I don't think that Yan was advocating for ones to be ignorant of ancestral lifestyle, customs, rituals and symbols. Rather she touched upon an important issue of which i was thinking about not too long ago.

I see the legacy of our ancestors being powerfully relevant not so much in terms of external customs and rituals but rather by the principles and values that underlied their actions and rituals. Therefore i see these values as being most important so for myself i would not advocate that people simply follow the traditions just becuase it was practised by our ancestors. What both our evolved and not so evolved ancestors* did may not be totally relevant to what needs to be done today. But by understanding the essential principles that were at the heart of indigenous culture we can put them into a modern context, without having to rely upon blind faith or dogmatic adherence. For example, there are Orisha practitioners here where i reside but i will not become an Orisha even though i like some of the vibes that they manifest and promote. I say this because i don'tssee them as having holistic ideas whereby people can become totally empowered. There are some that have a fair understanding of certain things, but many just subscribe to a plethora of externalities and rituals without properly understanding the princples or without being able to relate the practises to their lives. And they still have to battle again the continued demonization of their beliefs. Thus even though i am not an Orisha i advocate for them to be able to practise their beliefs freely without being bombarded by the ignorance of Western society.

So in that context i agree with Yan that the best path is having no religion in a sense so that one is not atttached to rituals and thus fraudsters won't be able to simply adopt the externals and the rhetoric and attempt to fit in without properly understanding the essence. Even among those that call themselves Rastas, the symbols, rituals and rhetoric often takes predominance over the essence, leaving many confused. The way to empower is inside out, people must start from inside, and whatever external behavior that results from that inner cleansing and character refinement, well so be it. It must start with people coming to terms with the many bogus ideas they have about themselves.

* by evolved i mean the level of self awareness

Tyehimba