The poetic elegance of the Yoruba creation story moved me.
And I thought about it for days. It made me reflect on spirituality as well as what science says about the birth of humanity and the origins of the universe.
Here’s an excerpt of the sacred story as related by Ifa priest, Chief Solagbade Popoola
“In the beginning that signified the end. It was the beginning of the beginning and the beginning of the end. It was the beginning of existence and the end of nothingness. It started in a sporadic but gradual manner. It started at a time that was timeless. It began in a form that was in itself without form. It started with a Being that cannot be described with any adequacy. This Being is neither a ‘he’ nor a ‘she’. The Being is neither human nor superhuman. It has neither flesh nor blood. It has no water. It exists in a body that is in itself without body. It is the universal spirit of the universe. That is the Being which started the universe from nothingness. It is not from the void as some people say, because void itself is something. The universe started from nothing, absolutely nothing. This universal spirit that began the universe is known as Akamara.”
According Popoola, who has authored several books about Ifa, our sacred teachings insist there were five stages of creation. In the first stage, the universal spirit, Akamara, created a grain of sand, “blew its mighty breath into it and transformed this grain into a basket of sand from which hot gases and dews began oozing out.
Then, a mighty explosion ensued for an “uncountable period of time and the whole universe was engulfed in gases and dews.”
Ifa says, “the mightiness of the whole universe today is just the breath of Akamara.”
Here’s my question. Could the mighty explosion be a reference to the Big Bang that science refers to?
In stage two, “the solidification of gases and dews into stars and other heavenly bodies brought about another development. It was discovered that the stars and other heavenly bodies were too hot and would not be able to accomplish the mission which Akamara created them for. These stars needed to cool down from their ultra high temperature to a normal temperature.” Hence, Akamara created another being called Olu-Iwaye who successfully cooled down the stars and made it possible for them to solidify quickly.”
In stage three, a super being, or Irunmole, called Baba Asemuegun Sunwon was created because “it was discovered that the stars and other heavenly bodies had no orderly movement and were crashing into each another, causing mighty explosions. The mission of Baba Asemuegun Sunwon was to make all the heavenly bodies to rotate in an anti-clockwise orbit in order to stop what Ifa calls “The War of the Stars”. When this was done, the stars and other heavenly bodies stopped crashing into each other.
I was fascinated by the poetic imagery of stars streaking across the heavens against a darkened sky colliding into each other. In fact, I love it so much I’m toying with the idea of incorporating some of this imagery in my film, Across The King’s River.
But let’s move on.
In stage four, life was created on earth. The teachings of Ifa insist we are still in stage four but most evolve if we hope to survive and save the planet.
“We need to stop wasting and using up all our natural resources in an ignorant and arrogant manner. We need to stop the abuse of our fellow man in all parts of the world. We need to stop using technology that destroys the environment. We need to stop wars. We have to relearn to live in harmony with all that exist on the planet,” Popoola says.
Very few would disagree with this, I’m sure. But can we summon the will? Time will tell.
I began this post by saying how the Yoruba creation story made me reflect on science and spirituality.
The creation story also made me reflect on one of my favorite books of all time: Vanishing Voices: the Extinction of the World’s Languages. (To hear my interview with Daniel Nettle, co-author of Vanishing Voices, visit:http://acrossthekingsriver.com/press/
You see, the sacred stories (and traditions) of the world are important not only because they allow us to glimpse into other cultures, but because they may help unlock scientific mysteries and provide answers to some of the most vexing challenges of our times.
But as the authors of Vanishing Voices point out: more than 90 percent of the world’s languages may die out in the next century, and when these languages die, we lose ancient knowledge, centuries and centuries of indigenous science and wisdom because the accumulated knowledge of humanity is encoded in language.
“We do not even know what exactly we stand to lose – for science, for posteriority – when languages die,” says linguist K. David Harrison in the book, When Languages Die. “An immense edifice of human knowledge, painstakingly assembled over millennia by countless minds, is eroding, vanishing into oblivion.”
Because Ifa is a vast body of ancient oral knowledge, surely it has a role to play in this crucial debate about vanishing languages and cultures.
May the ancestors grant us the wisdom and the fortitude to keep our sacred traditions alive.
