Share

More

Next Blog

Create Blog Sign In

Accord of the Oba Oriats of South Florida RATIFIE

FRIDAY, JULY 23, 2010 FOLLOWERS

SEPARATION: LUKUMI FROM TRADITIONAL YORUBA RELIGION

Accord: Oba Oriats of South Florida RATIFIED: June 9, 2010 Posted by Ochani Lele on June 11, 2010 in Uncategorized with No Comments Dear Readers: Those involved in the Lucum faith know well the debates arising between Lucum practitioners and traditionalists who come from the modern Yoruba territories. Oba Ernesto Pichardo wrote to me tonight and shared with me a document that was written by South Florida oriats. He asked that I publish it to my blog. I have read the document in full, and I find wisdom in its words. For those who dont know, Ernesto Pichardo is the man who fought for our religious rights in the 80s and 90s; he fought a court battle that culminated in the United States Supreme Court ruling that enforced our constitutional right to not only practice our religion legally, but also made discrimination against our practices a crime. Following this is the full text of the Accord of the Oba Oriats of South Florida. I invite everyone to read and make their own decisions.
ABOUT ME BLOG ARCHIVE

2010 (1) July (1)

SEPARATION: LUKUMI FROM TRADITIONAL YORUBA RELIGIO...

chni Lele ____________ _________ _________ _________ _ In the city of Miami, on the 2nd day of June, 2010, came together the majority of the Lukumi religions Oba Oriats directors and masters of ceremonies, consecrations and worship as well as their respective apprentices, which reside, officiate and perform their religious duties as such in the South Florida region. The council convened to analyze and debate the recent incidents that have occurred with practitioners of the so-called Traditional Yoruba Religion residing in the South Florida region, and the conflicts and discrepancies in theology and ritual practice that have arisen between both religious systems. As such, this council came to order as an independent entity that is not affiliated to any institution, and the following resolutions were ratified. These resolves explicitly convey the individual and unanimous sentiment of the religious body of priests and devotees that represent and preserve the religious heritage and legacy of the Lukum religion in its traditional Cuban form. The Oba Oriats convened and ratified the following ACCORDS: I. The Constitution of the United States of America guarantees the inalienable and unalterable rights of every person that it receives in its bosom. Among these, each and every citizen is guaranteed freedom of religion, a right and privilege that we value and recognize as patrimony of the human race and a fundamental catalyst of this society and all human civilization. All human
Ayaba Eegungbemi I am an Ancestral Medium, a Spiritual Healer and a World Diviner. I am a Priestess, initiated in Congo, Yoruba and Egyptian rites. At http://traditionalhealing.biz you can contact me, get service and/or products to meet your spiritual needs. At http://oulkoumiyoruba.webs.com is where you can meet with other priest and priestesses to learn and share. As an Ancestral Medium, I conduct spiritual masses to connect others with the wisdom of their Ancestors. I help people to understand the dynamics of the unseen world and how those energies interact with and affect us in our daily lives. As a Spiritual Healer, I conduct rituals in order to help people to recover from various physical, mental and spiritual illnesses,
converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

beings, no matter where they reside, have the right to practice the religion of their choosing, free from the fear of persecution and any unjust measures that violate this fundamental right. II. As Lukum priests, we maintain and uphold a religious legacy that for more than two centuries has responded and continues to answer to the fundamental religious needs of its devotees. We do not need to modify, rectify, justify, modernize, nor abandon the theological principles and religious wisdom bequeathed to us by our Lukum ancestors and the founders of our religious tradition in Cuba, a devotion that we have since disseminated throughout the Diaspora. We emphasize that our rituals, ceremonies and protocols are executed according to the teachings of our ancestors, wisdom that we do not have the need, nor the intention, to abandon or alter to adopt or accommodate the criteria, exigencies or impositions upon our Lukum traditions, nor the coercive mechanisms of reformative traditions foreign to our Lukum customs and ignorant of our history, values, principles and heritage in the Americas and the Lukum Diaspora. III. Although the rituals and consecrations practiced in Lukum Religion and in the so-called Traditional Yoruba Religion share ethnic, cultural, and geographical origins, our practices differ considerably. Therefore, we consider both religious systems to have specific, intrinsic and particular rites, protocols, and consecrations that respond to the specific needs of their devotees but are incompatible with each other. As such, each tradition should be considered an autonomous tradition and should remain within the parameters of its own cult and doctrine, thus maintaining a level of mutual respect, and ensuring that our rituals are not confused and/or mixed. IV. We emphatically reiterate that the practices of the Lukumi Religion and those of the Traditional Yoruba Religion are completely and unequivocally different, and as such, there are no commonalities in the ritual practices observed at the present time that can bring them together. We consider both religious systems to be totally and unequivocally separate and independent of each other. V. We establish and reiterate that representatives of the Lukumi Religion and representatives of the Traditional Yoruba Religion follow and are bound by separate and distinct principles and procedures as to their rituals and religious rites and protocols. Therefore, each group will have to perform such within the confines and margins of its own consecrations and ritual shrines. VI. Those priests ordained in the Lukumi Religion that for whatever reason wish or are desirous to be ordained by and/or convert to the practices of the Traditional Yoruba Religion will abandon and renounce any and all rights hierarchical and practical within the Lukum Religious system. We will not recognize nor validate the consecration or the privileges of those priests that abandon Lukum worship to adopt those of the Yoruba Traditionalists. If they decide to abandon Lukum Religion and are ordained in the Traditionalist rites, they will lose the religious status they acquired through their Lukum ordination. a. Let it be clearly established that any and all persons that convert to the Traditional Yoruba practices will lose any and all rights in our tradition. These persons cannot participate in any of our rites or ceremonies, regardless of the ceremony and/or hierarchical level of the individual or ritual. b. Any person ordained in the practice of the Traditional Yoruba Religion that was not previously ordained in Lukum Religion and wants to join our religious community, will have to adhere and submit to our different levels of consecrations and ordination rituals as necessary to acquire the desired status in the Lukum community. VII. Lukum Religion recognizes two types of rituals: private and public. The rites considered to be private are those rituals and ceremonies that limit participation to persons properly and ritualistically ordained and/or consecrated in the priesthood, following those patterns bequeathed to us by our Lukum ancestors. The rituals that are understood to be public are those socio-religious events that are celebrated openly and publicly, in which

