Ogou's Iron or Jesus' Irony: Who's Zooming Who in Diasporic Possession

[Oshun Auset]

Ogou's Iron or Jesus' Irony: Who's Zooming Who in Diasporic Possession
Cult Activity?
by Jim Perkinson / Ecumenical Theological Seminary and Marygrove College

Sometime in the past twenty years, a videotape of a black North American
Pentecostal preacher was shown to a number of Candombles in Bahia, Brazil.
(I am unable to recall the exact place I heard or read of this occurrence,
and it will thus have to remain part of 'that anonymous production
of history that is the real thickness of popular culture creativity in the
ongoing project of' human habituation.) The Bahians watched the video
with mute interest until the preacher moved from "warm-up" to "takeoff"
in his delivery shifting from simple communication to searing incantation,
from quietude to incandescence. Suddenly, they lurched into agitated
outburst, "Xango! Xango! Xango!" They did not speak English, nor
did they know anything of' Pentecostal worship. 'They simply knew the
arrival gestures of this orixa in the flesh of human "being," and the body
language was all the eloquence they needed.

The forum may have been Christian, but the rhythm was Afro-Bahian.
A preaching of Jesus yielded a message of Xango, speaking war and thunder,
blood and bloodlines. Without asking doctrinal permission or ecclesial
affirmation. One wonders what said preacher would say if he was
shown a video of those watching the video of his preaching. He had given
more than presumably he intended, more than perhaps he would have
wished, indeed, something entirely different than his doctrine would
have permitted. What here was hallowed and what bedeviled, and where
the line between? Who was zooming who? The structure of Christian relations
with creolized traditions historically has clearly been that of the
"missionary position," but who was on top in this situation?

2001 Journal of Religion.

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Alafia OlOrisa_Olokun and Eja,

Can you give your analysis/opinion of this? Thanks.

[Bennu Ausar]

Greetings Sis. Oshun Auset,
This is not an attempt to speak for Bro. OlOrisa Olukun or Eja, only an attempt to share some observations of my own... Being raised in a Baptist church tradition I got to see firsthand many experiences of my own as they relate to the phenomenom of Christians catching the holy ghost, exciting the spirit, etc. (as I'm sure many of us have). The thing is, I was always a little suspect of these people that got "happy" every Sunday after Sunday. I eventually became dis-enchanted with the church altogether when so many of my questions went unanswered (satisfactorily). It didn't help that I was one to continually break the 11th commandment: "Thou shalt not think!" (or question). Anyway, I eventually got to the point that I would go to church and leave angry for I felt that not only had I wasted my valuable time, but that those folks had been attempting to "pull a fast one" on me in order to take my hard earned money while decieving the masses. It wasn't until I stepped away and began studying traditional African religions, especially the teachings of the Ausar Auset Society that I began to appreciate so many of the experiences observed in the church and in other religions. Now I know enough about the spirit to understand the various phenomena occurring in the church on a regular basis. In the Khamitic tradition, we are taught that the forces we refer to as angels, archangels, etc. reside in the spirit of Man (and woman). What we know as Ogun, Shango, Yemaya, etc. are in actuality spiritual faculties that assist us in our sojourn here on earth. Depending on a variety of factors (e.g., time and place of birth, etc.) certain faculties are more prevalent/dominant in some of us than others, but we do have the ability to evoke any of these "powers" to aid us depending on our own level of spiritual consciousness. What was witnessed by our Candomble family in Bahia was only a recognition of the same. The Pentacostal preacher was obviously calling upon that faculty within that allowed Shango to come forth and "possess" in order to get his message across to his congregation. Even without the preacher's own knowledge, he was able to work himself up into a level of trance necessary to make this happen. So much so, that it was readily observable to those who know what such things look like (even without the aid of understanding the language spoken). This phenomenom is more readily apparent in some churches than in others just based on what is allowed within the different denominations. My wife grew up pentacostal so we are very familiar the engaging nature of their spiritualist traditions which often include hours of strict devotional worship (which easily work people up into different stages of trance). Now I go to church occasionally, not with feelings of resentment, but with understanding. I can honestly look the preacher in the eye and smile when I tell him that I enjoyed his message (which is actually relevant now, since I am able to make the necessary correlations).

Peace.

[afrikanrebel06]

good topic bennu ausar,i just hope those evangelist opportunists dont make their way over there,therw will be fire on earth,if they do, i ma practioner of vodoo.camdomble,i know about zeboulah,palo mayombe
and the kemetic tradition,so they betta watch because iam gonna chant and meditate, those evangelists
are just as bad as their white counterpartners and they are the worse ones,if you ask me,i will not hesitate to tell dem off,because iam tired of dem here in toronto.
the auset ausar society teaching is good, did you know that during the islamic incursion of afrika,many ancient mystery schools were destroyed with the islamic invasion following the persian invasion and the christian invasion?

[OlOrisa_Olokun]

The reality is that many "preachers" are already secretly practicing Afrikan spirituality. But even for those that dont, possession has also been present. I have said it for years "these people have absolutely no idea who is speaking when they are catching the Holy Ghost". Not a clue. In fact, while it is possible that Sango could come forth, Ancestors are also speaking and in some cases, negative spirits are as well because the church doesnt recognize teach or finetune their possession experience 'no tellin' what is iminating' half the time.

This is a good article.

[preach]

When asked what was the sermon about the christian replied, " I don't know but it sure was good."

[kaiso in control]

very interesting article. i would agree that many people get themselves into trained personalities, tap into something else and use that trance state for positive or negative purposes. i think that the divine probably is linked to these subconscious and conscious huma activities where modes or inner beings are brought forth from the psyche and used to educate or excite. probably all under the supremes control, i think it speaks through the human subconscious when individuals or groups tap into their leaRNED IDEAS AND aRCHETYPES THAT THEY PICKED UP OVER THE YEARS FROM THE DIFFERENT CULTURAL BANKS ThEY WERE EXPOSED TO.

AFRICAN KNOWLEDGE AND SPIRITUAL IDEAS ARE ONLY RECENTLY STARTING TO CLICK for me. ITS CRAZY HOW MUCH SENSE THEY MAKE AS FAR AS ACTIVE AND CONSCIOUS LIVING GOES, THEY SEEM TO GIVE REAL WORLD ANSWERS oops sorry about caps, real world answers faster than the more modern stuff! at least wirth a less snobby "stinks to be me, a christian, knowing i am right and everyone else is wrong," attitude

i sent this article to some of my west indian christian friends who proclaIM ALL THE indigenous african american asian indian, european mystic, etc stff as "devlish"

american cultural consciousness is just scared of what happens when a mind becomes a little more unlocked and understood. its very powerful! and there is the huge potential for negative or positive, i think thats why it is labeled as devlish.