Are Ancestral Curses Real?” YourView Ladies Debate Family Patterns, Misfortune & Spiritual Beliefs

[00:00:00]Nigeria is widely regarded as a deeply religious and culturally rooted society across different ethnic groups and faiths. One belief has endured for generations the idea of ancestral curses or recurring family misfortunes. It is [clears throat] the belief that certain painful patterns, failed marriages, chronic poverty, childlessness, untimely deaths, ill health or financial struggles keep repeating from one generation to another as though history is destined to relieve itself. While some see these experiences as evidence of spiritual inheritance that must be broken, others argue they are simply the result of genetics, upbringing, poor choices, social circumstances, or even coincidence. So, is the idea of ancestral curses a myth or a reality?

[00:00:53]Are recurring farming misfortunes truly linked to the past? Or are we sometimes just quick to give supernatural explanation to life's challenges? Have you ever experienced a painful pattern that seemed to run in your family? If so, were you able to break that cycle?

[00:01:10]And then, what did you do that changed this? This morning, we'll open up a conversation that has brought pain, agony, fear, and hardship to many families, but one that is rarely discussed openly. Is it possible to break an unpolatable family sequence? Or are some patterns simply part of life's natural course?

[00:01:31]These are the questions we'll be answering today. And as always, we like our viewers to join the conversation on 02016352013 or 0924163440.

[00:01:46]And remember, you can join us live DSTV on channel 164. Tweet to us at TVC Connect using the hashtag viewvc and we're streaming on YouTube.

[00:01:57]Ladies, interesting conversation this morning. ancestral curses. Whether they are really curses, spiritual, supernatural, spiritual occurrences, or are these just regular occurrences, life happening to you, choices that you make?

[00:02:17]And uh because we haven't yet learned how to handle it, we give it a spiritual coloration. What exactly is it? I know that many Nigerian families, you know, you find them all the religious crusades happening around our country. It's about breaking one curse or the other. You know, we have that belief that that is, you know, we have that belief that there are some there's a spiritual supernatural cause for some of our life's challenges.

[00:02:47]But, uh, do we all agree here at the table?

[00:02:52]>> No. Don't let me be the first person.

[00:02:54]>> Okay. Whatever. Well, um, time has shown us with education, exposure, and just life experiences that then there's nothing like life ancestral courses.

[00:03:05]They actually pass down fears and things that and once you believe it, >> you start to see patterns that you know explains it >> down your line.

[00:03:15]>> My late grandfather had um lost a lot of his kids early years of his marriage. My he had two senior wives and they would birth babies. The babies would die. One of them had 10 pregnancies. Only two survived I think. Then the other one had nine. Only one survived. And so my grandmother was married as an underage.

[00:03:40]Back then it was normal. And she came in had 15 birth and then she lost her first six.

[00:03:48]>> Mhm. So by then grandpa had become Muslim >> and so he was committing his kids to God that you know they would not die. But fast forward they found that hardly any of my father's siblings the ones that survived that are not as >> okay.

[00:04:02]>> So they must have had a cle cell gene >> in that family that they was not educated enough to have found out. We found out grandpa used to do the incision traditionally and put blood on the floor of the family house to make sure that we don't go back. They called those kind of kids are called thief of joy.

