In Kwanzaa, yet another very religious like-ceremony
takes place and that is the honoring of the ancestors. For this to be a
non-religious celebration,1 we
already have in Kwanzaa the lighting of
candles, spiritual principles found in the Nguzo Saba, and now parts of
the ceremony which include the pouring of water from a cup, reciting
libations and roll calling of ancestors’ names as is done in ancient
African religions. We’ll take a look at how Karenga appears to have
borrowed from these African religions in his ceremony of honoring the
ancestors.
Libation
One of the first activities of Kwanzaa is the pouring
of libation (tambiko) for the ancestors. The "unity" cup is
used and must be administered by either an "elder or priest."2
Why is the
libation part of this ceremony? Karenga considers this a very important
ritual and actually quotes from an ancient Egyptian religion book called
Ani (also known as the Egyptian book of the Dead) when he says the
following:
"Ani says, "pour libation for your father
and mother who rest in the valley of the departed. God will witness your
action and accept it. Do not forget this even when you are away from
home. For as you do for your parents, your children will do likewise for
you. 56" 3
So here is Karenga quoting from an Egyptian religion
to give his first reason why libation should be poured for relatives:
"to remember and honor those who walked and worked before us and
thus paved the path down which we now walk."4
What is libation? Here is a definition
from the "Occultopedia" found on the internet and explained in
detail: (http://www.occultopedia.com/l/libation.htm)
Libation:
The pouring of a liquid offering as a religious ritual, or liquid so
poured.
This is a very ancient
method of making offerings to the gods and have been practiced by
several pagan traditions and cultures, such as Egypt, Greece, Rome,
pre-Hellenic Crete, Babylon,
and the Yoruban. This type of ritual liquid pouring was also extensively
used in divination,
and the offering could be poured onto fires, stones, statues of the
gods, people, animals, cups, glasses, basins, fountains, lakes, rivers,
the sea, or the ground.
Libations can be poured
from any bottle, cup, bowl or dish, but in ancient times special vessels
were often created for these rituals, usually in the form of animals.
The material from which the container was made could be clay, metal
(precious or base), glass, or even a sea shell sometimes was used.
African Ancestor Worship
Compare this act to what’s written by Fagbamila
(Philip John Neimark), a modern day spiritual leader/priest (Oluwo) of
the ancient African religion of Ifa. He describes ancestor worship as
the following from his book, The Way of the Orisa:
". . .
ancestor worship is our connection to the past and our road map to a
better future" p 26.
This Ifa priest goes on to describe the ceremony of
ancestor worship in the following manner:
"The actual ritual of ancestor worship is
extremely simple. For the basic ritual all you need is a clear glass,
natural water, a white candle, and the disciple to set aside thirteen
minutes a day for seven consecutive days. For seven consecutive days, at
the exact same time each day, you will light the candle and offer
prayers to your blood ancestors. You will call each name three times,
and, after offering your love and your thanks, after offering the water
for coolness and refreshment and the candle for light and energy, you
may bring your problems to them."
This writer goes on to show prayers for his
departed ancestors by naming several of these ancestors…similar to the
"roll call" that Karenga includes in his Kwanzaa ceremonies.
Although strongly denying that there is no ancestor worship and
that Africans worship only God5, Karenga’s description of the honoring
of the ancestors resembles very closely to that of ancestor worship
practiced by many religions. Here is Karenga’s description of
that portion of the ceremony (See
Links section for examples of libation prayers and Kwanzaa ceremonies):
"Thus, their profound respect for the ancestors,
which admittedly has a spiritual dimension, is best called veneration.
The ancestors are venerated because they are:
- A source and symbol of
lineage
- Models of ethical life, service and social
achievement
- Because they are spiritual intercessors between
humans and the Creator."6
Spiritual Intercessors?
Spiritual intercessors sounds very
similar to the teachings of the Catholic Church where it is taught that
the saints are the intercessors between God and men. This is not
only an obvious example of the Kwanzaa ceremony taking upon similarities of a
religion, but another attempt of Karenga making Kwanzaa more than just a
cultural celebration.
In conclusion of this topic, Kwanzaa’a paganistic
origins are clearly shown by it’s inclusion of the lifting up of the
ancestors – ancestor worship. As seen in the "Is Kwanzaa a
Religion?" section, ancestor worship is another form of a religious
additive in what is supposed to be known as a non-religious celebration.
For organizations that want to drop Christmas celebrations
while yet including Kwanzaa, they are completely unaware that they are
still allowing religion in their rooms by the addition of this
multi-religious celebration – a concoction of Catholicism, Judaism
and Ancient African religions. And even sadder is the mixture of
the pagan ritual of ancestor worship and church services whose
leadership have been duped into believing that Kwanzaa is merely a
"cultural" event.
