Orisha Elders Call For Greater Recognition And Support #TTTLiveOnline

Orisha Elders Call For Greater Recognition And Support
The National Council of Orisha Elders of Trinidad and Tobago is calling for greater recognition and support for the Orisha community.

As members of the Orisha faith reflected on their spiritual traditions and long-standing struggles at Mother Earth Day celebrations on Wednesday, Secretary of the Council, Baba Neal Rawlins, says that despite decades of presence in the country, practitioners continue to face challenges, including limited access to funding and ongoing discrimination.

“We get no funding, no grants, nothing. And I said to her, after 38 years since the ONI would have created the Council for Orisha Elders, and over 200 years of our existence here, I find that this is unfair to us as a people not to benefit from the State.”

Baba Rawlins said recent discussions were held with Government officials, during which several key concerns were raised, including discrimination in schools and the need for stronger legislative support.

“Very cordial meeting and we were able to discuss some matters such as our Act of Parliament. I mentioned the situation with the schools and the discrimination at the school level for Ifa and Orisha because we have a marriage license, an Orisha marriage license, and it is there for everyone.”

He is now calling for greater unity among spiritual leaders, stressing the importance of collective action in advancing the interests of the Orisha community.

The Mother Earth Day celebrations were held at ancestral grounds in Bon Air West, Lopinot Road, Arouca, on Wednesday.

Baba Neal said the event, held on ancestral lands along Lopinot Road in Arouca, paid tribute to “Mama Latte,” revered within the Orisha faith as the Mother of the Earth.

“As Orisha devotees, we are here to help. We are here to assist. We are here to bring goodwill. We are here to heal and listen to the word of the Orishas.”

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