Explaining The Practice Of Elevating An Ancestor For Veneration

The Bisa people of Nabwalya, Zambia love their culture and gladly celebrate all their traditional festivals. This book presents exciting research into Kusefya pa ngena, rituals through which the Bisa elect ancestors for veneration. The Bisa speak freely of how their belief in ancestor veneration does not conflict with their worship of God. For them, the two work hand in hand. Traditional practices are considered vital to the community because they enhance life, reinforce cultural values, and explain life events. Those questioned said ancestor veneration should continue because it benefits current and future generations. For example, their most celebrated ancestor, Kabuswe Yombwe, when petitioned, provides rain and a good harvest for the community. People affirmed that rain fell each time they petitioned Kabuswe. One woman, who is married to an elder in a Pentecostal church, vowed not to give up ancestor veneration, to which she attributed the healing of her son and daughter. She pledged her allegiance to both Jesus Christ and to her family’s ancestors. In another story, an ancestor appears in a dream to an expectant woman demanding that her child be given a feminine name. The mother obeys to avoid the child being born with a sickness . . .

The Bisa people of Nabwalya, Zambia love their culture and gladly celebrate all their traditional festivals. This book presents exciting research into Kusefya pa ngena, rituals through which the Bisa elect ancestors for veneration. The Bisa speak freely of how their belief in ancestor veneration does not conflict with their worship of God. For them, the two work hand in hand. Traditional practices are considered vital to the community because they enhance life, reinforce cultural values, and explain life events. Those questioned said ancestor veneration should continue because it benefits current and future generations. For example, their most celebrated ancestor, Kabuswe Yombwe, when petitioned, provides rain and a good harvest for the community. People affirmed that rain fell each time they petitioned Kabuswe. One woman, who is married to an elder in a Pentecostal church, vowed not to give up ancestor veneration, to which she attributed the healing of her son and daughter. She pledged her allegiance to both Jesus Christ and to her family's ancestors. In another story, an ancestor appears in a dream to an expectant woman demanding that her child be given a feminine name. The mother obeys to avoid the child being born with a sickness . . .

A call to action for therapists to politicize their practice through an emotional decolonial lens. An essential work that centers colonial and historical trauma in a framework for healing, Decolonizing Therapy illuminates that all therapy is—and always has been— inherently political. To better understand the mental health oppression and institutional violence that exists today, we must become familiar with the root of disembodiment from our histories, homelands, and healing practices. Only then will readers see how colonial, historical, and intergenerational legacies have always played a role in the treatment of mental health. This book is the emotional companion and guide to decolonization. It is an invitation for Eurocentrically trained clinicians to acknowledge privileged and oppressed parts while relearning what we thought we knew. Ignoring collective global trauma makes delivering effective therapy impossible; not knowing how to interrogate privilege (as a therapist, client, or both) makes healing elusive; and shying away from understanding how we as professionals may be participating in oppression is irresponsible.

Ancestor veneration is an essential part of African and other traditional spiritual practices. It is at the core of indigenous spiritual beliefs because our ancestors are the core of our DNA. Sadly, the practice of ancestor veneration has become lost or forgotten within certain cultures due to the impact of non-traditional spiritual belief systems. But all is not lost. You can still have the wisdom and guidance of your ancestors in your time of need. You can still honor them even if you did not grow up in a culture where ancestor veneration is part of everyday life. Connecting with your ancestors is as simple as extending a heartfelt invitation and opening your heart with gratitude and hopeful expectation. There are many ways to extend such an invitation. Some of them are based on customs and traditions from specific cultural groups. Others are basic yet effective strategies that anyone can implement. This book outlines some of the foundational tools and techniques that you can use to restore lost ancestral connections. It also provides sound principles for developing an ancestral veneration practice and discusses its many benefits. Additionally, this book guides you on setting up an ancestor altar, giving ancestral offerings, conducting elevation ceremonies, and applying other strategies to honor your lost loved ones. Even more, it provides a foundation for propitiating, understanding, and discerning spiritual communication. Finally, it outlines the tenets of ancestral veneration in a responsible, easy-to-follow format that will benefit you for years to come. Second Edition Features The second edition of this book has been updated to include the following: The ancestor elevation section has been revised to include practices from the Ifa tradition out of Yorubaland, Nigeria A section about special considerations when venerating your ancestors with your family, as a woman, or when traveling has been added The section about divination tools and techniques has been expanded to include descriptions of easily-to-use self-divination tools The cover of this edition likewise pays homage to the ancestor veneration according to the Haitian way. The image depicts a Haitian woman kneeling before her ancestor's offerings as she performs a liminasyon.

