Is such preservation ultimately effective?

Consider the patterns, customs, and stylistic elements from African Traditional Religious practices and rituals that have carried over into contemporary Black culture, particularly in terms of religion, changing and transforming in ways that informed the development of very different religions – particularly in North America (Caribbean nations/cultures/religions, and those of Central and South America, were impacted in various ways, too, but we’re focusing on the North American context). Such changes were complex and the reasons for them were multiple, but the result is a partial preservation of centuries-old traditions even among those who feel little or no connection to the traditional religions or cultural practices of (particularly West) Africa.Is such preservation ultimately effective? As noted, it is often partial (though there are those who do still practice traditional religions like Yoruba), which implies that – in various ways – they were both partially kept alive and partially abandoned. After familiarizing yourself with these beliefs and developments, what do you think of these perspectives on preservation: were they successful, in that they maintained traditional connections, beliefs, and practices? Were they unsuccessful, in that their maintenance is only partial, thus potentially obscuring the “original” traditions (i.e., some continue enacting practices and beliefs that they do not realize originate from such traditional religions, and consider themselves a wholly different religion)? Were they perhaps both or neither successful and unsuccessful, when they resulted in new, sycretic religions that specifically merge different religious systems (though sometimes in different ways and for different reasons), simultaneously keeping both alive and transforming both into something unique?