Ancestor veneration is, among other things, a philosophy of ongoing relationship — the recognition that the dead continue to be present in the living, that gratitude toward those who came before is appropriate and sustaining. Across African, East Asian, indigenous, and many other traditions, this is not superstition but a sophisticated account of how influence persists across time. Those who came before us shaped the world we inhabit; honoring that shaping keeps us honest about who we actually are.
Each step builds on the last.