What Does It Mean to Honor Your Ancestors the Kemetic Shaman Way?

Hetepu (Peace & Blessings) Family.

I am writing this post because I have received a few questions in regards to what it really means to honor your ancestors in the Kemetic Shaman way.  So, I will try not to make this too long but before explaining how to Honor Your Ancestors the Kemetic Shaman Way, what needs to be understood about African American spirituality is that it is uniquely different from Caribbean, Latin American spirituality and African spirituality, because the African American experience was not like any other.

As I have mentioned before when the Africans were brought to the Americas. Most of the Africans taken to Cuba, Haiti and Brazil were fortunate enough to smuggle some of their ancestral artifacts, which allowed them to transplant their religious beliefs into the “New World.”  As a result, when these Africans taken to the Spanish and Portuguese (and eventually French) controlled territories. They were able to syncretize their indigenous religious beliefs with the predominant European faith Roman Catholicism to create Lukumi (also known as Santeria), Vodun, Palo Mayombe, Candomble, Macumba, Umbanda and so on.  Consequently, these Africans were able to continue their religious beliefs and practices relatively undisturbed, which is termed La Regla (Spanish meaning “religious” Rule).

But, the Africans taken to North America did not have the same luck because the Europeans and Euro-Americans in the British controlled New World were Protestants.  This made it virtually impossible for those Africans who had an elaborate pantheon such as the Akan, Yoruba, Fon, etc. to syncretize their religious beliefs with no saints. Also, unlike the Africans taken to the Caribbean and South America countries, whose oppressors tried to justify the enslavement of Africans by forcing them to convert to Catholicism. The Protestants in North America for the longest time refused to Christianize the Africans in North America, out of fear that the concept of spiritual salvation would be confused with physical liberation.  This along with the fact, that many of the people from the Kongo-Angolan region were Christian or at least familiar with the Christian faith prior to the advent of the slave trade. Made it possible for many of the Africans taken to North America to practice their spiritual beliefs undisturbed based upon their ancestral recollection.

Consequently, most of the Africans in North America after relying upon their ancestral memories were able to syncretize their beliefs (as best as possible) with the indigenous populations’ beliefs and the fragmented Protestant Christianity teachings they received, to create a spirituality with no rule called in Spanish Sin la Regla (Without “religious” Rule).

Basically, what this meant was that African American spirituality developed and evolved out of trial and error.  If something did not work it was abandoned, but if it worked was incorporated and passed to succeeding generations.

Now, when Hippolyte Leon Denizard Rivail (Oct. 3, 1804 – March 31, 1869) or  Allan Kardec’s Spiritism began to spread throughout the western world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Since the Caribbean and South America already had a La Regla (a strong religious foundation along with the Roman Catholic framework) in place. It was relatively simple for Spiritism to be organized and to flourish, which is the reason there are strong Spiritism traditions that can be found in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Brazil, Haiti and so on.  In North America, particularly the United States, the lack of a strong religious rule combined with attacks from the Protestant churches, prevented Spiritism from organizing and flourishing as it had done elsewhere.  However, these obstacles did not totally stop Spiritism from influencing spirituality in the United States.  It did, however, cause (quiet as kept) both the Holiness and the Pentecostal Movement to adopt, pervert and repackage concepts of the Spiritist doctrine as their own.

Consequently, most of us in the United States have been shunned by the horror film industry and the religious community from learning anything about spirits . When we ask questions about spirits, most preachers, evangelists, missionaries, theologians, etc. will try their best to discourage us from inquiring about the subject. Whenever we are in church and we witness someone get filled with the holy ghost or holy spirit. We are taught that it is not the same as possession (which it is) and that it is evidence of God, while other religions and traditions that practice spirit possession are of the devil.

Now. If you are reading this it probably because you are at a crossroad as to what to believe and all I can tell you is this. I was at a similar crossroad once upon a time at my life and a very interesting thought came to me, which was. If everyone in the church was filled with the Spirit of God, why haven’t these peoples’ lives changed? Why haven’t their communities been upgraded or improved, if according to scripture they should be renewed?  The answer that came back to me was that because these people refuse to educate themselves about the nature of spirits. Most do not know that they are possessing low ancestral spirits masquerading as “holy ghosts.” This is what made me learn about Spiritism.