[00:04:23]>> Yes. And so we were born and were taking but my grand my dad after a while said no this has to stop. So he stopped taking his kids. So we did not have that tradition done for our last his last child. But >> I was you know taking on but grandpa lived that fear. And if we had inherited it, we would we even with explanation now we thought none of us dying you know we would have thought there was an ancestral something following us but he knew even grandpa knew at the time that this thing was not normal. So he married many and his wives had kids. He used to say all mommies there all mommies there we say I say to my cousins all mommies there because no matter what I want children and he wanted kids he didn't after bearing so many of his babies and they will not die at birth hardly did they die immediately after birth at five at nine you know so you will see this person struggling with the loss of kids and so that those are not things everything that you can explain you can actually you know um know how to survive and bypass them and when with knowledge came those things became a thing of the past within family and so I do not believe that with exposure you would not see any of those things pass and I know a few uh families where they will say no their children cannot progress beyond O level back then in the village they were just and one of the children from that my they were from the same clan became a bank founder he created a bank in Nigeria the person that their own family is not supposed to pass O level >> Mhm. M >> created a bank in Nigeria and traveled to Canada and established a bank >> in Canada. He lives in Canada now. He's like an uncle and he established himself so well to defy that all immediately all the younger children who believe that ancestral story kept seeing him. He changed their mindset. Everybody in that particular family kept flying. So ancestral causes are things that the fears of your ancestors who were able to pass it down and once you accommodate it you adopt it as your logo here but it starts to play out in your family line.

[00:06:27]I'm just telling personal stories because I know we handle coaching >> you know from [laughter] >> from that point of view that those things really do not happen.

[00:06:37]>> They don't happen. We were advised about marrying certain tribes. My late grandfather based on experience >> are things that happened to girls from his family. We're not allowed. He used to say before he would die because my mom had girls. All your girls tell them they must not marry within the clan.

[00:06:56]>> Mhm.

[00:06:56]>> So I am ODB in among my so my husband is also from same village but is from another family clan. I cannot marry the all the families within my clan for personal reasons that grandfather grandpa did not explain. So he says those people when they settled here were cousins and they should remain like that forever. Even though the families have gone wide bloodline have spread they believe all those things. I adopted that one because those my cousins they see me without the hijab even though they are another mother and father children >> you know and things like that that were handed over. who cannot cross the river Niger and go and marry will tell you that I my aunties that crossed the river Niger and went to marry they had nasty experiences so if I cannot if I adopt that now it will be because that fear was proven >> you know um so just things that you see based on experiences that you see but I don't believe in >> so you're saying you you don't believe >> so is this a total there's nothing like spiritual or supernatural >> curses ancestral curses just patterns Once you learn what it is, what is causing it then you can >> for instance now I can marry somebody whose genotype is not you know I just know that so it can be that fear but there are certain fears of that there that were proven that I have adopted soy you can't just continue adopting >> okay um surprisingly um I I do not because I know the power of what you believe >> and how it impacts on your reality I consciously always say I don't believe in ancestral causes. I don't believe in all of those things. But in terms of reality, there are some mysterious patterns that have happened in people around that cause to question >> how they why is this happening to these people. M >> and for some of them when they when they dug deep into the situation they were able to realize that there were some um historical commitments that families have made to um spiritual um >> deities over their lives. So because while I personally don't believe it and I can afford to say I don't believe it because I'm a I'm not a first generation Christian. You know my parents were Christians. My grandparents gave their life to Christ. So I I cannot there's a distance between all those kind of spiritual commitment and me. But there are mysteries. There are things that you cannot just understand. There's some kind of misfortune that some people go through that you cannot explain it that how can somebody be so unfortunate. It it just does not make any sense that you have to be you just have to ascribe that this there must be something spiritual about this like why >> in some cases it is like a you might say it's pattern but there's constant divorce in all relationship they all all siblings parents >> even cousins aunties like this happened with everybody seem like they just keep making the wrong choice of partner even the one that did not divorce is not in a happy place So there's something fishy there. Could it be that with um coaching knowledge, all of that, but how did they end up in that trap? It just seems very unlikely that a set a lineage will fall into the same pit back to back if some commitments have not been done. And I've also um heard stories people go to um MFM and they are vomiting things or they confessing things or their parents will now come out and say like no I've already promised that our first child must serve this god and go and live in the village to worship the god and then the first child did not go and do it.

