An Ancestor Story

Once there was this lady, let's called her Ms. Wanda, whose favorite holiday was Halloween. It had been her favorite since childhood, when she dressed up as Wanda the witch.

Ms. Wanda grew up in San Francisco. She attended John McLaren Elementary School. In first grade, her school had a Halloween parade. Wanda marched with her classmates around the school yard twirling her skirt and waving at her mom, who was there. Later, Wanda and her classmates had cupcakes as the teacher read them a scary story. After dinner, that same evening, Wanda and her brother went trick-or-treating with their mom and friends in the neighborhood. People ran and hid from Wanda, the Witch. She thought it was so funny.  It was her first and last Halloween as a child, but she still loved dressing up in costumes at home and thinking about haunted houses and goblins and brews and spells.

It wasn't until Iya or Mama Wanda was a grown person that she realized her affinity with this masquerade had to do with ancestors. Iya Wanda was interested in her ancestors. Who were the people who were responsible for her existence in this flesh body?  Mama Wanda remembered her Grandmother Rosetta and her Grandfather Henry Joseph, but she didn't know her Grandmother Josephine or her mother's father or their parents. When Iya Wanda got bigger she wanted to know their stories and to visit New Orleans where she was born and where these ancestors lived.

The road to New Orleans was circuitous which means twisty, like Damballah or a snake. In the meantime Iya Wanda learned more about ancestors and how to honor them.

Did you know our ancestors live in us? Well they do. Once the flesh body dies or returns to the earth the soul is everywhere. We can call our honored ancestors and ask for help.

All people who die are not honorable. Some leave work undone. Sometimes their descendants complete tasks for them, not always. In this story we are speaking of honorable ancestors: family members who lived useful lives, people whose good deeds continue to benefit our family and other families in our community.

We call their names out loud and say Ase! Ase means let the words have power.

We want to live honorable lives that improve the world we were born into. We want to leave the world a better place than when we entered it.  This is an honorable goal. Before she got to return to her ancestral birthplace in New Orleans and Logtown Mississippi, Iya Wanda lived for a short while across the street from a cemetery in Oakland on MacArthur Blvd. and 65th Avenue. Yes. Evergreen Mortuary. Later she would learn the history of some of the people buried there and even visit a dear friend, Sister Makinya when she died many years later.

Cousin Wanda didn't know that New Orleans, her birthplace, was known for its cemeteries. A city below sea-level, New Orleans buries its dead above ground so the cemeteries are little cities. New Orleans is also a city known for its African Spirituality. Vodun is a religion captive Africans created in this new world. It blended their indigenous rites with the captors' Christian faith. African ancestral reverence traveled here, to the Americas, with these people from Dahomey, today called Benin. A major slave port, Africans were brought to Louisiana from many countries.

These are Cousin Wanda's early ancestors, but her family's story might have begun in Georgia or Alabama. This Diaspora woman has roots in southern Mississippi, Pearl River County, where the NASA test site sits.  There is a family cemetery in Pearlington. She and a friend took flowers there as they read names from tombstones. Many headstones were crumbled or broken. Vandals had desecrated this holy place. Her Cousin Thelma and her Auntie Henrietta were with Iya Wanda that day and knew many of the names without legible markers. Cousin Thelma also knew where Grandmother Josephine's remains were. Auntie Henrietta showed her niece where her two children were buried. 

Ancestral remains or bones occupy multiple physical locations outside Pearl River County, Iya Wanda learned that day. Some ancestors' are laid to rest in military cemeteries. These ancestors were US soldiers who fought for freedom.

It's a good thing spirit is everywhere. It's also good that ancestors live in you and me, which means wherever we go, there they are.

The more Wanda learned about her ancestors, the more excited she became, and she shared this excitement with her daughters.

She made an ancestor altar in her living room next to a big window. On the altar she has photos of ancestors, plus a bowl of water, candles, shells, a shaker, flowers, dolls and other special objects. Under the altar on the floor she has holy water from travels to Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Tanzania-Zanzibar and Ghana. There are also shells and rock salt for protection. Nearby there are books and a binder full of obituaries. The pilgrim or traveler keeps the binder open to the page with her Grandmother Josephine and Great Aunt Tootsie's photos. Her Cousin Mary told Wanda stories about these two women when she'd visit her in Bay St. Louis.