One by one each Spirit came forward with a special message. By the way the medium described them, I recognized each soul right away: Junito, my 30-something-year-old cousin who drowned at sea; Vincent, my cousin who was shot and killed during his prime; Rose, my cousin who died after a long battle with cancer, grandma, the celebrated chef and mother of seven children, and Gene, my brother, the gifted musician who left earth for the Spirit World in 2008.
To communicate with Spirits, mediums must speed up their vibration, whereas those in Spirit must slow down their vibration in order to link with the material world.
Although I’ve been a student of African spirituality for years and I have an ancestral shrine at home, some of my most memorable messages with ancestors have come from mediums who do not practice African spiritual traditions. I’ve always wondered why this this might so. While I don’t know for sure, here’s my humble theory.
Since Africans have always believed in the eternity of the soul and the presence of ancestors in our day-to-day lives, perhaps they feel no need to prove it. You either accept this “reality” or you don’t. Western mediums, on the other hand, feel that their mission is to prove that life continues after death; therefore, they strive to provide “evidence” – facts about the loved ones in Spirit that the client can verify during or after the reading.
In my most recent phone reading with Tim Braun, a medium based in L.A., the medium was spot-on about many things in my life: my height, the number of children my grandma had (7), the foreign language that I speak (French), the color of my hair (mostly gray), the number of children I have, etc.
Though I sense my ancestors in life and invoke them constantly, I seldom receive their messages with the same level of detailed communication that some mediums effortlessly provide. (But I’m working on it.)
My readings with the elders in Africa are based on Ifa/orisa communication – not ancestor communication.
Communication with the ancestors can be life-changing. It is important because it can shed more light on who we are and what we’ve come to earth to do. For example, over the course of many years, two different mediums insist I have healing energy in my hands and should do something to develop this gift. That’s what my ancestors told them.
Though I’m an Ifa diviner and have had many readings done in Africa, I was never told about the healing energy in my hands. Now that I am convinced that it’s true, I plan to study Reiki (energy healing) as well as Eastern and Western massage. Would I have considered doing this if I had not received messages from my ancestors on two different occasions? Well, it’s possible but I seriously doubt it.
Spirit communication is important because it can also change the way we think of the afterlife. During my last reading my brother said that he loves to go swimming in the Spirit world. That comment blew me away and made me think. What is it like to swim in the Spirit world? Many of us may assume that our ancestors have nothing to do in the Spirit world, but based on accounts that I’ve heard, I doubt this is true. Those in Spirit still lead active, full-lives. The journey of life continues forever; death is merely a transition from one world to the next.
Our ancestors have a profound influence on us whether we are aware of their presence or not. They inspire us from afar, hear our thoughts as well as our prayers, and they draw close to us when we need. They are aware of our challenges, fears and dreams.
Our task is to quiet our minds and listen! The ancestors have so much to say.
“Not knowing who you are is very costly,” says Across The King’s River producer, James Weeks. “Imagine putting a dollar figure on wasted time and potential. Would you be able to pay?”
“It’s impossible to maximize your potential without knowing who you are. Unfortunately, many people drift through life without having a strong sense of purpose,” says Weeks, whose upcoming film explores how African spiritual traditions intersect with modern science.
And when it comes to the universal search for meaning, Weeks, firmly believes African spirituality has a lot to teach us.
“In Africa it is believed that we all come to earth with a specific mission but we tend to forget our mission when we arrive on earth,” Weeks explains.
For this reason, parents in Africa often consult diviners shortly before or after the birth of a child in order to get spiritual insight into the newborn’s life purpose and wishes.
Among the Yorubas of Southwest Nigeria, for example, the “esen’taye” is a ceremony to welcome a child to earth. During the esen’taye, parents learn about the life path of their child and their relationship with guardian spirits known as orisas. In essence, the “esen’taye” provides a spiritual “blue-print” for successfully raising one’s child.
The Dagara tribe of Burkina Faso, on the other hand, often determine the life-purpose of a child during pregnancy.
“A few months before birth, when the child is still a fetus, a ritual called a ‘hearing’ is held. For the Dagara, every person is an incarnation, that is, a spirit who has taken on a body. So our true nature is spiritual. The world is where one comes to carry out specific projects. The living must know who is being reborn, where the soul is from, why it chose to come here, and what gender it has chosen,” says Malidoma Some, one of the leading voices of African spirituality in the West.
