well as anyone else. Often a great spirit soul will reincarnate in the second generation, skipping one, so that natural gifts which endowed an ancestor are seen anew in a grand-son or grand-daughter. Yaya Diallo tells the story of his birth in Fienso, Mali and how when he came out of his mother's belly, one of his relatives exclaimed: "Oh no, not him!" for she immediately recognized the presence of a grand-father in the newborn. It was subsequently revealed through divination that he would become a great influence on his own culture, though it would take an unusual path. And so it came to be that Yaya pursued pharmaceutical studies in Africa and later in Canada before he was able to return all of his energies to researching his native culture - and in particular the role of the drums in healing practices. (Yaya Diallo and Michael Hall: "The Healing Drum"; Inner Traditions.)

In these modem times we are seeing more and more cross-cultural reincarnations as well. With the advent of fast travel and instantaneous communication, a spirit soul whose physical family line has died out or has not maintained a high enough standard of spiritual harmony may take birth again in an altogether different part of the globe and in a different culture. This is why it is so essential - yet often difficult - for us to examine our spiritual past. Who were our physical ancestors? Where did they travel? Who were their friends, companions, mentors? So it is possible for one of us to trace our physical ancestry to one continent but to feel irresistibly drawn to the spiritual practices of another continent altogether. In the end it is as it should be:

If our ancestors hold the key to the fulfillment of our individual destiny, they have also left us laws which must be obeyed so that we may maintain the harmony and purity that are both necessary for us to catch a glimpse of this destiny. Our freedom to be as we were created resides in our ability to enforce the sacred laws upon ourselves. Incidentally the very word "loa" (voodoo spirit) comes from the French "loi" (law) to indicate that the Loa are the spiritual embodiments of the ancestral laws left by those who came before us. Ancestral worship is the very first and most necessary step towards enlightenment. Sacred texts have been left for us to delineate the ways to a wholesome life. In Voodoo a rather complex system of divination exists that can cut through the most difficult questions. More simply, by serving our Ancestors and the Loa we learn to hear not with our ears but with our heart. It is to this aim that all Voodoo rituals should start with an ancestors' ritual and indeed ancestors' rituals should take place if and when no other ritual has been planned.
 
 

Among the different tribes and people, ancestors' rituals have taken different forms. Among the Yoruba, men dressed in fabulous costumes and masks parade around, representing the ancestors who have returned temporarily from their spirit world to bless or chastise the living as the need may be. More than only a representation, the men are believed to be actually possessed by the spirit of the ancestor and their mere appearance always signifies great blessing for the village and the crops. Their coming is accompanied by drums, dancing and feasting, as they return to greet and mingle with their living relatives.

In Madagascar the villagers return to the burial ground and un-bury the corpses, who will be brought back to the village so that their burial shrouds may be replaced with new white ones. Then a great feast is held in their honor before they are returned to their tombs. Women dance to the drumbeats, their fingers quivering to one side, then the other, to indicate the presence of the spirits all around. In all societies, the burial grounds are hallowed grounds.

Additionally, in every family and compound, there is a special place for food and drink to be placed daily, to nourish and refresh the ancestral spirits. In some African tribes, the compound has two entrances, front and back. One is for the living, the other is reserved for the dead as they leave their family. Near this rear entrance, a flat round stone is placed upon which the first portion of any food cooked in the compound on any given day, will be placed. This is a special act of reverence, to remember those who have come before us and made it possible for us to be here. With them we share of our abundance.

The Ancestral Altar should be separate from any altar to the Otishas or Loa. It is preferably set up outside, in the garden, on a porch, in a hallway, carriage way - but not in a bedroom or living-room where the presence of ghosts is not favored.

A small table can be used, a large flat stone or, the altar may be set up on the ground. Anyway cover the table or floor with a white cloth (if using a stone, leave bare).

Decorate the altar and surroundings with anything that you wish that belonged to your ancestors or reminds you of your ancestry. Add pictures, portraits, make a list of the names of those ancestors whom you remember. Follow your intuition; listen to the voice in your heart.

