 Last weekend marked the half point of our Inner Power Yoga® Teacher Training in Nederland, CO. And with it, our tribe brought their sweet imaginations and creative talents in the form of some awesome Upanishads projects. The Upanishads are Vedic texts, which offer poems, songs and stories regarding the individual soul and it's relationship to the universal spirit. Each project was a beautiful and unique response to the text. One yogini wrote her heartfelt and touching contemplations:
"What is it to die of self?
Such a simplified question with a series of multi-layered answers! I pondered this with great heart felt openness! Because SOMETHING touched me deeply the first time I read this and I would go on to re-read it at least a dozen more times! I thought about this for weeks—it would pop into my mind when I was doing the dishes, working, and doing yoga. These words just kept coming at me. It was almost as if the universe was beating into my head—luring me to the read the words again and again! Like a nagging tooth ache, not to be ignored!!! The words just kept repeating over and over in my head. Occasionally I got annoyed and/or frustrated. Sometimes feelings of being overwhelmed came with the thought of these words. Many different answers came to me with many more questions added to it. It almost seemed like it was a question within many questions—that had answers within many answers— infinity in its self! No wonder I felt overwhelmed!
To die of self, to kill the self, to reach my true self—My Atman.—God; what a seemingly impossible feat. At first my ego concluded it would be complete abandon of the concepts of life and death as I have understood it to be for my entire life!—My very reality. Then after truly thinking about this, some questions came to me:
When did it become the norm for me to chase the material and physical pleasures of this physical world? When did money, property, and instant gratification become my God?
At what point in growing up do we lose our childhood joy of simply living life, the beauty of a leaf and watching it float in the wind— and love everything— including playing in the dirt!?
Is everything I know and am an illusion?
Has this illusion been molded to fit what I have believed it should be instead of what it is?
Is it what others believed it should be?
Has any of it made me happy?
Are any of us TRULY happy?
Have I been living a lie my entire existence?
Is the whole world a lie?
The questions went on and on in my mind! They just would not stop!!! I now know that, the whole process was Atman breaking through ego! Time was running out for this OMwork assignment. I had been avoiding it. Originally I had planned on doing a collage. I even cut out pictures, bought poster board, glue sticks and metallic markers! but I could not seem to make myself sit down and actually do it! I didn’t know why the block!!! What was I afraid of? Then after finishing my report on Saraswati, it dawn on me—since I couldn’t seem to get the Upanishad words out of my head, I should write my thoughts down! And finally my thoughts quieted and I was able to make sense out of the chaos!
So I sat down to answer the question:
What does it really mean to die of self?
And at that moment the answer seemed so unbelievably simple to me. I heard my own voice in my head say, "to die of self means cultivating a symbiotic existence with all of life itself!"
I sat back on the couch in complete awe! My heart felt so open and light! Tears came to my eyes! Because I just had a spiritual awakening and was able to see the whole process so clearly! I wish that I was able to share the feeling I had in my chest! (if I could bottle the feeling there would be world peace!) I want that complete joy and peace for everyone! I felt my connection to the cosmos. I felt my symbiotic relation to everything and everyone! For the first time in my entire life I felt TRUE BLISS!!
Ever since that moment, my life and my yoga practice has taken on a deeper meaning. I feel more in touch with my asanas, more in touch with myself. I have a new acceptance of the world and my monkey mind has settled. It’s not completely gone (I wish!); but, it has calmed. That in its self, is a gift!"
Written by Christina Marino from the Inner Power Yoga® blissipline tribe at Tadasana Mountain Yoga in Nederland CO.
 Down through history, when yogis expressed interest in taking their experience to the next level, they were generally given a fairly grueling "trial by fire."
Think: seemingly needless menial tasks with no explanation of purpose like separating sand from rice. Borrring!!
Or think: hard manual labor (again with no apparent purpose) like hauling rocks from one place to another, and then back again. Ugg!
Or they were asked to leave their families and villages, shave their heads and burn all their clothes in favor of saffron robes or a loin-cloth. Brrr!!
Even more recently, and still today in India, devotees must maintain severe practice schedules, meager diets and austerities that we just don't even consider in the west.
And why? Because yoga is an unpleasant experience designed to intimidate and instigate trauma?? NOOOOOOOO!…
BECAUSE yoga is an opportunity to truly become familiar—even eventually comfortable—with who you really are. This is where cultivation of our highest Inner Power begins. My grandpa called it "character building." I call it Soul Artistry—particularly when we can look our experiences in the face and make something beautiful of them. In the beginning it might be hard, but no masterpiece is created without Effort. That is why Grace is the balance of BOTH effort and surrender.
Chakra sharing—expressing our personal myth—is essential to the process. It is our version of hauling rocks, or severing ties with our old way of being in the world. It is a psycho-spiritual trial by fire. It holds the possibility of break-through from break-down. Tears cOMe. Laughter ensues. Eventually, it becomes easier and easier to bear your story…SHARE your story….and then REPAIR your story. It becomes the sacred space from which your Inner Power springs forth as You—unique and also One with everything. Your personal myth takes on a new shape, not because you change the facts, but because the facts change YOU. You begin to recognize the purpose, the sacred treasure buried in the rubble.
As yoga teachers, authenticity cOMes from knowing ourselves, from clearing any limitation away so that there is open and ample space for our True Nature—our Inner Guru—to flow through Grace-full-y.
Every Inner Power Yoga® 200 hr. Teacher Training program presents an opportunity to compose, share and celebrate your Chakra Stories. I am honored to have been in community with our ever expanding tribe and to get to know each one of you on such a transpersonal level.