with the use of herbs and the manipulation of universal energies. As a World Diviner, I divine "read" with the Dilogun (West African Divination System of Cowrie Shells), the life "past, present and future" of the individual, family or group. View my complete profile

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

members of the secular and lay community may be present, no matter their religious affiliation, inasmuch as their presence is in the spirit of respectful sharing and learning. VIII. The Oriats that freely and voluntarily accept these accords will not accept inside our Igbods ritual rooms and spaces in which rites and rituals considered to be of a private nature are performed those persons ordained to the Traditional Yoruba Religion. In the event that one or more of these persons are present in any Lukumi rite, the Oriat has the right to cease officiating as long as these persons continue to be present. If the situation is not corrected, the Oriat has the right to refuse to officiate and abandon the premises where the ceremony is taking place. a. The Oriat that refuses to perform a ritual is obligated to return the ashedi honorarium before departing. Additionally, the Oriat must communicate with the Oriats that have ratified this accord, inform them about the occurrence, and communicate all pertinent and relevant details. b. All Oriats are obligated to support the decision of the Oriat that decided to abandon a ceremony and to express their solidarity with the initial Oriats decision by not officiating instead, in defense to our religious legacy. c. In the event that another Oriat is called to replace the one that left, the new Oriat has the following ethical obligations: i. Investigate the reasons that provoked the incident. ii. Communicate with the previous Oriat in order to ascertain the details of the incident. iii. After hearing both sides, determine the best way to proceed. If the circumstances that occasioned the conflict persist, all persons that adhere to these accords are morally and ethically obligated to refuse to perform their services. The dissemination and diffusion of this accord and its stipulations to inform our priesthood and religious community will be of extreme importance. IX. All priests and devotees of the Traditional Yoruba Religion may attend our public events and ceremonies as long as they act and carry themselves in a cordial, civil, and ethical manner. They shall not proselytize or employ coercive or pejorative methods or propaganda that would be considered offensive to our religious legacy, inasmuch as that would give motive to request that they cease and discontinue such behavior or communication. If the behavior persists, they shall be asked to leave the premises at once. Albeit, the person sponsoring the event or ceremony has the right to admit or deny entrance to any person or persons to their public ceremonies. The Oba Oriats and their apprentices that hereby ratify and sign these accords, are beholden to the task of convening meetings and to communicate to their followers, other Olorishas and Babalawos of the Lukumi Religion in the United States and the Lukumi Diaspora, by whatever means at their disposal, the particulars of these accords. Furthermore, this council emphasizes the need to communicate the particulars of these accords to all other priests and followers of the different Orisha traditions of the Americas and the Diaspora. X. These accords will admit the signatures of the Olorishas and Babalawos that would like to add their names and support to this council and accords, either by proxy, in person or by electronic means. XI. It is understood that these accords are public domain, and as such are permitted and authorized to be broadcast by any and all means of communication. Source: http://ochanilele/. lit.org/wordpress/?p=1034

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

For info on changes made as a result of the ACCORD.

Posted by Ayaba Eegungbemi at 10:10 PM 1 comment:
Recommend this on Google

Labels: Awo, Babalawo, Egun, Ifa, Iyanfa, Orisha, Priest, Priestess

Newer Posts Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Home

Simple template. Template images by luoman. Powered by Blogger.

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com