Music and Traditions

Being mixed with African American and white I am a part of two different cultures that can vary juristically from one another. When thinking of different ceremonies belonging to each of my cultures, one specific piece of music and a couple of other genres that come to mind. Like I've mentioned in my previous blog, my grandmother and I are pretty close, and she is a primary character in my story. She turned 76 years old in august and despite her health being in pretty decent shape she thoroughly believes that she only has a few years left and is already getting things in order for when she passes on. She once told me that she knows one of the songs she wants me to sing at her funeral, "Don't sing no sad stuff at my funeral" she said. How Great Thou Art, covered by many a artist, gives complete credence to God's power rather than focusing on loss or grief. My favorite rendition of this song is by Carrie Underwood.  

My dad and uncle are both very in touch with our roots in Africa. My dad is connected with the culture of the Igbo tribe in Nigeria and my uncle does African tribal dancing most commonly found in Ghana with a dance team up in Maryland. Any time I visit my dad or uncle they make an effort to bring me along with them to visit the Baba in Columbia South Carolina who owns a lot of the oracle shops there. Baba is a respective name given to elders in African culture, so he's anyone and everyone's Baba (we're not related lol). It is in Baba's shops where a lot of equipment for rituals like spells, hexes, and other worship/meditation material is found (Its very cool I encourage you to check it out). My uncle is less religious than he is spiritual and starts every morning with incense and meditation (I made the mistake of interrupting this ritual once and I've never been made to feel more guilty in my life). Morning meditation for my uncle is more like quiet time for him, but music can be played too, especially at group ceremonies for prayer and meditation. 

And lastly, I'm not exactly sure if this relates to the prompt fully but on the topic of ceremonies, there's my dream wedding. instead of the typical wedding song: 

I want this song to play: 

It's probably my all-time favorite song and though its surrendering to God, I think it could be interpreted to mean a few things. Surrendering to God, surrendering to your Spouse, choosing to leave behind old habits to start a life with a clean slate. This song is very powerful to me, and I can't imagine any other song playing at my wedding.