Ishilove:
Why was that little boy at the far right always scowling?

MamiWata:

I believe this is a picture of Behanzin and family members after being exiled to Algeria due to French defeat. I can't imagine it was a happy life.

Ishilove:
Unique username you got. Are you one of them?

MamiWata:

I'm Beninese yes.

Ishilove:
What I meant is do you belong to the mammy water group?

MamiWata:

No I don't have those spirits in my family if that's what you mean.

Ishilove:
Really? Then why did you select 'Mami Wata' as your moniker? You identify with them, obviously

MamiWata:
Because I have a love for ATR's wherever they are and I've seen Mami Wata spirits in all of them. How do you know them?

Ishilove:
What does 'ATR' mean?

I know a lot about Mami Wata spirits by virtue of my home town.

Ishilove:
What does 'ATR' mean?

I know a lot about Mami Wata spirits by virtue of my home town.

MamiWata:

As naptu2 said it means African traditional religion. Where are you from? My parents are from Grand Popo in Benin.

Ishilove:
I am from a little known village in the Niger-Delta area of Nigeria. In the village I come from on my mother's side, the village ancestral idol is a Mami Wata idol whose shrine is by the river side. The idol is called 'Emu uno' and is worshipped by the villagers. They sometimes offer sacrifices like biscuits, sweets, live goats etc The irony is the village is one of the most backward and undeveloped in the entire area.

MamiWata:

Well I think it's important to note that backward and undeveloped are relative terms that seemed to be constantly used from a European perspective. If one believes that Europeans are the model for mankind then yes a lot of West Africa is "backward" and "undeveloped." However if one uses the Beninese model for mankind then European/western culture is unsustainable and spiritless. I say unsustainable because I know that if everyone consumed at the level of the U.S., the country I was born in, we'd need 4 planets. I've always been happy to go to Benin even though it meant that I can't always take running water or electricity for granted. What I can take for granted there is knowing where my food comes from, being able to go outside without locking my door, a group-oriented culture, and not being consumed by "time" or the need to acquire "things." I stay in the U.S. so I can send money back home, not because I like it better.

Ishilove:
Sometimes the spirit behind the idol appears to the descendants through dreams and plainly tells them that things will only go fine if they come and pay homage to it. Some of the people take heed and go back to the village to give it its dues. The 'stubborn' ones who refuse to acknowledge it face tough spiritual battles which translate into the physical, and if they are unfortunate, die untimely.

MamiWata:

Yes spirits need to be fed to support us. Everything you said is true. I know some stubborn people who suffer unnecessarily. I hope to never fall into that trap! Why do you think the Yorubas you described are so reluctant to make a small offering?

Ishilove:
They will give honour to one except the Most High God. The thing is once you start feeding these idols, they will never stop demanding.

MamiWata:

I've been blessed to get a lot in return from feeding my ancestors. I hope some of them will decide that they also have something to gain in the relationship. They certainly have a lot to lose by not responding!

MamiWata:

I've been blessed to get a lot in return from feeding my ancestors. I hope some of them will decide that they also have something to gain in the relationship. They certainly have a lot to lose by not responding!

Ishilove:
The term 'blessing' is subjective. Riches of the world? At what cost have been blessed, Mami Wata? The thing about the devil is he will give you something with one hand and collect it back with the other hand. If feeding these idols is so great, why do they resist when you stop? Why do they raise a clamour if you decide not to have anything to do with them? If they are so powerful, why can't they feed themselves?

Why do the marine spirits come in the form of spirit husband and wives to molest people? Why do they tell a woman that she can't sleep with her husband on so and so day because it is their turn to sleep with her? Why do the marine spirits make men and women promiscuos despite feeding them?

God almighty said if man will not praise Him, he will raise up stones to do so. In other words, He will not force you. Why do these so-called ancestors force people to worship them? They are a terrible bunch who make life a living hell for those unfortunate enough to be born into a lineage where they made convenants with these powers.

CAMEROONPRIDE:

good to see a fellow pagan, i'm happy and glad to meet you. where r u from? keep the good job

MamiWata:

Hi! It's good to see you as I've never met a traditionalist from Cameroon. What's the name of your tradition? My parents are from Benin.

ah ha , we exist oooo. the name is BWITI . eh eh your parents are from Benin and you are from mars?

Ps; don't mind that Israeli whorshipper, calling herself, what she is, her identity Devil, smh. coming from someone who whorship dead people?

MamiWata:

My blessings have nothing to do with riches and everything to do with emotional and mental balance. I had a very rough childhood. I have four sisters who have all rejected our traditional religion. They are all hard drug users and/or mentally unstable (as well as Christians). I felt compelled to embrace my traditions and this is what set me apart from them. Because of my choice I am able to lead a healthy life and health is the most important thing for me.

I think it's very disrespectful to equate our traditions with the devil. Vodun existed thousands of years before Christianity was cobbled together. Christianity is where the idea of the devil comes from and that idea is used to brand everything non-Christian but specifically all things African. I don't have any interest in using European labels. Again I try to see everything through my own eyes and I'm constantly saddened that so many Africans have been persuaded to see themselves in the same way that Europeans see us.



I don't know why spirits do the things they do. I'm not a priestess or shaman. All I am is a woman who has benefited from honoring my own traditions instead of someone else's.