[00:10:45]Obviously there will be some discomfort and there are stories that are mysterious. Um my my uncle I heard stories family members from Ikiti that the man is the man didn't pass on the powers but it was such a strong we know that those that they would call rain and rain will fall and they would tell rain to stop that kind of thing and that there was a particular >> but ahead but we don't know the science but they said they spoke words and incation and ray fell and so this particular person on his burial cuz that was That was even when the story came out when on his on the date of his burial his association they he was they were doing rain no rain no rain in modern terms in modern times so it was kind of like ah is it possible cuz I always thought it wasn't possible was like this person is really powerful that of the people that still held on to the powers that exist in those days that he can tell somebody to start walking >> and the person will just lose his clothes and start walking and go insane.

[00:11:45]So because of those things it's less prevalent now we I believe some people in modern times are taking are abdicating responsibility for their lives and blaming it on ancestral ancestral causes and all of that but there is an element of mystic powers that exist that if you are subservient to that belief and you your family lineage is connected to it can be >> I'm very interested in what W has to say because you're not coming from the Christian or Musl Muslim point of view, you know, and I would like to hear [laughter] >> he's heavy, >> you know, because it's something that it's not affected me personally. So, I I would hate to talk on something that I'm not too sure about.

[00:12:35]>> Okay? you know, I I don't want to start to say things that it's I I I like to talk from experience, what I've seen or what I know. And this I have I've I've heard like, okay, you have the osu cast in in Ebuland and you know it's it it goes from generation to generation. You know when they they cast them out, they say they are what do you call them?

[00:13:08]>> They're outcasts.

[00:13:10]>> They're outcast and they >> they're slaves.

[00:13:14]>> They're slaves. They belong to the >> OSU. Yeah.

[00:13:18]>> Sorry, W. Um, apparently I need to uh interrupt you a bit. Let we have to go on a short break. When we return, we'll continue with our conversation. Stay with us. We'll be right back. Welcome back and thank you for staying with us.

[00:13:32]So we're trying to dissect what is supernatural and what is just natural occurrence, habits and behaviors this morning. Why K?

[00:13:43][laughter] >> So [clears throat] um so it's difficult you know there are some things that happen like um let me assume you do something bad not to you but >> someone does something bad. Mhm.

[00:14:00]>> And you you you living a normal life but that thing that you did is is still following you karma because karma because I believe in karma.

[00:14:11]>> Okay. Okay.

[00:14:11]>> So karma is actually different from [snorts] >> okay is it >> can it impact on the children?

[00:14:20]>> Karma catch children.

[00:14:22]>> That's what I'm not sure. I I I don't want to say kama because it's a very heavy thing. Mhm.

[00:14:28]>> So what I don't have power to talk about, I'm not going to talk about it.

[00:14:32]>> Um maybe your greatgrandfather or great was a murderer >> or was a slave owner or something and then they they will say like 10 generations >> after >> after is still catching those children.

[00:14:50]>> Yeah. And those children came with a clean because every human being that is born is supposed to be born new >> clean you know and I I see babies now which baby will I carry and say this baby is evil.

[00:15:04]>> Mhm.

[00:15:04]>> You so I it's it's something too heavy for me to contemplate. I have to be very honest. So I'm always this camera conversation is a conversation that I think we should talk about a bit because sometimes when I think about and bringing it home our politicians that do evil things those ones that we've heard stories that they would pay kickbacks um um hospitals are not being built to standard like the impact of what they have done is evil and people are cursing and cursing them and they're like you have cursed and cursed these politicians but nothing is happening. the ones that have been stealing generations in the past, they've been cursing for generations and their children are getting married and they seem to be doing well. So really, is it really >> is is it really making is it really working? You know um recently somebody said that um bin crisis of kidnapping has come to because oba cursed um those that were carrying out crime within the city and there are many shrines that we have around but those shrines have not been able to deal with kidnappers that be able to deal with corruption. So what exactly is the power we are powering?

[00:16:13]>> Well you know I think curses are a bit different dynamic from those powers. But let's take a call from Emmanuel.

[00:16:20]Emmanuel is calling us from Kaduna. Good morning, Emmanuel.

[00:16:24]>> Good morning. God bless you all.