The Tower of Babel: The Cultural History of Our Ancestors reveals our shared ancestry as never before! Many are familiar with the Biblical account of Babel, but after the dispersal, there was a void beyond Biblical history until empires like Rome and Greece arose. Now, discover the truth of these people groups and their civilizations that spread across the earth and trace their roots back to Babel as well as to the sons and grandsons of Noah. Many of today’s scholars write off what occurred at the Tower of Babel as mythology and deny that it was a historical event. Beginning with the Biblical accounts, author Bodie Hodge researched ancient texts, critical clues, and rare historic records to help solve the mystery of what became of the failed builders of Babel. For the purpose of defending the Bible, Hodge presents these and other vital historical facts surrounding this much-debated event. Teens and older can use this layman’s reference for Biblical classes, ancient history, apologetics training, and to realize their own cultural connection to the Bible.

This book is steeped in guidance on how to delve into Ancestor reverence practices. You will come away knowing fully how to implement Ancestor reverence into your life. Altar setup, prayers, ways to connect and to communicate are included within the pages. Ancestor Reverence is an important part of spiritual development and healing. Healing of generational trauma and pain can come through connecting with our ancestry beyond the surface of mundane life. We can come to know more about ourselves and our life path from knowing our Ancestors. The ancient practices of honoring the Ancestors are coming back into our spiritual practices all over the world. This a beginner's guide that helps the reader start navigating the terrain of Ancestor veneration by learning the basics of this very beautiful and fulfilling spiritual practice. Utilizing primarily traditions from the African diaspora (Lucumi-Orisha, Yoruba, Bantu, etc) blended with the practices of Spiritism to give tools to assist in connecting with the rich legacy of the ancestors. This book is written as an act of love for our Ancestors who have been waiting for acknowledgement so that they can be helpful in bringing peace, success, stability and fulfillment to their descendants.

The material in this study is covered by Myron L. Cohen on religion and family organization in China; John R. Bowen on family, kinship, and Islam in Indonesia; Robert W. Hefner on hierarchy and stratification in Java; and Nancy Rosenberger on gender roles in Japan. Further material is provided by William W. Kelly on rural society in Japan; Theodore C. Bestor on urban life in Japan; Stephen R. Smith on the family in Japan; Doranne Jacobson on gender relations in India; Lawrence A. Babb on religion in India; Owen M. Lynch on stratification, inequality, and the caste system in India; Laurell Kendall on changing gender relations in Korea; Andrew G. Walder on comparative revolution in China and Vietnam, Maoism, and the sociology of work in China and Japan; Moni Nag on the comparative demography of China, Japan, and India; and Helen Hardacre on the new religions of Japan. Other contributors offering information through case studies are Hiroshi Ishida on stratification and mobility in Japan; Robert C. Liebman on work and education compared in Japan and the US; Joseph W. Elder on education, urban society, urban problems, and industrial society in India; Andrew J. Nathan on totalitarianism, authoritarianism, and democracy in China; Jean C. Oi on mobilisation and participation in China; Edwin A. Winckler on political development in Taiwan; Carl H. Lande on political parties and representation in the Philippines ; Clark N. Neher on political development and political participation in Thailand; and Benedict R. O'G. Anderson on political culture, the military, and authoritarianism in Indonesia. The final chapters of this work include studies by Stephen Philip Cohen on the military in India and Pakistan; Paul R. Brass on democracy and political participation in India; T.J. Pempel on Japanese democracy and political culture, political parties and representation, and bureaucracy in Japan; Han-kyo Kim on political development in South Korea; and Thomas G. Rawski on the economies of China and Japan.