Way Wive Wordz

How Europe Demonises African Spiritual Practices
2025-08-21 14:30 - 16:30 (Europe/London) | Fulham Palace Museum, Bishops Avenue, London, SW6 6EA
While perceptions and representations are changing, there is still a lot of negative expressions and ideas about African spiritual practices. The recent success of Ryan Coogler’s Sinners ignited hot discussions about African spirituality versus Western Christianity, and which was dominant in attempting to resist the invasion of vampires. The film highlighted how little is known about the varied spiritual practices that connect Africans across the continent and in the diaspora, while drawing deeper interest in these traditions. We will explore some of the reasons why African spiritual practices are often misrepresented, considered demonic and negative, especially when viewed through a Western European lens. This presentation is a collaboration between Way Wive Wordz and Fulham Palace Museum, and provides a link with the exhibition – The Bishop of London, Colonialism and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, currently on at the Museum. The exhibition highlights the ways Africans used their spirituality to resist and showcases the Bishops who were involved in the so-called Trade.
We will consider:

What is African indigenous spirituality
What are the retentions in the diaspora and how are they practiced
Misrepresentations of African spiritual practices
The psychological impact of cultural misrepresentation
How Africans used their spiritual practices to resist slavery/colonialism
Who is Esu, an important Orisa in the Yoruba pantheon and why he is linked to satan/the devil of European lore
What is Obeah and why was it outlawed by the British in the late 18th Century – is it still outlawed?
The significance of the Haitian Revolution (1791) and Voudou.

You may choose to arrive early so you can take in the exhibition, click HERE for details.
Patrick Lewis Photo
Presenter

Dr Michelle Asantewa is an award-winning author, independent educator, cultural consultant and publisher. Her publications include the young adult novel, Elijah, The Awakening and Other Poems, Guyanese Komfa: The Ritual Art of Trance and Something Buried in the Yard, published by Way Wive Wordz Publishing, which she co-founded in 2014. She is the editor of the anthology In Search of Mami Wata. Mama Lou Tales, a biography of her mother received a prize for the Guyana Literary Prize in 2022. Her first collection of short stories, Rupununi Affair was published in 2024. Dr Asantewa is the co-organiser of the Annual Osun River Ritual that takes place each August at Morden Hall Park, where she has facilitated Walking Meditation and Creative Writing Workshops.