[00:16:26]>> So, do you believe in spiritual curses or you don't think it's a real thing?

[00:16:31]>> Actually, misfortune, some are curses, some you know some some of the things there are people that believe in it.

[00:16:40]There are people that doesn't believe in it. Anyone who hasn't suffered anything of such we never believe that such a thing exist.

[00:16:48]>> But those who have suffered it will tell you their experiences.

[00:16:52]>> That there are such things that exist in families.

[00:16:55]>> Mhm.

[00:16:57]>> Misfortune, some are [clears throat] man-made. Some are part of what God has assigned for each and every one of us to go through in order to mature us.

[00:17:06]Because there are some certain stages in life until you go through some certain things you may not be mature to enter into that level of life.

[00:17:14]>> So it is real >> misfortune it is real it is it is a cause in some in some places it is a cause >> whereas some persons also their family maybe their mother or their father has paid the price on their behalf. So as they come into life they don't suffer such >> it is family foundation. For example, if you come from a family where your father is a pastor, your mother is a god-fearing person that has prayed to the generation into their they you know what God has assigned for them, you can't suffer. If you come from such a family, there's no way you will suffer.

[00:17:49]But if you come from a family where the father is not serious with God, the mother is not serious with God, the old family foundation will surely catch up with the person.

[00:18:00]>> Okay? For example, families where human sacrifices has been made in the past and nobody has come up to deal with it. The generation yet to time comes when those things will begin to speak against them.

[00:18:13]>> Okay?

[00:18:13]>> And if they are not eligible about it, they will suffer for it. So it is real.

[00:18:18]It is not something anybody will come and say it doesn't exist. It exist.

[00:18:22]>> Okay?

[00:18:23]>> It exist.

[00:18:25]>> God bless you. Have a nice day.

[00:18:26]>> Thank you so much Emanuel for your contribution. And so let me say something as a Christian right spiritual curses is a thing and um in fact the whole story about how a curse or a blessing can go from generation to generation is um the English word I'm looking is epitomized by the story of Jesus the sacrifice where he's supposed to die for our sins so that the blessing and the benefit of his crucifixion would go from generation to you know for all the human race that cleansing of sin is so that all of us to make heaven you know he has done it for us so in Christianity there's that belief that a curse can be passed on or a blessing can be passed on from generation to generation but also in the Bible there are some there two scriptures Ezekiel 18:20 and Deuteronomy 24:16 and it was there used to be a belief that you know when you sin the consequence of your sin without >> would affect your generations to the third generation. But these particular ones was showing like you know they're different. God was looking at it differently and says that you know you that you committed this sin you are the one that will suffer it. Your children will not be the ones that suffer it. So the idea that something can happen for one person and then we'll see that pattern over and over again >> it's a as a Christian I I understand I I understand it. I believe it but I also because of my belief in Christ I believe that all those curses have been washed away. Now as a regular >> can I ask you a question >> please?

[00:20:05]>> So when uh the you are born and you believe in Christ and >> you the all the sins were >> washed away >> washed away and you now come into the world and you are a very bad person.

[00:20:19]>> Yes.

[00:20:20]>> Will the sins still be washed away?

[00:20:21]>> So when you're born into the world then you have to give your life to Christ. So it's not an automatic I've >> give you know it's you give your life to Christ you accept that sacrifice that he's done on your behalf and then I like the question because I was going there >> that patterns outside Christianity for me most of the patterns that we see is really just maybe human behavior or some things that were just normal within um your previous generation and you just pass it on. So let's talk about financial issues. Uh people will say a particular family is not meant to have money ever. But when you look at these families, most of them just never had proper financial literacy.

[00:21:05]>> They don't even have opportunity.

