Roots and Rooted

Since as long as anybody can remember, young brothers have been pouring out liquor on the street corner for their fallen friends, young men that have died from gang violence, disease, police violence and drug wars.

Thug Heaven?
This act of libation has spawned a popular aspect of Hip Hop, where young people now pay homage to fallen “street soldiers” which inevitably pushed the question, “Is there a Heaven for a G (gangster)?” A question that young warriors have already answered which some common notions as “Only God can judge me” and “Thug’s Paradise”.

Well the short answer is yes. Africans and Native Americans believe EVERYONE makes to Heaven, with the exception of disturbed souls whose death was so violent and traumatic that they have to be ushered into the afterworld through special means. Many middle passage, civil war soldiers, Vietnam vets, lynching victims etc. fall into this category. There is a “heaven” for thugs, but it isn’t pretty.

Heaven is simply the afterworld and it is “good” or “bad” based on how you live. Indigenous people say rapists go to live with rapists in the afterworld. Killers, egomaniacs, bigots, etc. They go to a place to reside with people like themselves. So they will be surrounded, at least initially with all the misery they experienced in life.

When we tell the family of these dead children that their children are finally at rest, we are most likely deceiving them. Many relive their days on Earth so they can fully understand the evil they caused others. Their souls do not rest. They are tormented and troubled. Especially if they are among those that didn’t make it to Heaven, but instead are waiting for spiritual work to be done on their behalf.

We call these people that die but do not become Ancestors “Dark Deceased” in some cultures. They are not honored, nor believed to have lived long enough to understand and achieve their divine destiny.

What do Thugs do in Heaven?
What they do in Heaven is the same as what righteous people do. They recount their time on Earth, hear what lessons they failed to learn, and begin to process that for reincarnation. Some are so terrible that they are not given opportunities to return as long as their evil is felt on Earth. If Hitler was human (and I have reason to doubt that he was) you can be sure that he probably hasn’t reincarnated yet. It wouldn’t be logical to let such a person cross over into Life again when millions of spirits that haven’t caused as much suffering are waiting to reincarnate as well. (Please know these references to numbers are for human understanding and aren’t to be taken too literally. The point is that many ancestors and what we call “Yet to be Born” are waiting to experience Divine Creation.)

Should I pour out a little Liquor?
But it’s important to realize that the pouring of Liquor or Libation is a rite reserved exclusively for those that lived good moral lives. When we pour libation to a person we are honoring and invoking their character, behavior and beliefs. We are asking them to bring us more of what they gave us on Earth.

When we pour liquor to fallen “street soldiers” we are invoking the sale of drugs, the use of firearms, the objectification of women, the fear they breed among our elderly, the vice grip they hold on our blocks. We are asking them to bring more of that into our lives. To help us continue to fight gang wars. To help continue to be able to do whatever it takes to get fly clothes rims and secret “cribs” where we hide secret girlfriends. We are invoking their desire for money, their desire for revenge, their desire for power and respect.

We are welcoming more crime, more death, and more materialism into our lives.

When we pour liquor to a dead gang member we are praying for more gang members. When we pour liquor to a dead pimp we are praying for more pimps to be born and molded. In doing so, the cycle continues. There is a spiritual consequence for performing the rite of libation on the wrong people.

“The Rules” We do not pour libation for people that died in violence that was not community endorsed (a just war) – In most cultures they don’t get public funerals either.

• We do not pour libation for criminals. – In most cultures they don’t get public funerals either.
• We do not pour libation for deceased children, even if they were good people. What could a child spirit offer us in the way of wisdom??? (Some culture differ here or at least restrict their communications with child spirits.)
• We do not pour libation for people that died of ailments out of norm for their age or that betray a bad lifestyle. – In most cultures they don’t get public funerals either.
• We do not pour libation for people that commit suicide. No exceptions. (This is always the one that everyone feels they ought to do”anyway” and end up getting hurt even WORSE.)
• We only pour libation for Elders that were moral and responsible.

Healing the Thugs
If you have a loved one that didn’t die as an Ancestor you can pray for their spiritual elevation in your prayers to God, not the Ancestors. Pray that they learn the lessons of their lives well and that they make it safely to the afterworld, if they aren’t there already. Light a candle every once in awhile for them.

If you feel the presence of a relative or friend that died violently, was a criminal, a sexual predator, a poor parent, or had any other bad characteristics that made them unpleasant to most, you should demand that they leave and find divine spirit. It’s not your job to help them do that, because as vagrant spirits they are more dangerous than they were alive and they can become very desperate and violent in their confusion. Only a professional spiritualist should call and work directly with one of these spirits. Again, you can light a candle for them to move towards for spiritual realization. This acts as a spiritual trigger, a “metaphor”. That is it. Anything more and you may get hurt. (Literally. I have seen this happen with my own eyes.)

What Impact do Dark Deceased have on our lives?
Many of you are fighting with spouses because of vagrant spirits that couldn’t keep relationships during their lives or battling with a boss that walks with a vagrant spirit that was a slave master etc. Or you want to give up the gang life but feel “compelled” back by an old friend that is now a morally unresolved spirit.

This is why we shouldn’t pour libation to our young warriors that were involved in crime or violence. This is why we should not call their names in praise. This has nothing to do with the love that we have them. It is about honoring and invoking the right kind of energy and wisdom into our lives.

Ever notice how your grandparents didn’t speak about certain people after they pass away?