You will also want to include a dish or pot with a mixture of 9 different types of earth, including some dirt from the cemetery (preferably where your ancestors are buried), some dirt from your place of birth, from countries of your ethnic background and from other places that you feel a special attraction to. A large glass or dish of water will also be placed on the altar. (Some prefer to use nine glasses of water, 9 being the number attributed to Oya, the mistress of the cemetery. By the way, Oya is Maman Brigitte in Haiti, Kali in India).

Offerings set up on the altar will consist of: 

• Incense, preferably a cleansing scent such as sage, cedar, pine, sandalwood. 
• Flowers, fresh cut, white or assorted colors. You may also choose a permanent offering of dried flowers and herbs (such as eucalyptus, sage, cedar etc). 
• White candles. I like to use one white candle for each person in the household who prays at the ancestral altar. Whenever holding a ritual, I offer one candle for myself and my children, one for each of my drummers, and I pass around small white tea-lights for each person in attendance. 
• One or more cigars. 
• Some white rum. Or you may substitute another liquor which you know was favored by your ancestors. (The Africans who were held in slavery obviously offered what they had, the rum derived from the sugar cane and the tobacco from the plantations on which they toiled). 
• The first portion of all the foods cooked on this day, except for any foods which you know your ancestors did not consume (most religions have a taboo against pork, so you may want to refrain from offering this.) 

Light your cigar offering and blow the cigar smoke in a similar fashion on the altar, the food offerings, the pictures, names, water, dirt and all other objects. The cigar smoke is both a purifying ingredient and an offering. Use in the same attitude of respect as Native Americans used tobacco in a Peace Pipe. 

Sprinkle a little of the water 3 times on the altar to refresh the spirits of the ancestors.

Light your candle offering and speak to your ancestors: first name yourself. If you use an alias, name both your legal name and chosen name. If you belong to a spiritual temple, indicate the name of your temple.

Say: 

• I have come here to present myself and these offerings to my ancestors with a pure heart and clean hands. 
• I salute . . . (name all the deceased members of your family line). 
• I salute all those who throughout all times have been associated to my family line as friends, companions and mentors, remembered and forgotten, named and those who remained unomed. 
• I salute all those who have inspired me by their deeds throughout history (name them). 
• I salute all of my unknown ancestors from . . . (name countries, continents etc.). 
• I salute all those who have come before and whose names are now forgotten, from all times, from all continents, from all walks of life and all spiritual paths. 

• For my ancestors . . . (name them) . . . I offer this special prayer so that their souls may now rest in peace through the intercession of the four archangeals Michael Gabriel Ariel and Raphael and of the 7 African Powers. Recite a prayer of your choice from your heart. 

• To all of my ancestors, Grand-Fathers and Grand-Mothers, all of the Ancient Ones who have come before me, I offer Love, Honour and Respect. I thank them for theprotection, abundance and all blessings which have been afforded me and I present myself here today with a pure heart and clean hands to beg them for further protection, abundance and blessings. Mojuba O!. Mojuba O! Mojuba O! (Pronounced MoyuBo, it means with love, honour and respect). 

May all my ancestors guide me and protect me so that I may overcome all obstacles and difficulties, and follow successfully a path of righteousness that is in accordance with the Will of Heaven. ACHE ! (So be it! Ache is considered to be the lifeforce, the spirit that exists in all things.)

While you are reciting this last prayer to your ancestors, meditate on the problems that are arising in your life at the present and try and visualize the direction which you would like your life to take. Remain clearly focused and at the same time humble enough to accept that you may have to change direction if that is indeed the will of Heaven. (At this point you can name any of your relatives, such as a child, who may need special help or protection. Beware of asking for unimportant things. Ritual work is always serious work.)
 

