27 Day Cyclical Ancestor Ceremony
Today we celebrate 𞤍𞤳𞤵𞥊𞥅𞤤𞤭𞥊𞥅𞤼𞤽𞥇 𞤸𞤽𞤲𞤩𞤮 Kúlitɔ Hɔngbó. This word literally means “ancestral portal” in the Fɔ̀n dialect of the Ajã language which is primarily found in southern Benin Republic. This celebration/ritual is based on our ancient, yet revised, authentic azanlilɛn (calendar) whose base goes back to over 6200 years ago.
In the development of our calendar from the ReAfrikanization perspective, combined with the study of the ancient knowledge, we observed that the elevated ancestors use a repeated 27-day cycle, or portal, to make their presence and power available to us on a larger collective scale. This means that this is when those most powerful and enlightened ancestors are available for us. On this day, every 27 days, special rites and rituals are done for the ancestral collective of our own blood lineage to empower those that acknowledge the love, benevolence, and role these ancestors play in our lives. It is also used to do the continuous work of healing our bloodlines from the various mishaps and tragedies (self inflicted and from the outside) that still plague our families. 𞤍𞤲𞤵𞥊𞥅 𞤫𞥊𞥅 𞤲𞤽 𞤣𞤮𞥊𞥅𞤴𞤢 𞤲𞤵𞥊𞥅 𞤿𞤱𞤫𞥊𞥅𞤣𞤮 𞤽 𞤽⹁ 𞤫𞥊𞥅 𞤲𞤽 𞤬𞤮𞥊𞥅𞤴𞤢 𞤲𞤵𞥊𞥅 𞤼𞤮𞤺𞤵𞤲 𞤽 Nú é nɔ dóya nú xwédo ɔ ɔ, é nɔ dóya nú togun ɔ -- If it plagues the family then it plagues the community. Such makes the work of nation building and sovereignty that much more important. We also do collective ancestral work for the whole of our people during this time also.
This is a perfect time to sit with our people and seriously discuss family and how ancestral history effects our families to this day in both the positive and negative. Work deeper on solutions to ancestral "curses". Work on ways to employ the àṣẹ of those ancestors that most benefit you and your family. Do something big to refresh your ancestor altars and shrines like a big feast. Tapping in to this powerful portal generates positive and progressive energy over time that trickles through the family and extended family.
There are levels to this. There are the general priesthood duties for the ritual cycle and there are those things that can be done at every Afrikan home during this time. For further instruction on these things, please contact us at ekaabokilombo@gmail.com