Charles Spencer King

327 pages 
Ana Maria was a was what I call a floater she was baptized Catholic and born in Lucumi, and eventually crowned. Being a Santera just did not seem enough for her and she began to  learn IFA. She was relentless in her studies, but had no interest in marrying a Babalawo because she was a lesbian. During her studies she cast aside Catholicism and took it out of her personal practices and worship. This was an improvement, but she still felt she was destined for higher service. Next she became a Palera, but never felt that IFA (her passion) and Palo walked hand in hand, as they seemed to in Orisha worship.  She tried Voodoo, Hoodoo, and other traditions, always coming back to IFA, despite what she felt was a suppression of equality for women and gays. 




After a time, she began reading how women were treated as equals in Yoruband, so she joined an ile in the state of Ogun and learned that in Yorubaland there were still things a man could do, that a woman could not in IFA. She asked many elders about this, who usually answered evasively, or asked her to consider why Olodumare made male and female. The wise Awo would entreaty that women have an equally important role in the religion as in day to day life, but there is a difference, just as a male can not birth a child, neither can a woman initiate the process without a man. She understood, but still she was unhappy and felt women were slighted from, not just IFA, but counsels, and the hierarchy. Ana Maria began to see that it was not just Lucumi where women were not equal, the more times she heard "equal, but different" the angrier and more frustrated she became.  She visited Brazil where woman have a rich history because the Portuguese had murdered all the male Babalawos centuries ago. The problem in Brazil was that she found Portuguese to be difficult to learn. She saw that while Orisha worship was perhaps even skewed to women in Brazil, IFA seemed to be newer there and more murky. 



327 paginas 

 

 

            Ana Maria met Jim in a forum on Facebook, Jim was gay and like Ana was a floater, they had traveled the same road for different reasons. He was well spoken, knowledgeable and an independent student of IFA. Jim like Ana was frustrated and unwilling to accept the tenants of IFA that preclude gay men from the priesthood. For my part, I met both Ana Maria on a Facebook, but separately, both had written me a nice note congratulating me on my book, Nature's Ancient Religion. Ana Maria had read my book in Spanish (IFA y los Orishas: La Religion Antigua de la Naturaleza), and Jim had read my book in English. Over time I began to see both Ana and Jim pop up on many groups on Facebook and forums elsewhere. In the course of things we three became Internet friends. Not being gay or a woman caused me to reflect on their plight, their gripes, and their feelings. You see it was not just Ana and Jim, it was a large group of women and gay men who were equally frustrated. 

             Like many Awo, I understood their frustration, yet I was and am in no position to change the way things are, and in fact I am not sure I would , if I could. In fact this irked and irks me to see the same exact discussions over and over, and in every single group I belong to. You see, while I am sympathetic to their plight, I am happy with my beloved Lucumi, there is no chance of changing the tradition as I see it.  However, I put on my thinking cap, because like a baby that is crying, crying and crying, the baby will not stop unless he or she is attended to. The baby may need changing, food, or simply attention. 

              We all learn from history, be it oral, written or experienced. It we look at our religion(s), we find they are fragmented with traditions, some of these fragmentation's in diaspora came about because of necessity rather than choice, yet other purely came from choice. Even in noble Yorubaland there are fragmentation's, Oyo does not do some things as Osogbo, just as Osogbo does not do all things as in Ife. These differences can be either in mechanics or philosophy (or both), the same is true when comparing other West African traditions to Yorubaland, There is often a misconception that all of Yorubaland does things the same, when the reality is quite different. There is a beauty to our structure, that not enough followers appreciate. Some of those seek misguidedly to combine all the traditions and make one super religion. This of course will never happen, as centuries of tradition and culture are not given up, ever. Many of these ONE Super religion types also tend to insinuate and in some cases outright claim that their tradition is superior in power, history, or culture to others. There are other motives like money, but let's avoid looking at these and focus just on those who seek to consolidate. We'll often find the consolidators the worst culprits in disrespecting other branches or traditions of our religion, why? Because they have a motive or motives. The enlightened, see the futility of promoting consolidation, and tend to be more receptive in respecting those traditions that are not their own, but related. If we look at my beloved Lucumi, we find that like in Yorubaland (or anywhere else) mechanics and philosophy vary somewhat ile to ile, and more so from rama to rama. Therefore, the reality is anywhere on the planet we look, we see differences. 

          These differences are to be respected, just as our many similarities are to be celebrated. Disrespecting another tradition, or ile is much like a divorced spouse ranting and raving about their former mate. It is unsightly, and we ask, " Humm, I wonder why she or he married them in the first place". It also can and often does damage the children born from this union.The wise former spouse, sings the praises of their former mate, and learns the lesson to not drink the same dirty water. If we look at other religion, (ANY other religion), we see differences that through history have cause fragmentation. Look at the Jews who spawned, both Christianity and Islam. Islam has Sunni and Shi'a, and other branches that fall from that tree. Christianity we can start with East vs Roman Catholic, continue to Martin Luther branching off, and all the branches of Protestantism. We can do this exercise in Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, etc, etc. Now coming full circle, we notice that while there are many branches, the trees they belong to are clearly defined, and not in dispute. The same is true with all the diaspora based traditions, they came from West Africa and are part of those various trees in that grove, 

            In conclusion, I must ask when will Ana and Jim and all the other gay and women who want to have a larger role in IFA begin to learn from history? Why have they not started their own tradition(s)? My ogbe sa brain tells me that at some point they will stop exhausting themselves swimming up stream in Oshun's river and just create their own tradition. When this happens, history will tell us there is much resistance and perhaps centuries before the rest of the groves accept them as family, yet like all religions this is the price of being a separatist.

About the author: 
www.amazon.com/Charles-Spencer-King/e/B002ELIWKI/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

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