But knowing your purpose is one thing – accepting it is another.
“Before you were born, your family learned who you were and what your purpose is. But even if they were to tell you these things, would you believe them? Would you trust them enough? You would not, because when we come here and take on human form, we change our opinions like the wind. When you do not know who you are, you follow the knowledge of the wind,” – says Malidoma Some in his best seller, “Of Water And The Spirit.”
And what’s the advice for those who find themselves chasing the knowledge of the wind because they feel as though they have no one to guide them?
“Listen to the inner voice,” says Weeks. “And trust that inner voice as if your life depends on it, because it truly does. That voice and your heart will never lead you wrong. Also, know that your ancestors are always around you and have your best interest at heart. Call on them for guidance.”
For more information about the upcoming documentary film, Across The King’s River, visit www.acrossthekingsriver.com
The spirits of the dead may play a much bigger role in our health, wealth and happiness than we realize, says Dave Cumes M.D., an accomplished surgeon who is also known for his expertise in African healing traditions.
Cumes has taught at Stanford University and has a private urology practice in Santa Barbara, California. He is also a fully initiated “sangoma”, or medicine man who spent years studying the sacred healing traditions of his native South Africa.
He is committed to bridging Western medicine and African healing wisdom.
“Western scientists believe that they are on the cutting edge of the new age of healing. However, we may have missed the boat entirely. We may be technical wizards but when it comes to the human spirit, we are really only beginners,” says Cumes.
“Many sangomas cannot read or write but they understand the principles of healing better than most Western-trained physicians,” adds Cumes, who lectures extensively and also provides spiritual readings, or divination sessions for clients.
Cumes believes Westerners can learn a lot from African sacred traditions. “Although some of the principles are difficult to understand, they work. They are the roots of healing, and they are still practiced to this day. We can only benefit from what we can learn from them,” Cumes says.
Perhaps Westerners can start by developing a relationship with their ancestors. “Indigenous African people believe in the ancestors and that they are there to help, protect and sustain us. If your ancestors turn aside, you are defenseless in life, like a paper blowing in the wind. If we are attentive and listen carefully for their messages, we will enjoy more health, wealth, and happiness,” he says.
In his book, Africa In My Bones, Cumes cites a study conducted by researchers at John Hopkins Medical Center which suggests a link between health and one’s relationship or lack of relationship with family.
“Researchers at the John Hopkins Medical Center studied the health of a group of more than one thousand medical students from the classes of 1948 to 1964. Researchers discovered that those physicians who developed cancer had much lower scores on closeness to parents, especially to their fathers,” says Cumes.
Cumes, who will share some of his insights in “Across The King’s River,” an upcoming documentary film by James Weeks that explores African healing traditions and modern science, says the research is still ongoing. “As Westerners, we might say that the parent’s love created lifelong balance, stability, and meaning and that it facilitated good health in the child. Indigenous African belief, however, may attribute the progeny’s good health to the dead parents’ and the grandparents’ protective spirits,” explains Cumes.
Weeks said it is gratifying to see that the Western medical establishment is finally starting to see value in what African healers have been saying and doing for centuries. “Maybe one day when you visit your doctor in the West or a psychologist, they’ll ask: ‘Do you have a relationship with your ancestors?” says Weeks with a laugh.
And how does one build a relationship with ancestors?
“One of the most effective ways to connect with ancestors is to set up an ancestor altar or shrine,” says popular African shaman Malidoma Some. “Doing so provides us with an invaluable tool to help focus our attention and awareness of their presence in our lives. It is also a tool to help deepen and nurture a relationship with them. There is no correct way to build a shrine to the Ancestors; use your intuition and imagination! It can be as simple or elaborate as you wish. Let the ancestors guide you!”
Malidoma, one the leading voices of African spirituality in the West, will also be featured in the film Across The King’s River. On his website, www.malidoma.com, Malidoma provides the following tips for building an ancestral shrine.
Choose a comfortable location in your home (or on your land) that can be designated as sacred space.
Choose a table or flat surface of any size or shape. Using a space on the floor or ground is fine.
