"Dead spirits" sounds cold. "Honored ancestors" is better. And they like the attention, really. Think about it. How does your mom feel when you don't call? Keeping in touch with the past, keeping current with one's predecessors, is very important in Santeria. Just think of the sheer detemination it must have taken to keep African faith alive through the horror of dislocation, forced conversion and slavery? I have immense respect for this religion.