My early life was defined by deep emotional pain and turmoil. In exchange for all that I endured, I was gifted reunification with the Motherland. As a young person, I stood on the same shore where my ancestors lost their freedom as the clear blue ocean water licked my feet and enticed me with her beauty. It was an anointing. Finally, I was home.
For the past 27 years, I have been deeply submerged in West African culture. Throughout that time, I have lived on and off the Continent; spending time with cultural royalty, spiritual royalty, griots and Medicine Men/Women. Relentlessly, I pursued the truth about our enslavement. I received my birthright of ritual, ceremony and initiation. My greatest gift has been relearning how to live as an indigenous woman, in egalitarian society, tribal society, as a wife and mother. I am part of the royal family of Dassa Zoumé, the Sacred City of 41 Mountains, a Chief in the village of Ouidah, Benin Republic, and a High Priestess in the African Vodoun (Yoruba, Orisha) way of life. In traditional ceremony, I was bestowed the title of Iya, which means Holy Mother. The ancestors named me Wekenon, Mother of the Universe.
While living away from Mother Africa, her navel string continues to nourish me. I find solace in her womb of culture and spirit. If we, as a people, are to return to grace, we must go back to the soul of the Continent. Only on Her soil will we take root in ancestral land, fertilized by ritual, tradition, spirit and identity. Then, we will blossom into a harvest of productive, happy, peaceful and evolved African people. We must rely on the great Mother to heal our men from castration and restore our women from rape and oppression. Only then, can we revitalize our familial and societal foundation. We must all remember how to live in a society where "the we is greater than the I." We must recount the reality that we are all equal and must stay arm in arm for progress to occur.
It is my privilege to facilitate healing for Africans throughout the Diaspora. To discuss our tradition, plan rites of passage rituals, naming ceremonies, healing rituals, workshops or to book me for speaking engagements, feel free to reach out or go to healhistoricaltrauma.com. I look forward to our rebirth as a people, Asé.
Comments (0)