Curating an Ancestral Aesthetic at Home

Forget the dusty, cluttered image of a “traditional shrine” that feels like a museum exhibit. My apartment is a living, breathing covenant space between me and the Egungun (the ancestral collective). I maintain a small shelf-altar draped in fresh white cotton—white is the color of transcendence, the color we wear to honor the dead and invite their peaceful visitation. On it sits a single beeswax candle representing the eternal flame of continuity, a glass of cool water for the spirits to quench their thirst, and a piece of raw, unpolished iron to honor Ogun, the Orisha of clearing paths and removing obstacles. Every object must earn its place; if it doesn’t carry a story that connects me to my lineage, it is just decorative clutter that blocks the flow of Ashe