Bringing Back Ancestor Reverence
By: Omilade Simranjot Kaur
Tags: Prayer, Ancestors, Church, Ifa, Spirituality

Bringing Back Ancestor Reverence

By Dawn Osun Omilade

Your Ancestors Bring Unity, Peace, and Harmony to Your Life and Home

Our family is everything to us. We have connections with our family members we can’t even explain at times. Maybe you have a little brother who seems more like a grandfather (determined old man spirit) or a big sister that acts more like a distant aunt than a sister. Why do these things happen? We are returned souls to this experience and how assimilated into our family each time is different.

In the Yoruba tradition the dead are not buried in far away cemeteries. They are buried at home on their own land. Imagine being able to give your mother or father flowers whenever you wanted or knowing that you can go right there to ask for their guidance. The death of a loved one does not separate them from our life. Death is just a passage to another life called Atunwa. If we know we are coming back then we would prepare, live and leave this earth way differently than we do now.

My Aunt never said just goodbye on a phone call she would always say, “Bye for now”. In Yoruba culture if they are friendly with someone, they say Odabo — which means see you soon. My aunt has since transitioned to the realm of the ancestors, but I believe her “Bye for now” is just as poignant as the Yoruba “Odabo”. Odabo has its roots set in the meeting again sense and this meeting is not just physical. Meeting the person again may occur in dreams, imagination, prayer or a feeling of needing them to guide you. Reclaiming a part of lost heritage is also a call to bringing us back to reclaiming the memory and lives of our transitioned family members. Death does not set an end to anything! Death is a new beginning, a possibility to be born again.

The Pandemic of COVID-19 has brought death to the forefront of our minds. The need for us to heal our relationship with death is crucial. Here in the Western world death has been shoved into a closet for many generations over and now is staring you in the face. Most Western religions have done a true disservice to reverencing the dead. It leaves a huge gaping hole in families and healing grieving souls. The Christian Bible gives many references on giving reverence to our dead ancestors but yet in still Traditional Christian Churches frown upon it. Why? The British and Spanish Colonizers (many backed by Christian churches) began to rewrite doctrine regarding the word “worship and reverence” when the African slave trade and missionaries in Africa were setting the stage for chattel slavery. Thus attempting to remove all links back to Africa, breaking the slaves in, remodeling their minds and bodies and even causing epigenetics (gene changes)! Removing the very integral practice of ancestor reverence is like turning off the light in a section of your DNA in your very being, your very soul. Eventually spiritually you will be drained due to the lack of the spiritual ancestral link. You are left with a deep yearning for a connection that you are afraid will get you ostracized. But you are tired of just surviving and putting on a tough face every day. Your transitioned loved one needs you just as much as you need to turn on that light to see the truth. Ancestor reverence is your birthright. It was stolen from you as a kind of human experiment and disempowerment strategy.

Learning to mend your spiritual DNA (astral spiritual genetics) is a key practice. Death in Yoruba is called Iku. The word KU means “to die”. Death is a process of transitioning from one world into another. If you don’t acknowledge the existence of death, it is impossible for you to be freed from its imminent danger. Just like acknowledging gravity frees you from thinking you can fly and not get hurt. It is as simple as that.

The ancestors symbolize a part of your heavenly community, spiritual foundation — and thus spiritual development. They are symbols of unity, peace and harmony. You would invoke them to give you a better understanding of your direction in life, to be an intercessor for you and your family and your family interests. Reverence of your ancestors is especially important if you notice history is repeating itself: the same diseases, early deaths, infertility, inability to thrive in life, constant negative trials and tribulations. Your ancestors can help erase the problems of generations to come. How would you like to be the one that is known as the torch carrier that turned on the light in the spiritual DNA of your lineage? You can help prevent the passing on inherited negative spiritual traits to future generations.

Below are a few simple ways to give reverence to your ancestors:

You can set up a simple home “memorial” or altar to honor your lineage. Many cultures across the world do this; it is called a Jingili in parts of West Africa. This is one the most beautiful ways to invite peace and harmony in your life and home. Use a white cloth or an African print, picture(s) of only transitioned loved ones, candle, glass of water and anointing oil.



You can make an offering — the best way to do that is to give them what they liked the most while still alive. Even if that vice was their downfall. My dad smoked Marlboro 100’s in the red pack. For years I was against even the thought of putting a pack on the altar for him. Once I did it opened my approach to connecting with him, even made me laugh and remember things I had long forgotten.

You can prepare dinner at home for a group of people and dedicate it to your ancestors — this is called Sara(giving in honor of another) for the ancestors.

You may also have a priest who is versed in ancestor reverence prepare blessed items for your altar or even advise you on the set up of our altar.

Most people do not even think about their spiritual inheritance. Out of sight out of mind until you lose your mind trying to figure out what is wrong with you. Constantly staying in touch with your ancestors opens the telephone lines again. Once that line is open you start a positive circuit, a continuous flow of information- present (you), past (their spiritual knowledge), and future (improved outcomes and harmony). You have the right to go back and get it! Get their wisdom, get their knowledge, and get their understanding! Your astral-spiritual and physical-biological genetics are stored in your body and are with you wherever you are. Your ancestors are within you and with you wherever you are. You don’t need a special prayer or to speak in a foreign language. Pray to your ancestors in the way that you would if you were holding their hand or having that weekly phone call. No request is off limits to your ancestors especially ones that uplift the lineage of the family.

It’s time to bring back ancestor reverence, flip on the light, and see what you’ve been missing out on. No matter your ethnicity if you have been oppressed by the strategies of separation from your ancestors and disempowerment in any religion, then you should look into what your ancestors can bring to your life.

Dawn Osun Omilade is an ordained Priest of Osun

Ayurban Wellness provides coaching for Ancestor Reverence