Cousin Wanda, Mama Wanda, Iya Wanda's name means "wanderer." It is the perfect name for this curious woman who wants to know her history, who loves secrets of her past.

There are two comfortable chairs in front of the altar. Mama Wanda sits with her ancestors often. It is a calming place. Every morning she greets her ancestors by shaking a rattle and saying a prayer as she sprays special water that has been prayed over. Her ancestral altar became too full so she made another altar. Iya Wanda got a bit carried away and has altars in most rooms in her house on her dresser, book shelves, kitchen counter, kitchen table...most flat surfaces near a window there are candles, moon water, dolls, African shakers, heritage stamps, coins, gourds, books, trinkets from travels.

While in Bahia, Brazil, Iya Wanda picked up special artifacts representing African Spirituality. Esu-Legba guards the front door. There is water and a candle too. Photos taken in Senegal at a shrine or mosque to an African Saint, Cheikh Amadou Bamba also greets those who enter. He was a warrior who protested with prayer and freed his country from French invaders. Another photo of a fisherman seated at Elmina Dungeon in Ghana, protects the entrance to Iya Wanda's home too.

Ancestors have a special place in this elder's heart, which is why she enjoys Halloween. Even if children dressed to trick or treat do not know the origin story of Halloween or the stories of cultures that honor their dead, Halloween still counts.

One year TaSin and her mom, Iya Wanda, visited a Dia de Los Muertos celebration in Michoacán, a state in west-central Mexico, known for its ceremonies honoring the dead. The two of them took a crowded bus from Guanajuato, where TaSin was staying while attending an art college. It was raining when they arrived, but people put up tents and prepared meals to honor their dead at the cemetery.

The mother and daughter walked quietly among the devout worshippers, paying homage to their beloved family who were now angels watching over the living. Laughter and conversations sprinkled the air too. Later at other ceremonies at home and in the Diaspora, this scene would remind Iya Wanda of the importance of sacred remembrance.

While in Madagascar during another journey, mother and daughter learned of a ceremony where families removed their loved ones from their tombs or family crypts to unwrap and rewrap their bones. It's called Famadihana, or the Turning of the Bones, a Malagasy tradition that takes place between July and October every five to seven years.

There is music and food, drinking and dancing. It's a big party for the dead. It is an expensive ceremony that doesn't happen as often as it once did. Sadly, when families do not share these practices with the youth, eventually no one remembers how to perform the rite. TaSin and her mom used to talk about returning to witness it.

Be curious. Ask your parents what their ancestors liked to eat, what they did for fun. Remember what your parents enjoy now so once their flesh body returns to the earth, you will be able to honor them with your hands and feet.

Halloween is an affirmation or acknowledgement that there is life after life. Life after life isn't scary or spooky. That's the trick.

All Saints Day follows Halloween. It is a Christian Day set aside to formally honor the ancestors. Families and communities light candles, pray and give thanks to the Ancestors and the Spirit that guides us all. Some call this spirit, God or Goddess. No matter its name, the Ase or life force that moves through you and me connects all life, human and sentient beings. We are one. Nothing really dies. Life is a continuous cycle. What we plant today grows tomorrow even when we can't see how far our seeds have traveled or what lives our deeds or seeds have touched.

Make an altar for your honored ancestors. Share a piece of candy with them when you return from trick or treating. Sit at your altar and tell your ancestors about Halloween.

Ancestors love stories. Make a habit of visiting often. You don't have to talk. You can sit still and take 4 slow breaths in as you count 1-2-3-4. Hold your breath on 4 and breathe out 4-3-2-1. Do this 4 times. You might want to put one hand on your heart and the other hand just below your navel.

You can sing a song. You can draw a picture. You can share a meal, especially if it's a meal your ancestor liked while in its flesh body.

The realms or spaces between here and there are close.

Iya Wanda is now a grandmother. Since her younger grandsons were born, she's been trick-or-treating with them.

First it was Legend. Then it was Legend and Wise. Now it's Legend, Wise, and Hero. One year, the boys' mom and dad were superheroes. How cool is that?!

Maybe one day, Grandmother Wanda might be persuaded to dress up as Wanda the witch.

For old times' sake. Hum.

Happy Halloween, Beloved Ancestors! Ase.