Honoring Egúngún in the New Year fosters ancestral connection, guidance, and blessings for health, prosperity, and harmony.

Egún — the ancestors — are honored first in Yorùbá tradition. We pour omi tútù (cool water), call their names, and offer food and drink so they may walk with us. Communion is an exchange: we refresh them, and they refresh us with guidance through dreams, divination, and intuition. To remember Egún is to stand strong, for we walk upon the shoulders of those who came before.

The ancestors — Egún — are the first we honor, for they walk with us and clear the path to the Òrìṣà. A shrine need not be elaborate: water, light, food, drink, and prayer are enough to give them a seat among the living. Each day we pour libation and call their names so they are never forgotten. Ifá teaches: “Okú ò níí jẹ́ kó lọ; ẹni tó bá gbàdúrà sí Egún, àláfíà ló ní rí.” To honor Egún is to stand strong upon the shoulders of those who came before.