[00:21:06]>> One, two, the opportunity. So they were not able to run businesses. They and they were raising children in that community, in that family. They didn't understand how to make money. So you have another generation that was never exposed to that sort of um habit or scale and it moves on until somebody decides >> to break it >> to break it. But in breaking it is you're aware you have to be aware what is happening here is this normal I don't want to be like this you know my mom always says to me that when she was growing up she thinks she was the >> not the black she but she from a very young age she used to look around her family at some things and and question things. it just was not comfortable for her. She said nobody taught her that she just now as an adult she keeps wondering that no one taught me to just stop and ask these questions but from a young age I knew that I didn't want some things to happen for me and so I did things differently so for me I believe even we whether we call them curses or patterns until you become aware >> of what is happening and then you make a decision that you don't want that thing to continue with you and I think that's how you can break it >> because I want to ask this question Yes.

[00:22:16][laughter] >> Over the weekend, I saw I don't know if it's true, so I will not mention the person.

[00:22:23]>> Okay. Well, okay. Sorry. Let me take this call first and then you can ask your question. Smart is calling us from Barria. Good morning, Mr. Smart.

[00:22:31]>> Yeah. Good morning.

[00:22:32]>> Good morning.

[00:22:35]>> Good morning, ladies.

[00:22:36]>> Good morning.

[00:22:36]>> Good morning.

[00:22:39]>> We can hear you Mr. Swat.

[00:22:42]>> Yeah. Good morning, ladies.

[00:22:43]>> Good morning, sir.

[00:22:44]>> Good morning. Next time caller >> welcome to the show.

[00:22:49]>> Yeah. Uh the discussion you are >> Mr. Smart listen to your phone directly into your phone. Don't listen to the TV.

[00:23:00]The TV is delayed.

[00:23:02]>> So you have to turn down the volume of your TV. Thank you.

[00:23:05]>> Yeah. So yeah. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning ladies.

[00:23:12]>> Sorry Mr. Smart. Good morning ladies.

[00:23:16]>> Okay.

[00:23:17]>> Oh, sorry. Y please just continue.

[00:23:20]>> So I over the weekend I saw this house.

[00:23:23]>> Mhm.

[00:23:24]>> That's supposed to belong to a politician, a very prominent politician.

[00:23:30]This house, >> it's obvious that this politician has had his hand in the cookie jar.

[00:23:38]>> From the size, >> from the size, from everything I just said.

[00:23:44]Now a lot of our politicians live like this like this like this >> flamboyant >> with they are building what they cannot they they take what they cannot spend in their lifetime >> the one that is not politician >> it cannot finish >> but they will still take more and more they still amass continue to amass wealth >> go to the village just behind their house they living in abject pover poverty.

[00:24:13]>> Mhm.

[00:24:14]>> They don't have water. They don't have um uh lights. They don't have they don't have They're living in mud houses.

[00:24:24]They're not living even even living in clay houses. They're living in mud houses. H terrorists can go there and ransack the village and nothing will happen to them.

[00:24:35]>> And they continue to live like this and their their children go abroad to school. They live flamboyant life. They drive flamboyant cars.

[00:24:44]>> For me, what's their punishment?

[00:24:48]>> Where is their cause?

[00:24:50]>> Where is the karma? The >> repercussion. Where is the repercussion for what they are doing? Because it has been from generation to generation.

[00:24:56]There are many like that >> that we are seeing in our lifetime that I saw their children are now also >> their children are now >> spending money and and in a country where >> poverty >> if if they thought about others >> we wouldn't be living in that kind of poverty >> we will have light >> we will have water you know those simple simple things that I'm talking out.

[00:25:26]>> But these politicians live >> crazy lives, >> crazy flamboyant lives, >> not just politicians.

[00:25:36]>> But you know, there was a if if it was a case that maybe the, you know, we citizens, sorry, just to interrupt you.

[00:25:45]Citizens are causing them every day. New >> every day.

[00:25:48]>> I I think I I already mentioned that our ces seem to be working. It's not working on them. Before you jump in, please let's go on another break. We'll be right back.

[00:25:59]>> Interesting.

[00:26:03][music] >> Stay tuned. Your view will be right back.