We Greet You

I Greet God

I greet the God of the ages the God of the now

The God of tomorrow the God of all time

The God of the heavens the God of the earth

The God of the fire the water the air

The God of the trees the God of the shrubs

The God of the sun the God of the moon

The God of the nighttime the God of the day

I greet the God of the whisper the God of the shout 

I greet the God of the mountains the God of the fly

The God of the valleys cockroaches and stones

The God of the stillness the God of the noise

The God of the sky the land and the sea

The God of the darkness the God of the light

The God of the women the God of the men

The God of all people the God of the sound

I greet the God of the colours the numbers and all

I greet the God of the medicine the God of the Dead

The God of the sickness the God of the health

The God of within the God of without

The God of divinity and whatever else there may be 

Photo of Okomfo Afia Fofie by Jik Reuben

TAÍNO TI………YƐMA WO AKWAABA ………ALAAFIA………SALA MALEKUM

We greet you, your ancestors and spirit guides who walk with you.  Welcome to Sankofie, a space, time, place and process where we recognize that we are children of many ancestors.  Where we say ‘We Have a Claim to Many and Many Will Claim Us.  Please join us in understanding how, by looking through the lenses of spirituality we may journey into an understanding of creation and evolution and how man, woman established helpful relationships to nurture ceremony and sustain harmony.  

As a special gift from a primarily conquest driven, blood & tears watered history we have the opportunity to enjoy the many nations and ethnicities walking through our veins.  Since about 1513 Jamaica has seen the arrival of Africans, Indians, Chinese, Germans, Jews (initially identified as Portuguese) and Syrians/Lebanese.  With all of that the Jamaican population today is identified as more than 95% black, with Africa being the primary origin of our ancestors.  

Whereas many of the other groups have been able to maintain their spiritual culture at a recognizable level of practice, African spirituality/religion and culture in general has not done as well as the size of the population would suggest or even warrant.  Whereas Churches, Synagogues, Mosques are present and undisturbed across the Jamaican landscape,  African shrines are not even recognized as absent, as many would not even suffer the introduction of a thought that the words ‘church,’ ‘Africa’ and ‘shrine’ could be in the same sentence.   While European introduced religious practices are welcome, African introduced practices are demonised and legislated against. 

As we become increasingly aware of the many ancestors who are a part of our spiritual landscape, we ascend, through the legacy of ancestral wisdom, into a finding and knowing of self.  Our ancestors know their children and having waited long or maybe not even so long, for us to remember, many will reciprocally rise to claim us.   Sankofie helps us reclaim and reconnect to the traditions and ways of life of our ancestors using their spirituality as our port of entry.  We are living the teachings of Sankofa to ensure our 7th generation of Jamaicans and others, are able to stand on the solid foundation we are today building for them, by applying to our lives and ways of living, principles from the legacy left to us which we are now going back to fetch from our ancestors.   

Sankofie fosters awareness, understanding and engagement with the spiritual cultures of our Taíno, Akan, Yoruba and Congolese ancestors so as to, awaken and celebrate our divine spirit, appreciate love as an infinite divine consciousness, renew and strengthen ancestral foundations, access divine guidance, seek clarity for everyday living, chill, lime, contemplate, learn, teach and live our lives well.  Our guiding principles are respect, humility and gratitude.  We aim to: 

• Promote Indigenous Jamaican and African spiritual systems
• Establish spiritual communities
• Increase awareness and promote adoption of ancestral ways of life
• Organize educational tours/visits to ancestral and other lands
• Raise funds to support the activities of Sankofie
• Provide guidance for living in balance with nature
• Organize and participate in activities to honour the ancestors of this land, the various deities and our own spirit.

We invite you to join hands and heart with us.  Welcome to Sankofie.