Cultures around the world honor the deceased, but in Kamita (ancient Egyptian) belief, each deceased relative was not considered an ancestor. The true meaning of an ancestor or an Aakhu is an individual who exercised self-discipline in life and was therefore expected to help the living in life. Surely you wouldn’t want to honor a person who suffered from substance abuse in life. This is because, in the same way, you would not want to be around this person in life, for obvious reasons. You would not want to be near them in death, because there is not much you can learn from this individual. You wish to revere those individuals whose self-discipline made them honorable individuals in life. And, one of the easiest ways in the Afro-Diaspora is to build an ancestral altar.
The basic guidelines are as follows:
- Take photos of your ancestors (deceased biological relatives you respect and/or teachers). Then place your photos on a clean table covered with a white tablecloth.
- Arrange nine cups in a semicircle to represent the guardian angel(s) who ruled over your ancestor. Fill these glasses with cold water.
- Say a prayer in your own language thanking God for all his blessings. It is common in all Afro-Latino communities to recite the Lord’s Prayer because it is a very familiar but powerful prayer.
- Then say a prayer asking God to bless, strengthen, and enlighten your ancestors. Then light a small white birthday candle and tell his ancestors how much you miss them. Ask them to help you in your life.
- Since you cannot get something for nothing, due to Maa (also called Maat or Ma’at is the kamitic concept of balance, equality, justice, harmony, law, order and truth), it is common practice to make a offering in return for the assistance of your ancestors, such as a cigar (for beginners do not light), incense (for example, frankincense, frankincense and myrrh, or sandalwood), food (fruit, slice of cake, etc.), drink (coffee strong black without sugar or cream, tea or a shot of rum Please understand, offerings are given to ancestors all over the world because although they do not need food and shelter like us (the living), yet they are capable of absorbing the energy (life-force) of the things offered to them, in order to continue their existence.
- Then thank your ancestors for their help and let the candle burn down.
- On the day that suits you best. Repeat steps 3 through 5.
The above configuration is a simple modification of an Aakhu altar used in Kamta. The basic guidelines above are usually done to help people learn how to ignore their wandering thoughts and control their mind. Thus allowing their ancestors to communicate with them intuitively through their dreams, hunches and thoughts. It is advised that you pay attention to your dreams, thoughts and ideas.
Important tip:
- Whenever you light candles and incense, make sure they are away from anything that is flammable.
- Never put salt in food offered to ancestors. Salt has a tendency to repel spirits. Also, if cooked food is offered, it must be picked up the following day. Never allow food to rot on the altar.
- Never put photos of those who are alive on an altar of the dead.
- Never let your ancestors go thirsty. Always refill glasses with water when it evaporates. Also, don’t give your ancestors too much alcohol, we don’t want them to get drunk.
- Never let the altar fall into disarray.
In addition to being an excellent way to celebrate the life and contributions of your ancestors. Honoring ancestors is a great way to verify that the deceased truly rests in peace and to ensure that their ancestral heritage is not forgotten.