What does ashay mean? This mystical term hints at a deep spiritual philosophy of abundance, self-determination, and living in alignment with one’s highest purpose. Traced back to West Africa and the Yoruba languages, ashay encapsulates a worldview valuing community, nature, and ancestral wisdom.
Ashay’s West African Roots and Core Principles
The Yoruba term “ashe” or “ase” is considered the origin point for modern renditions of ashay. It signifies the vibrant cosmic life force flowing through all things and people. Ashe invokes divine blessing, sanction, and the power to achieve desires. It became a foundational concept in Yoruba spirituality and oral traditions.
Several interlinked principles constitute the core of ashe philosophy:
- The divine source exists in everything, from people and animals to plants and inanimate objects.
- Ashe connects all manifestations of the divine in a continuous flow of energy.
- Rituals and devotion allow tapping into this almighty life force for empowerment.
- Aligning with one’s inner truth and calling is crucial for actualization.
- Honoring ancestors and community is key to unlocking one’s potential.
Therefore, ashe signifies the vibrant energy of the supreme divine woven through creation. By realizing one’s sacred purpose and community ties, a person gains alignment with their greatest latent power. This ethos later evolved into ashay.
The Evolution and Spread of Ashay
With the transatlantic slave trade, millions of West Africans landed in the Americas starting in the 1500s. Their spiritual philosophies took root and adapted to new environments. In Haitian Vodou, ashe became the life force connected to all magic and healing. Cuban Santeria adopted it as “ache” to describe the animating energy of their Orishas. Figures like Alice Walker and Amiri Baraka popularized it among womanist and black nationalist movements in the 1900s.
Over generations, diaspora cultures reinterpreted ashe into diverse incarnations like ache, axe, ashou, and eventually ashay. This retention of the term demonstrates its deep importance for marginalized groups. Ashay upheld their sense of inner divinity and self-determination in the face of oppression. It fostered resilience passed down through oral and literary traditions.
The Role of Ashay in Haitian Vodou and Santeria
In Haitian Vodou, ashe is an invisible spiritual force connecting humans to the cosmos. It allows communication with ancestors and bonding between spiritual entities and worshippers. Rituals and offerings aim to ensure ashe flows freely between this world and the next.
Likewise, ache in Cuban Santeria transmits life energy between devotees, deities, ancestors and the natural world. By staying in alignment with Ache, practitioners avoid discord while amplifying their power and luck. Orisha worship revolves around harnessing ache for desired outcomes through strict protocols.
In both traditions, ashe/ache enables transcending mortal limits by tapping into divine power. Vodou and Santeria rituals strictly follow sacred steps for contacting spirits and directing ashe. This underlines ashe’s role as a miraculous but dangerous force requiring careful channeling.
Ashay in the Black Consciousness Movement
During the 1950s-70s Black Arts and Black Power movements, thinkers like Amiri Baraka reworked ashay for contemporary liberation struggles. Baraka’s poetry popularized saying “Ashay!” as an expression of spiritual resilience. The cry signifies determination to realize one’s highest potential despite oppression.
Alice Walker’s womanist philosophy also highlights ashay as it relates to black women’s experiences. For Walker, embracing ashay means discovering and loving all aspects of oneself. It provides an antidote to internalized racism and sexism. Walker also connects ashay to artistic expression and social activism.
Overall, ashay became a motto of empowerment and continuity with African roots. The Black Arts Movement invoked it to energize cultural expression and pride. Black Power supporters used ashay to signify politicized self-actualization and determination.
Principles of Ashay in Womanist Thought
In Alice Walker’s womanist philosophy, several key principles define ashay:
- Self-healing and loving every part of oneself, including traits disparaged by others.
- Creativity as a route for women to manifest their visions and voice.
- Connection to nature and celestial bodies as sources of power.
- Importance of sisterhood and women coming together in community.
- Activism and social commentary as ways to realize one’s purpose.
By embracing these facets of ashay, Walker argues black women can overcome internalized devaluation and embrace their brilliance. Ashay provides a pathway of empowerment and actualization based on self-knowledge. For Walker, this full self-realization also fuels womanist projects like literature, environmentalism and social justice.
Today ashay continues spreading both explicitly and implicitly across cultures. Musicians, writers, and spoken word artists incorporate ashay to signify spiritual resonance. For younger generations, it invokes inherited power passed down from African ancestors. Authors like Iyanla Vanzant teach ashay principles as pathways to personal growth and purpose.
More broadly, ashay’s ethos now infuses progressive social movements. Environmental groups connect it to humanity’s interdependence with nature. Social justice organizers use it to energize continued resistance. Ashay inspires those who still fight oppression and work toward a more just world.
While ashay originated among the Yoruba, this resonant philosophy exceeds any one group. At its core, ashay upholds our ability to transcend limitations by connecting to ancestral wisdom, our communities, and inner truth. It empowers all who hear its call to transform themselves and the world.