Description
Spirits Come from Water: An Introduction to Ancestral Veneration and Reclaiming African Spiritual Practices by Ehime Ora
Spirits Come from Water is an introduction to ancestral veneration and the reclamation of African spiritual practices, written particularly for Black readers seeking to reconnect with traditions, knowledge and ways of understanding spirituality that have been disrupted through colonisation and the African diaspora.
Written by Ifa and Orisa priestess Ehime Ora, the book explores ancestral veneration not simply as a spiritual practice, but as an act of remembrance, reconnection and liberation. Rather than approaching spirituality through the often Western-centred framework of contemporary New Age practice, Ora encourages readers to look towards their own ancestral lineage and the spiritual traditions that existed long before many of those practices were repackaged for a modern audience.
At the centre of the book is the relationship between the living and the ancestors. Ora explores what it means to acknowledge those who came before us, how ancestral wisdom can continue to influence the present, and why reconnecting with lineage can become an important part of personal and collective healing.
Alongside discussions of the wider spiritual renaissance taking place within African and diasporic communities, Spirits Come from Water includes conversations with elders and practitioners from within these traditions, bringing lived experience and inherited knowledge into the discussion.
The book also moves into practical spiritual work, introducing ways to begin incorporating ancestral veneration into everyday practice. Readers are guided through setting up and working with an ancestral altar, maintaining spiritual hygiene, developing a relationship with the ancestors and understanding Ori, a concept within Yoruba spirituality connected with one’s inner spiritual consciousness, destiny and higher self.
Rather than presenting African spirituality as a single practice or belief system, the book provides an accessible starting point for exploring ancestry, cultural memory and spiritual reclamation while recognising the importance of lineage and tradition.
Spirits Come from Water may particularly appeal to readers interested in African spirituality, Ifa and Orisa traditions, ancestral work, decolonising spiritual practice and understanding how ancestral veneration can form part of a living spiritual relationship.
