by Baba Awotunde Dosunmu Yao Faseyin ©2006-2007

In the few years that I have been in the tradition I have observed a growing number of under cover Christian/muslim priests and priestesses in our various Afrikan traditions. The iles, akoms, kwk are filled to the brim with them. Most of them have “services” on Sundays. Now I am not knocking the Sunday thing. The fact remains that as long as we are tied in whatever way possible to the corporate plantations of amerikkka we will remain in a position that will only allow us to meet “freely” on Sundays – you know, like the former slave masters of Afrikan people would allow them to do concerning church on Sunday which was a day free of plantation work.

But we must ask ourselves one serious question: Is that same trend evident in Orisa, Abosom, Mkisi, Vodun, kwk worship? The answer is an emphatic YES! At most of these “Sunday” ile services all I have observed is a bunch of Afrikan people BUCK-DANCING in the name of the deities. During times of enslavement Afrikans would put on shows to entertain their enslavers. Much of this included what came to be known as buck-dancing. Buck dancing, in those times, was a way to distract the master so that certain liberation plots could be carried out. In time, as the chains and images of slavery would have it, this became and accepted and normal part of the Afrikan psyche. What once had a purpose now was a part of the destruction of the Afrikan soul.

This continues even today within many of the iles and other Afrikan spiritual houses. On the surface they look Afrikan but that is where it seems to stop. All around this country on any given Sunday one can find an ile FULL of Orisa worshippers in a 3 to 4 hour dancing and singing session. After that they eat, drink, and then go home. But what type of social change did they ask the Orisa to reveal to them while in their singing and dancing sessions? What type of real teachings were conveyed to the innocent alejo (non-initiate)? What happens is that the alejo feels good for 3 or 4 hours and ends up back in the spiritual state he or she was in before the session began! It is no different than the church people saying on Sunday that they are going to go get “filled with the holy ghost” and they are more miserable come Monday morning.

Just imagine the above characters with Afrikan attire on and you'll envision what I am saying.

The blame for much of this goes on the priests that head these so-called iles. They are no different than the pastors who give their congregations little doses at a time just to tide them over to the next time to amass more tithes for his/her pockets. Then there is the problem of when they “do” teach the alejo something it is about everything but the Orisa or nationalism. It is about the elohim (entities that never existed and are biblical), the annunaki (space aliens that we are supposed to have descended from!), fake hindu gods and chants, and some sort of “mystical islam” that is deeper than the regular islam (lol).

Many people are now starting to do the Itadogun which is the seventeen day gathering of Ifa initiates to chant for the community. But what are they chanting for? I have not been to one where ANY of them chanting for the destruction of oppression and the demise of their oppressors – not one. No nationalism…no social change…no liberation.

The time has come that we stop all of this singing and dancing and start some doing. A 92 year old woman was shot to death here in Atlanta by policeman and sad tp say I was the only one there at a rally for her and other victims that was representing Afrikan spirituality! That should not be. The Orisa work through us so do not let ANYONE tell you “don’t worry about it because the Orisa will handle it”. Many Orisa were human beings and yes they fought too. It is time to question your Iya or Baba about things we can do through the Orisa to effect change in our communities. We have been singing and dancing in this country for a long time now. We are singing and dancing early on in Afrikan tradition and we that both of the aforementioned have the same result; nil-nothing.

In closing, I would like to say that a few things. I too love the Afrikan deities. I too love to sing and dance for them. But I like to sing and dance for a change to the conditions of Afrikan folk. I love to chant to Sango and Ifa. But when I chant to them I chant for a day that will soon come to eliminate the perpetual enemies of Afrikan people. Just as sure one can come to the oracles to find a better job, a good family, to stave off negativity, kwk. one SURELY can find out from the oracles how to end our oppression and the authors of that oppression. When will we stop being self-centered and selfish concerning the tradition and come to the oracles for collective liberation?

The time is now. Stand up in your respective Afrikan spiritual houses for REAL liberation or be guilty of modern day buck-dancing in the name of the Orisa.

As an addendum, I would like to inform you in good spirit that the word "alafia" or "alaafia" is not a Yoruba word. It is not an Afrikan word at all. It is a word that literally translates as "health" and not "peace" as some have mis-propogated in our culture. It is an Arabic word introduced to the Yoruba by the Hausa Afrikan ethnic when they (the Hausa) accepted the deification of Arabic culture under the pseudo-religion of islam. Also, the general greeting in the Ede Yoruba (Yoruba language) is "pele o". That is a general "hello" so to speak.

Odabo