Nepantla Healing and Conulting

HONORING OUR ANCESTORS
"Honoring Our Ancestors" is a community celebration and healing ceremony taking place in the beautiful Oakland Hills on Sunday May 19, 2013. People from various cultures and traditions will gather to honor their ancestors and histories with one another.
Ancestor honoring ceremonies and practices are common to cultures all around the globe. From Ancestor Altars, Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico, Obon Festival and Bon-Odori in Japan, Samhain Festival in Celtic and Germanic Europe, Ghost Festivals in China, Pitru Paksha (fortnight of ancestors) in India, Ghost Dance ceremonies in Native American tribes, death anniversary practices that occur across many different cultures and religions, and many ceremonies from other traditions, these practices were once an integral part of our human culture no matter where our ancestors came from.

In our modern culture, many of us have not been taught to make time for celebrations such as these. These practices are important because they help us honor and remember who we are, honor where we come from, and provide us a way to pass the stories of our ancestors on to our future generations. It can also provide a powerful way for us to acknowledge and heal trauma within and across family and cultural lineages. Please join us for a day of gathering, honoring, healing and remembering who you and we are!

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AGENDA
9:30 - 10:00 Guests arrive. Check in and registration
Enjoy light snacks and tea. Visit gallery walk and display of various ancestor honoring traditions from around the world before we begin.  Light snacks, tea will be provided. Please plan to arrive by 10:00 am so you can enjoy the snacks and ancestor gallery walk with us!

10:30 - 11:30 Welcome and Ancestor Altar
Welcome. Calling the Directions. Honoring Ancestors who came before us on this land.
Creating our Ancestor Altar together. Each person will place picture or object on ancestor altar. We will start at 10:30 SHARP! Welcome by Kerani, Brenda. Honoring ancestors of this land Patricia St Onge. Please see How to Prepare section below so you know what to bring.

11:30 - 12:30 Five Touchings of the Earth Ceremony
We will honor some of the important contributions, pains and sufferings, and important people and ancestors from the different lineages of people and cultures in this country that have gone acknowledged or unacknowledged in our past. We will honor our own and others’ ancestors collectively during this ceremony by touching the Earth and asking her to honor and heal the traumas of our ancestors.

This ceremony can bring deep healing to families fractured by historical and psychological trauma. When we honor our ancestors in ceremony, we discover more about who we really are and create new possibilities for our future. Adapted from ceremony developed by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk from Vietnam.

Ceremony will led and read aloud by Marie Morohoshi, Kerani Marie Lomonaco, Brenda Salgado and Diana Marie Lee.
Be prepared to sit outside on a chair, yoga mat, or meditation cushion. We will have a limited number available for your use, and we also welcome and encourage you to bring your own!

12:30 – 1:00 Sharing in Small Groups (3-4 people per group)
Each person will share the following with your small group (very brief! 3-4 minutes each)
• One ancestor and a value/lesson/gift they gave you that you are grateful for
• One thing that has emerged for you so far from participating in this event

1:00 - 1:30 Stretching and movement
Gentle movement and music

1:30 - 2:15 Light lunch – Potluck Please consider bringing one item to share sufficient for at least 12-15 people

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2:15 – 3:00 Closing Ceremony
Releasing the directions, thanking ancestors for being with us. Closing circle with drumming.  Return of altar items. Turtle Women Rising, Amanda Elo'esh Johnson and Brenda Salgado

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HOW TO PREPARE / WHAT TO BRING
Please plan to arrive early and to commit to attending the entire event to avoid disruptions during the ceremony. Space is limited so please be sure to register in advance! In preparation for "Honoring our Ancestors" we are asking each participant to "sponsor" an ancestor. Your role is to choose an ancestor, and prepare for the ceremony by learning as much about him or her as possible, and bringing an item for the altar we will create together.

• Bring a photo or an item that represents your ancestor you wish to honor during our time together. (This one photo or item may represent more than one ancestor.) Spend some time reflecting on or asking your family about that ancestor before May 19, perhaps their favorite food or song, a value they passed on to your family, or a favorite story about them.
• Dress comfortably, as we will be sitting during parts of the day. We will be outside with a beautiful view. Dress in layers or bring a shawl so you can get warmer or cooler easily and as needed.
• Please bring a water bottle or cup if you have one. We will have tea, water and coffee available and we hope to make this a low impact event so your assistance is appreciated!
• Please consider bringing one potluck item to share, sufficient for at least 12-15 people.
• Please bring your own yoga mat, towel or meditation cushion the day of the event if you have one. We will have some available that day and appreciate those who are able to bring their own so we have fewer to bring ourselves. And if you have extra ones you can bring, let us know when you register!
• Parking is available in driveway, and we strongly encourage carpools as parking at the site is very limited. We are happy to help organize carpools via the registration process. If you have to leave early for any reason, please park on the street below and walk up as you will not be able to move cars in the driveway during the ceremony.
• Please consider volunteering to help. The beauty of this event will unfold from the participation and support of those involved! There will be instructions in the registration form about how you can volunteer (carpool driver, bringing supplies, providing chairs/yoga mats/cushions, making a small display of how ancestors are honored in your culture/tradition and bringing it to the event)
• Registration fee is $15-20 suggested donation. The organizers are donating their time and putting on this event in service to the community and we want to make it accessible to everyone who would like to attend. We will be making a donation to the Shaktiva Temple for the generous use of their space, and we will be providing photocopies, materials for you to take home, displays, food and drink, etc. There will be instructions on the registration form on how to pay, and please give more if you are able. No one will be turned away due to lack of funds.

HOW TO REGISTER : https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HonoringTheAncestors
 

If you are not able to access the internet please email or call ASAP so that we can mail you a registration form or take your information over the phone. We are happy to help you! There is limited space for participants and we anticipate it will fill up, so please register as soon as possible.