Once the altar was built and the fire was lit, Brother Yomi Love opened the ceremony by pouring libation. We called our ancestors by name into the space. Everyone was then given paper to write letters or just the names of any ancestors they wished to add to the altar. 

It was then time for traditonal oral story telling in which Rohani spoke about history of the land they were standing on. We learned about the first people   (Wecquaesgeek), the various colonists who stole and sold the land. And of course the Plantation and all of the ancestors who forcibly worked and ultimately died there. We learned about the African and Native Burrial Grounds. There was much talk surrounding the crops planted and their shipments to the carribean to feed other enslaved people there.

When the sun set we sat around a fire and shared stories about the ancestors in our lineages, sharing their life stories along with how we chose to remember and honor them. There was drum playing and perhaps a song. 

At the end of the ceremony we closed out by greeting the ancestors and thanking them for their time with us. We created a space on the grounds to return all the food and flowers. 

Click if you wish to learn more about the Pathways to the Past: The Enslaved African Legacy  in Van Cortland Park. There is a virtual tour.