Annette Williams, Dreaming the Ancestors Among Indigenous Africans and Diaspora Descendents

(This was a part of CIIS Multiversity February 2008.)

This paper considers ancestor visitation dreams within African and black diaspora contexts. Ancestor dreams among the Xhosa are examined in detail as is ancestor regard among the Yoruba. Retention of this relationship to ancestors and their place in dreams is demonstrated among the diaspora descendents of African slaves. The indigenous African ontological perspective is generally one steeped in connection to spirit where distinctions are muted between the spiritual and material, the sacred and secular. The dream and traditional religion are inextricably linked as is the connection between religion and society, where religion permeates all areas of life. In terms of the Institute’s academic mission, looking at the spiritual traditions of others is in keeping with the CIIS mission of affirming spirituality by which “the Institute is committed to the study and practice of multiple spiritual traditions.”

Annette Williams holds a master’s degree in psychology with an emphasis in Jungian and archetypal approaches. Currently she is a doctoral student in Philosophy and Religion with an emphasis in Women’s Spirituality at the California Institute of Integral Studies. A student of the Yoruba Ifa tradition, Annette has had the privilege of being a guest lecturer, discussing the philosophy and lived reality of this West African religion. A trained French/English translator and admirer of hermetic tradition, Annette is a professional astrologer as well as a certified Sivananda yoga instructor.