Dance for the Ancestors -- Tibet

Offer the food and drink to the Ancestors with great reverence. Meditate on your personal abundance and see it connected to the works of all those who came before, as well as to the greater abundance you can facilitate for all who will come after. Name the foods, sprinkle some of the drink on the altar cloth. When you feel that the ritual is finished rap three times on the altar and say Ache! Let the candles bum out if possible. If you must leave and put them out, extinguish them with your fingers, do not blow them out. Re-light them as soon as you come back. If you use 7-day glass candle, it is possible to bum them several days in a row, when you are at home, at least one hour each day. Some additional tips: Do not wait until you have everything exactly right for your altar. You may start your practice with just a little of one kind of dirt, and add on as you go. Old pictures and artifacts will appear as they are needed. Your ancestors want to be remembered and served and they'll make the work easy for you. The ritual described above is obviously rather lengthy and cannot be repeated each day. What you can do every day is an abbreviated version as follows:  Light the incense.  Sprinkle a little cool water 3 times on the altar.  Light a white candle.  Say: My Ancestors, I remember you with love, honour and respect.  Offer a little of all the foods prepared that day.  As in all ritual work, it is important that you follow your heart and intuition. You may make subtle changes as you go along. Find the best time of the day for you to speak to your ancestors. Remain humble and sincere in all your words and actions, and know that your ancestors walk with you.

In the African Way, we believe that our ancestors speak to us in many ways, one of which is .through our dreams. Ancestors come into our dreams to speak their messages and admonitions, give guidance and assure us of their constant presence and protection.

As stated above, when we conduct a ritual to our ancestors, whether it is as part of a larger service to the Loa or a simple daily offering, we include our family members, friends of the family, past mentors, all those who through their inspiration have had an influence on our behavior and destiny. One important consequence of this conscious remembrance of people who otherwise would remain strangers to our family is that by propriating their spirit, we are to a lesser degree incorporating their own ancestry into our own ancestral line. In so doing, we are also opening a channel into our descendance for spirit souls from their lines or traditions. This aspect of ancestry and reincarnation is well understood in the Hindu tradition where it is taught that by accepting one's gum (spiritual master), one becomes open - and responsible - to the entire disciplic succession.

Personally this was made clear to me-in sew eral instances which I will share presently:

One is a recurring daydream throughout my life where I am aware of a presence sitting with me as I travel by train in East Africa - specifically between Addis - Abbeba and Djibouti, a country which I have yet to visit. However I should mention that my grandfather was a key figure in the building of this railroad, circa 1905, and I assume that he travelled frequently on this line after its completion. He had written to his daughters (my mother and aunts) of building fires as they worked to keep the lions at bay during the night. And it has always been my most treasured wish to one day experience myself this journey as to tap more closely into my ancestral spirits. However, upon conjuring up any such image, my mind would always immediately bring up the feeling of this unknown and unnamed presence. It was not until years later and quite inadvertently that light was shed.

During a reading done for me by my maddna, the late great Rose Yaffa Frank, she mentioned a "spirit guide," an African, probably from the East who now travels with me, because "that's what he did when he was close to a deceased family member." As my madrina spoke these words, the presence was immediately felt to me, only closer and now more real, almost palpable. I truly felt that if l turned around then, I might see his face and as I understood who he was, he would now be smiling. Further readings (mine and my madrina's) confirmed who he was and additional light was shed upon my own destiny. He was most ccrtainly of the Muslim faith and was a companion of my grand-father whom he travelled with, probably to India and Pakistan as well. Several years before any of this was revealed, I had studied with a Muslim holy man from Pakistan and wrote Sufi poetry as well as poetry about Ethiopia without having ever been there.
More recently I had a dream of my maddna Rose and her father Joshua Frank, who was known as the Voodoo King and with whom I had the privilege of working, even before I met Rose. I have had several dreams of Joshua since his death, but this latest dream involved both father and daughter. In this particular dream, all three of us walked along a path, one of them in front of me and the other behind me. As I woke up, I remembered them speaking of a "pattem". I was greatly disturbed for several days, trying hard to remember which "pattern" I must have been shown or taught, until it dawned on me that both Joshua and Rose had simply shown me that they preceded me and followed me and that I must at all cost remember to make the pattern of my life right. 

Copyright © 1993 Severine "Muslima" Singh
Voodoo Crossroads is written by Severine "Muslima" Singh
Published by Black Moon Publishing, Box 19469, Cincinnati, Ohio 45219-0469 USA