You can choose to cover the surface or not. If you do, choose a cloth of any color or fabric. Items to put on the shrine can include:
Photographs of deceased family members or names written on paper
Cherished personal items passed down to you from relatives
A glass or bowl of water
Candles
Flowers or plants
Rocks or dirt from your Ancestors’ place of birth or homeland
Food and drink. This can be a small portion of your meals set aside for the Ancestors. Or you can place fresh fruit on the shrine
Spirits of alcohol, i.e. vodka, gin, rum, whiskey
Keep in mind that what is important is your sincere effort and good intention. Building an altar to the ancestors can be fun! There will come a time when the Ancestors will speak to you about what they want on their shrine. Pay attention and just listen!
How you honor and revere your ancestors is a personal thing. At your altar you can pray, talk, sing, chant, cry, meditate, recite poetry, etc. You can whisper or shout to them the most intimate details of your life. There is no right or wrong way to communicate with them and pay your respects. The important thing is that you do, and that you are sincere and genuine. It must come from your heart! In return, the ancestors will provide guidance, encouragement, and support. In time, your relationship with them will grow and you may find that you look forward to a daily commune with your ancestors.
For more information on Across The King’s River, visit www.acrossthekingsriver.com
Across The King’s River producer, James Weeks, expressed outrage at the recent destruction and looting of sacred shrines in Mali by Islamic extremists in the fabled city of Timbuktu.
The United Nations has also strongly condemned the violence and has placed Timbuktu on its list of endangered sites.
“At stake are many lives as well as historical documents and artifacts of incalculable importance to African history,” says historian Michael Gomez.
Located on the edge of the Sahara Desert, Timbuktu was a famous center of learning between the 13th and 17th century.
And during the Golden Age of Africa, scholars from around the world flocked to Timbuktu to study medicine, astronomy, medicine, mathematics and other disciplines.
Modern day Timbuktu is still a cultural and intellectual treasure trove because it is home to some 700,000 ancient manuscripts and other priceless artifacts that can shed light on West Africa’s brilliant past before colonial rule.
But now that Islamic extremists have been looting historical sites since the military coup in March 2012, the international community fears the ancient treasures of Mali may be destroyed.
“It’s vital that the United States and the United Nations take an active interest in what is happening in Mali and save these priceless treasures,” says historian Michael A Gomez.
“These treasures belong not just to Malians but also to Africans and the African-descended everywhere and should be cherished by the entire world,” Gomez adds.
James Weeks, whose upcoming film explores sacred African healing traditions and modern science, says the destruction of sacred sites in the name of Islam and Christianity has been going on for centuries in Africa.
“History is repeating itself,” says Weeks. “This is merely the latest chapter of religious fanatics destroying important sites, shrines or traditions that they consider idolatrous. It is tragedy of epic proportions.”
After studying the divinations techniques of Chief Obafemi Fayemi and Christopher Sangodare Brown, I've finally branched out to begin offering spiritual readings to the public. I was initiated into Ifa in 2003 by Aseda Agbaye, one of the 16 major Ifa diviners and priests in the world.
Although Ifa predicted many years ago that I would actively divine for others, I often wondered when the prediction would come to pass. I've learned that the words of Ifa do indeed manifest but often not exactly when we think it will. It's important to stay open and leave everything in the able hands of the orisas and the ancestors.
Divination is a beautiful and mathematically precise way of getting spiritual guidance to help you through current challenges. Not sure what decisions to make? A reading will give you the clarity to lead a more successful and harmonious life. My offering of spiritual readings comes from a place of reverence and service. If you would like to schedule a reading, please call me at 510-388-5500 or email me at james@acrossthekingsriver.com
“In the beginning that signified the end. It was the beginning of the beginning and the beginning of the end. It was the beginning of existence and the end of nothingness. It started in a sporadic but gradual manner. It started at a time that was timeless. It began in a form that was in itself without form. It started with a Being that cannot be described with any adequacy. This Being is neither a ‘he’ nor a ‘she’. The Being is neither human nor superhuman. It has neither flesh nor blood. It has no water. It exists in a body that is in itself without body. It is the universal spirit of the universe. That is the Being which started the universe from nothingness. It is not from the void as some people say, because void itself is something. The universe started from nothing, absolutely nothing. This universal spirit that began the universe is known as Akamara.”
