WHY CELEBRATE ANCESTORS? WHY NOT?!

Need it be a question to ask? Have we come so far away from OUR way that we must ask the relevance and importance of celebrating and honoring our Ancestors?  In the time when we were truly civilized we would not have asked this question. It would not even cross our minds to ask in the same way we would not ask why must we breath oxygen. It was simply natural for us to honor those from whom we came. It was natural to be grateful to them for having existed and passed on their knowledge to us and their genes so that we could exist.

For those who argue that God rather than Ancestors should be honored, consider the fact that one would not know of God or feel any connection to God were it not for Ancestors. They fill that gap between the present and the beginning. Our spirituality is based on what we have learnt from those who walked the Earth before us. What we know of any Supreme Being, we know because our Ancestors believed and passed those beliefs on to us.

Masked dancers for Egungun/Ancestors. 

In addition to that, many of the blessings we currently enjoy are given to us by our Ancestors. The skills we have in the jobs we do, the talents we display that have gained us recognition, the many opportunities that we have been given have come from those foremothers and forefathers who watch over us and open the way for us. We owe the physical traits we have to our Ancestors. We owe aspects of our personality that make us easy to talk to or very organized or very humorous or very courageous to one Ancestor or another who exhibited similar traits when they walked the Earth. It would be a folly to deny this when our ancestral heritage is written in our DNA. We descend from people who were here before us. Without their existence, we would not exist today.
That fact alone is sufficient for celebration and gratitude.

So, as we prepare for this year's Annual Ancestor Celebration, let us reflect on those who came before us and "upon whose shoulders we stand." Our Ancestors have been there and continue to be there. Just because we cannot see them does not mean that they are absent from our lives. They are our true angels, guiding and protecting us. Our celebration will emphasize their significance in our lives and highlight the importance of celebrating them. Because we exist today, that is reason enough to celebrate our Ancestors. Join us in this worthwhile tradition that has survived slavery, colonialism and globalization. It starts at 11 am on Sunday, June 16, 2013 (Juneteenth) at the Omenala Griot Museum,  337 Dargan Place SW, Atlanta, GA 30310.