Questions about Priests and Devotees in Traditional African Religion (Spirituality) Part 2

When seeking divination do I have to tell the Priest Diviner my question aloud?
No, you don't. If the Priest is in the "groove" - that is, she or he is communicating adequately with their Deity - than you don't have to do anything other than be present and receptive to the information you receive.

Not only will the nature of your visit come out, but you may find that questions and issues that you deemed unrelated will also come to the forefront. However it is fair to tell a Priest if you are hesitant or doubtful about the efficacy of divination or ritual before participating.

What is the Purpose of a Priest in Traditional African Religion?
Priests are servants. They are here to serve the Creator, the Deity to which they are initiated, Humankind and the Planet Earth. They should dedicate a portion of their time to investigating spiritual matters that "stump" other people and applying the spiritual sciences passed on through their Priestly lineage and fine tuning how those sciences help people. They are here to learn and then teach. Priests are also responsible for balancing out some of the negative energy placed and perpetuated in the world by people.

If Priests are so "powerful", how come they couldn't stop us from being enslaved?
For many years, in some cases thousands of years traditional Priests warned African people of what would occur if they interacted with Europeans that entered Afrika. They were told of the dangers, the hidden agendas and the ultimate and monumental changes that would come to their lives and their communities. For many reasons rulers, merchants and layperson's decided that they would ignore the warnings of these Priests. Had we listened to the Priests then, there would have never been a Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Deity spoke, Priests listened and the Masses Ignored. Now If I tell you not to touch the hot stovetop and you disobey, am I responsible for the burns left on your hands?

I Worship the Indigenous Gods and commune with my Ancestors, why is my life still so miserable?
I'd be willing to bet you already know the answer to your question, but let's pretend you are in the dark. Every decision has a consequence. Every choice, a repercussion. Even as we straighten out our lives, we have to remain steadfast as the "karma" or results of past decisions come back to restore balance. Example, you used to sleep around a lot. Now you are much more selective and you treat the mates in your life with much more respect. No matter, you are still spiritually tied to every person you have ever slept with and you could still be required by spiritual forces to make penance for any negative consequences associated with that reality.

Also, the purpose of spirituality is not to get rid of your problems, but to help you steer clear of comprising situations in the first place and to help you cope when certain situations are unavoidable.

If you are looking for a "secret" that God left with someone that will allow you have all the money you want, the perfect mate, any job, and no struggles, I hate to be the one to break it to you - No one rides for free, even (especially) in God's car. Spirituality helps us determine what decisions are best, what actions will yield the greatest success and what lifestyle changes will make us happiest. But we still have to put in work. We still have to do what the Gods and Ancestors recommend; even we would rather be doing something else. There is no magic remedy for Life. Olodumare intended for us to work and struggle.

Through work and struggle come spiritual evolution and ironically enough, the power that some people seek!

How much training should an initiate go through before they become a working Priest?
Two things should be taken into account: How much training a Priest had prior to initiation and how much training a Priest has received since initiation. You can use the # of years the person has received as a starting point, but that may not always be the best indicator. However, the rule of thumb is that new initiates who are still in their probationary period should not be seeing clients alone. Their focus should be on learning and adjusting to the spiritual energy their carry.

A competent Priest has been trained to divine, prepare spiritual baths and herbal medicines, can recite from memory at bare minimum the prayers and songs associated with their crowned Deity and all shrines in their possession, prepare the basic shrines that are needed by a Devotee, greet all major Deities associated within their spiritual path, make sacrifice and perform the dances associated with their crowned Deity. In addition, they must make serious headway on any specializations that were identified in the divination reading that governed their initiation in the Priesthood.

All of these things must be learned from an elder and performed multiple times in the presence of an elder and then "tested". There is no way for example for a one year Iyawo in the Ifa/Afa traditions to know 70% of these things because most of it can't be taught to non-initiates. But, if they studied the Odu, songs, prayers etc prior to initiation, they will obviously have a jumpstart on someone that didn't. Even so, they still have to participate in spiritual work led by an elder, then conduct spiritual work supervised by an elder, then be tested on their ability to do that spiritual work alone.

In short, people don't get initiated then instantly become Priests. When you meet a Priest find a tactful way to ask: how long a person has been initiated, how long they have trained (these may be two different answers), who initiated them, who trained them (these may be two different answers), if they are still in training and to what degree and who authorized them to begin to see clients. As always, if they don't want to answer these questions, you don't want their assistance.

Special note: It is true that every Priest won't be good at everything. They don't have to be, but they should understand the science and methodology behind it. Some Priests are very good diviners that refer their clients to other Priests for sacrifice. Other Priests are great herbalists or spiritual drummers or singers etc. They use their forte to give the bulk of their service. They may eventually focus on only one or a few areas of spiritual work. So long as they are willing to provide reasonable evidence that they have the training and the authorization to work those areas and can refer you to other Priests for other things, everything ought to work out.

How important is community in Traditional African Spirituality (Religion)?
It's most important. There is very little that you can do alone in this culture...very little. Even if your community is not in the same city as you, you must still have one and report to it regularly, even if you become initiated. Every Devotee and every Priest belongs to a community somewhere. When you get involved with a Priest or Devotee ask them to describe the community they belong to, how many Devotees there are, how many Priests they are, if they have a formal code of conduct and values, how often they fellowship/gather, what city its based in, and then how that community will impact you. A Devotee or Priest without community is not a traditionalist, they are a renegade.

Such-and-such is always arguing or fighting or accusing or questioning other traditionalists, should I be wary?
Yes. Anybody that seems to make war every day of every year with other traditionalists has a problem. None of us follow the exact same protocol, none of us are tasked with the same destiny, and none of us are completely perfect. You want to belong to a community where the people are more focused on spiritual elevation than they are with spiritual gossip and slander. A good Devotee or Priest doesn't run around pointing fingers all day and making nasty comments about things they didn't witness, people they don't know and places they have never been invited to. A good Devotee or Priest spends WAY more time in ritual and fellowship with other good Devotees and Priest than they do arguing and fussing.

Every good Devotee and Priest knows the best way to fight darkness is with light.

Such-and-such Priest needs my help outing or attacking another Priest or devotee, should I assist?

Now why would a reputable Priest need the help of a non-initiate in identifying, addressing or "punishing" another Priest or devotee for so-called unethical action? A "Priest" that uses a non-initiate in this way is protecting themself and endangering you! What will you do when this accused Priest or devotee uses their spiritual knowledge to lash out at you? Go back to the individual that got you involved in the first place? That probably will not work out at all. Afterall, they knew the danger and got you involved anyway!

Don't let anyone get you in the habit of calling other Priests or devotee out of name, challenging their motives etc. If they have all the information, they don't need you, they can handle it all themselves. Afterall, if they are telling the truth the Afrikan Deity governing the situation will glady get involved, right?

It worth noting that something is very awry in the world that such a question even has to be addressed. 600 years ago this was not so much the case at all.

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