00:00The Ifa Orisha community is calling on the government to officially recognize their faith
00:06with a national public holiday.
00:08Give Ifa Orisha people a day, a public holiday,
00:15so that we could celebrate our deities, a Ifa Orisha public holiday.
00:22You understand? Because we have been through a lot as a people.
00:25We are asking for the 1st of June to be the National Ifa Orisha Day of Trinidad and Tepe.
00:32We want that day.
00:34Chief Shaq Alexander believes the Ifa Orisha community has more to contribute to national development.
00:41We're also making an appeal to the government to meet with Ifa Orisha people
00:47so we could also sit at the table when reform for certain things,
00:54even the educational system is being talked about.
00:58We have a path to add in that conversation as well.
01:03He's also encouraging African descendants to reconnect with their ancestral beliefs and cultural heritage.
01:10Now in this country, you could say there are over 40-something,
01:14in fact, 40-plus temples or shrines all over this country, all in Tobago as well.
01:22And I'm making an appeal to African people.
01:24Respect what is yours.
01:26Go back to your roots.
01:28Go back to your foundation.
01:29And that is the only way you could find fulfillment in your life,
01:33by going back to your roots, going back to your foundation,
01:37because it's only your tradition could save you in this world.
01:43Let us stop and look down on what is ours.
01:46You understand?
01:47Everything that is written in the history books about African people,
01:53most things are inaccurate.
01:55So we have to come back to our source.
01:57Members of the community gathered in Port de Spain today
02:00for the first-ever National IFA Festival and Procession
02:04in celebration of the deity of wisdom.
02:07We give thanks for the gift of the breath of life,
02:09which we cannot give an account for.
02:11We give thanks to Olu to Mary that today is a great day.
02:16Today is the National IFA Festival of Trinidad and Tobago.
02:20Today is a day that will go down in history.
02:22Today is a day that we are here to see history has come to pass.
02:27We're not so cutting, TV6 News.
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