When We Call On Our Ancestors
I’m a sucker for a particular scene in a movie when a woman needs to call on her ancestors to banish the past, to rebirth herself or to simply honour her culture.
There’s a format. They return to a specific space, or object. They chant in a rising rhythm. And they are surrounded (and often touched) by the spirits of her foremothers.
In my book New Methods For Women, I wrote an essay Call On Your Ancestors, which was my journey of returning to my culture and understanding my nobility. This essay will be one of the dominating themes of my 2025 as I embody my womanhood in its fullest form.
Five Generations
After reading Homegoing (see below) I became obsessed with my family tree. It is often said that Black folk can’t trace their lineage back more than four generations due to slavery.
I spent a little FBI time in Ancestry.com and I think I found mine…
This is all with a bit of sleuthing and may not be wholly accurate, but when I next go to Jamaica I will look up the records and speak to my family first hand. Has anyone been the the records place in Jamaica and done this before?
Films and books about our ancestors that I’ve loved lately…
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
One of the best books I’ve read in years. A sweeping story of two half-sisters and the seven generations of descendants that follow—one line sold into slavery, the other remaining in Ghana. It’s stunning how the trauma ripples, how the language changes, how the body remembers. This book reminds me that we are never just us—we are everyone who came before.
The Piano Lesson (Netflix)
In this adaptation of August Wilson’s play, the ghost of a family’s past inhabits their heirloom piano. Every scene is thick with spiritual tension. You can feel the weight of history pressing on the present, refusing to be ignored. Watch it for the incantations, the sacred object, the negotiation between inheritance and freedom. “I want you to help me”
Moana 2
Yes, it’s a Disney film—but I gasped at the moment Moana ancestors come to save and revive her. I also still love that she has no real love interest and the film is really about her personal journey. These animations teach our daughters what many of us are only now remembering: that our lineage is not a burden, it’s a map.
Avatar’s Tree of Souls Scene
This might be one of the most powerful visual metaphors for ancestral memory in cinema. Neytiri places Jake’s body before Eywa, surrounded by glowing tendrils that carry the consciousness of all who have passed. The idea that we can merge with those who came before? That they live inside the land, waiting for us to connect? Unforgettable.
The Shark Dialogues by Kiana Davenport
A wild, sensual, intergenerational novel set in Hawaii, this book is packed with history, myth, and powerful women. I read it during my trip to Hawaii last January.
It’s messy and magical, the way real lineage is. It reminds me that calling on your ancestors is not always gentle—it can be fierce, erotic, confrontational.
I’m collecting these moments like talismans. I devoured Homegoing as though I was spiritually hungry. They remind me that when I stand at the edge of fear, confusion, or change—I am not alone. I have an army of ancestors behind me.
In 2025, I’m asking: What would happen if I lived every day like my ancestors were watching? Better yet—what would happen if I let them lead?
If you’re also in a season of remembering, I’d love to know—what books, films or rituals are helping you feel connected to your lineage right now?