Since our spirituality exists Sin La Regla (Within Any Rule), the man who introduced me to Spiritism was an old Cuban man whom I called Papa.  Papa basically taught me that Espiritisimo has no rules and goes according to how you feel. Following Papa’s advice and after communicating with my ancestors and spirits.  It was revealed to me that the Story of Osar (Asar, Osiris) was an allegory about ten tribal clans who once lived in Kemet who were immortalized. These ten clans were: Osar, Djahuti, Maat, Hru, Hru Aakhuti, Oset, Nebhet, Sokar, Npu and Set.Since our spirituality exists Sin La Regla (Within Any Rule), which means essentially no one has the right to tell us what is right or wrong, truth or untruth.  It is all about what produces the desired results and the man who introduced me to this aspect of Spiritism was an old Cuban man whom I called Papa.  Papa basically taught me that Espiritisimo has no rules and goes according to how you feel. Following Papa’s advice and after communicating with my ancestors and spirits.  It was revealed to me that the Story of Osar (Asar, Osiris) was an allegory about ten tribal clans who once lived in Kemet who were immortalized. These ten clans were: Osar, Djahuti, Maat, Hru, Hru Aakhuti, Oset, Nebhet, Sokar, Npu and Set.

1. Osar symbolizes our main spirit guide who coordinates all of the other guides. As far as I can tell, this guide is responsible for the synchronicity occurring in our life. Our Osar symbolizes our Higher Consciousness, which is also why he is identified with the Superconscious.
2. Djahuti symbolizes the spirit guide that gives us messages intuitively via clairvoyance, clairsentience, clairaudience, etc.
3. Maat symbolizes the spirit guide who teaches us and helps us to bring balance and order in our life by learning from karmic experiences.
4. Hru Aakhuti symbolizes our protective guide who shields us from danger seen and unseen.
5. Sokar symbolizes our healing spirit guide. This is the spirit guide who taught me the ritual that helped me to walked when I was unable to do so years ago. I will talk about this a little later down below.
6. Hru symbolizes our justice-seeking spirit guide that fights for what we want, justice and what we believe is right.
7. Nebhet symbolizes our creative spirit guide
8. Npu is our gatekeeper guide that opens and closes doors for us.
9. Oset (Aset/Isis) is our helper guide who will bring other spirits in to assist us with whatever we need help with.

In addition, we also have aakhu or ancestor spirits who are our deceased blood relatives and/or people we may have known or may have known us from past lives, etc.

Again, without going too much into detail, together these nine tribal clans symbolize a unified consciousness within us. Since Set usurped the throne of Osar and created chaos throughout Kemet by destroying the unity among the clans.

10. Set is the name used to symbolize our lowest (ego) nature, which is why he is personified as our lower consciousness and our subconscious. The aapepu (misguided, confused, chaotic ancestral spirits) symbolize our skeletons in the closes sort of speak.

I have found that building a rapport with our spirit guides is very helpful for numerous reasons, too many to mention.  For instance, as most of you know, my person was diagnosed with lupus and there was a time when I literally could not walk. It was so painful that I could not even stand to go to the restroom.  Enters my Sokar. I do not even know how I got the idea but all I know is that my Sokar came to me in the form of icon Lazarus. The ritual that was shared with me was to buy a Lazaro (Saint Lazarus) statue and promise to take his crutches away if he helped me to walk.  I was also inspired to dance, which is an activity that the Yoruba orisha Babaluaiye (who is syncretized with Saint Lazarus and Sokar) was fond of.  Now, I had done the ritual maybe for a couple of days, I can’t remember now. All I know is that one day, there was a leak in my basement and I found myself running up and down the stairs. I think after the seventh time of running down the stairs, that’s when it dawned on me that I was walking. So, now I continue to honor my Sokar with a Lazaro statue.

So, Honoring the Kemetic Shaman way refers to seeing the Kemetic energies/spirits within and outside of you. Family. Kemet is alive and well because it is within us who have been called to this path. Don’t get caught up in the Hotep Game thinking that you have to have Egyptian artifacts to be on the Kemetic path.  Your  Mind-Spirit does not know the difference between color, ethnicity, and creed.  You have to understand that these are energies and because we are a microcosm of a Great Macrocosm, these energies exist outside and within us.  To honor the Kemetic Shaman Way is to work the Spirit from the Kemetic perspective.  For instance,  Maat doesn’t always manifest herself rocking a single feather headdress. I know a lot of people who will tell you that their Maat has come to them as a Native American spirit or even as an indigenous African spirit. You never know, but this is the reason you have to build a rapport with your ancestors and guides.

Hope that helps.

Hetepu.