Wake up and smell the ……rum!

Ive been watching quite a few conversations as of late about cultural appropriation and what passes for religion and what doesn’t. It’s been quite interesting really when one considers that the white man (from most any culture) has seen fit to run over those who are different then incorporate their beliefs into their own paths.  One only has to look at the Native Americans. With every one I have ever run into claiming to have some sort of Indian in their lineage(most Cherokee), its a veritable smorgasboard.  Just an aside on that…the Cherokee tribe being one of the “Five civilized” often adopted their captives into the tribe, so some of those claims might be true.  Be that as it may, the incorporation of the spiritual beliefs of Native Americans can be varied from tribe to tribe, so to have a one size fits all kind of path is insulting to those who live it daily.  No where does the word shaman actually exist within the construct of religious practices.  Not within those who live in this country.  It began as a term adapted from a word in Asia.  It refers to one who walks realms and divines.  No clear consensus from anthropologists can be accredited to those who live, practice religious beliefs throughout this country of Native Americans.  So I find it highly offensive that many pagan people, some who are pretty educated, can be so ignorant about this.  They include many things from the tribes, except one thing.  Their faith is lived daily.  Their spiritual connectedness to ancestors is like breathing.  So those who practice a plastic form of their spirituality continue to oppress the native peoples, who often live in abject squalor, struggle with alcoholism and addictions.  I see this sort of thing also for those who would pull from other paths such as vodou. Now honestly, when one hears this..many think of the style practiced down in New Orleans, a type of root work brought in from the African diaspora with the slaves that came in on the ships. But there are many other forms such as the faith of Haiti, and santeria, and others. I see many who claim to practice these paths and yet..they have no connection.  By that I mean they do not live it.  I know several who have houses, that make this a part of every aspect of their lives.  They learn the language in which the rituals were first spoken, honoring the ancestors from which they come.Some are open only to lineage, so that family line is continued, others open to all, with a caveat.  Be careful what you ask for because sometimes the Lwa will answer precisely as asked. Some will try and perform rituals and make and sell supplies that are designated for the deities, but truly they fall short if one is not committed ..no initiation, opening of one’s self to the Lwa and all that entails.  No learning of the language , dismissed as unimportant , no honoring of ancestors as a primary focus on which to build this path.  My question is how can one actually claim a faith if you are not going to immerse yourself in it completely?  My path is more hoodoo, folk magic..based upon family connections.  Those ancestors are the ones who give me strength when I seem to lose my way, to give me guidance as I forage a way to make this work for me in my daily life.  I give thanks every morning before I start my day.  Any work I might do is always based on things that I have been shown either growing up, or as I grew into this faith that keeps me centered.  So…does that mean I step on cultural lines when I work?  Perhaps, since hoodoo is also from a time when slaves  coexisted with poor white trash sharecroppers.  There were always healers..have been since the dawn of time.     Sometimes it was based upon necessity since the need for healing was not available for lack of money.  In truth their folk remedies often worked better than any a physician prescribed and still do today.  So what about rituals not so “light”?  Those too often appeared when people had need, and people knew whom to go see.  My grandfather sharecropped for a long time between gigs on the railroad and in a mechanics shop with his brothers.  I still remember he and Mr Bert sitting on the back of an old Studebaker truck talking about the fields they worked.  But it’s his mother, my Gran that people came to see.  She had herbs in her closet by the back door, and in her garden.  People would come and ask advice, receive healing herbs or whatever it was they desired.  So, it is from her that started me on this quest for knowledge about who I am and what I wanted to incorporate spiritually.
So for those who would pull from a path based on heritage, or decide that the religion itself calls you.  Why not give a little thought to that?  If you are not willing to study, to immerse yourself completely into ALL aspects of said path, then you are fucking over those who came before you.  Dishonoring what they accomplished and making yourself look stupid in the process. It’s not about the “path du jour”. Whatever is expedient and easiest for you.  One cannot just throw up a temple and speak a few words of a language and call yourself a priest of said path.  No amount of money paid to some charlatan will make it right.  And yet it happens every day.  In this instant religion, and money talks generation, the ways of old are often swept aside in an attempt to be “right”.  Well I happen to think many are “wrong”.  If you do not connect to those who came before, you have no foundation to stand upon.   No path to follow to give you an idea of where to begin to find out who you are.  It’s time we call bullshit on those who don’t do the work.  Stop trying to make a buck because some asscricket has it and is chirping for you to give them knowledge they have not earned.  Stop handing hand over fist things others have no right to.  When people ask for rituals, stop and think about it before showing them.  Who are you to say the guides wish them to have it?  Do you not think if they did, they would not provide it? I’m not speaking about healing, because truthfully I was taught that we all have responsibilities(to whom much is given, much is required was a constant refrain from Gran).  We are to help those in need.  not those who want…there is a big difference.  Those who want usually have a way to pay for it..any price decreed by those plastic folk who sell whatever their little hearts desire.  Those who are in need…often will go without , when we can lend an assist.  I don’t go out of my way for every request for help.  sometimes it is through the struggle that we can overcome our problems.  sometimes those with health issues…it is their time to depart this plane, so the energy itself should be used for that endeavor as well as provide peace for those left who mourn.  But its time those who proclaim a path think about their position on said path.  What is it you are trying to achieve?  What purpose does your walk serve?  Does it truly honor those who came before?  If not, might want to check that mirror.  Just wake up people and smell the rum….things need some tweaking.