In Love and Abounding Gratitude,
R.R. Shakti
photo: Third Eye Visionaries
 It’s 1:28 in the morning and you can’t sleep. You lie awake…and lie awake…and lie awake some more. You breathe deeply, try to meditate, even imagine counting sheep. Still, you might lie awake for hours. You are sleepy. You’re just not sleeping. And you are not alone. According to a national survey, 54% of adults said they have experienced at least one symptom of insomnia a few times a week. Five years ago, I was the woman who consistently fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. Then came business and school work, creating a non-profit, a yoga teacher training program, and the exhilaration of always riding the very edge of what I can actually pull off. Most of the time, life on the edge is super fun and exciting. But when I forget that the source of my energy is not me, but the creativity of Universal Grace moving through me, imbalance occurs and I find myself lying quietly awake at night. Fortunately, the situation isn’t hopeless. I do know a few tricks that work pretty consistently at preparing me to catch some actual Z’s. I believe they can help you too. First off, you have to get up out of bed. It is really tempting to just stay and fight—like a little war on insomnia. No war has ever brought about real lasting peace, and stressing about not sleeping will just fixate your attention on the problem. So get up! Find a space that is dark and quiet with enough floor space to stretch out. Bring a bunch of pillows with you. Begin with vata (wind energy)- relieving movements, then add hip opening and forward folding yoga asanas (postures), which inspire peaceful relaxation and calm the mind. Move through the whole sequence slowly and mindfully. Take your time and relax in each pose. 1. Start in a seated position, and gently stretch your neck and shoulders. This will help to move excess vata out of these areas of the body. You will feel it as tension release and maybe a little popping and cracking.... GET THE FULL PRACTICE
This week, according to Statistic Brain, 45% of Americans will make a New Year's Resolution, and only 8% will actually achieve it. The studies also report that "People who explicitly make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t explicitly make them." Don't be discouraged from setting intentions. This year, let one of those mystical, accomplished 8% be YOU! Join the Resolution Revolution to recalibrate your thinking for success! Take a tip from the ancient practice of Yoga Nidra and set a sankalpa (declaration of purpose), following the 4P's for a successful sankalpa:Your sankalpa must be personal: You generously share energy with others throughout the year. Allow yourself this time to concentrate on your own personal development. After all, shifts in your behavior can only stem from changes in your thinking...in YOUR own citta (psyche).
Make your sankalpa powerful: Remember, you already ARE everything you are hoping to be. You already HAVE all the power you need to live your life to the fullest. You don't need to "attract" what you are seeking to find. You simply must remember that you already have it, as part and particle of the Infinite.
Use language (even from your inner voice) that is positive: if you tell yourself "I won't ever smoke another cigarette!" what your monkey mind hears is "smoke another cigarette." Instead, solidify positive behavior with positive messages, such as: "I honor myself with a healthy, non-toxic lifestyle."
And lastly, make your intention a pithy one. My Yoga Nidra teacher, Sreedevi Bringi, suggests using no more than 8 words to identify your sankalpa. When typing your heart's intention on the tablet of your brain, less is definitely more—especially with an already chattery citta. Once you have established your sankalpa, write it down and memorize it. Then make yourself comfortable, close your eyes and listen to the following Yoga Nidra practice for a good healthy dose of positive brain-washing. Each moment is a new opportunity to make important, beautiful and LASTING changes. The Resolution Revolution is Now!
 O.K., let's be honest, as a 501c3 (Non-profit entity) Yoga Worldreach has seen very few donations. Don't get me wrong, we are SO incredibly grateful for those few precious gifts from friends just like you. The truth is: we haven't been actively seeking donations. We also haven't been competing for grants or trying to solicit support on any financial level. Not really. Instead, we have been creating a thriving, exciting and comprehensive Yoga Teacher Training program that inspires our STF's (student-teacher-friends) to spread the socially beneficial practice of Yoga throughout their local and global communities. Since, Yoga Worldreach was founded in 2006, we have offered some exciting programs: HEART BACK TO INDIA: bringing yoga to children in orphanages and schools in Southeast Asia, including Ramana's Garden in Rishikesh, India; and the Surya Boarding School in Khandburi, Nepal. YOGA BRIDGE TO AFRICA: offering Yoga education for the fellows of the Strongheart Fellowship in Liberia, W. Africa. HALO YOUTH YOGA: joining the Halo Foundation to bring Yoga Seva to at risk youth in Denver CO. COMING HOME: a transformational weekend for women survivors of trauma. In 2012, our STF's crafted programs for The Life Skills Program of St. Luke’s House in D.C. and raised over $3000 for the organization. They also organized a project to bring Yoga and empowerment to young women and girls in Chicago. MORE INFORMATION TO COME. All of this (and more!) we have done almost entirely through our own invested resources. Because we thrive on Sevananda (the joy of social service), we have offered our own time, energy, and money resources to make our dream of "promoting peace through personal empowerment" a joyful reality. We have been generating our own resources through the Seva School and have not had to seek hand-out from anyone else. It is time to get real about who and what we actually are. A social business, according to Wikipedia, is any business which has a social rather than financial objective. The term, "social business," was first defined by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus and is described in his books, Creating a World Without Poverty, Social Business and the Future of Capitalism and Building Social Business: The new kind of capitalism that serves humanity's most pressing needs. He has actively promoted and incubated social businesses among organizations throughout the world. Yunus' definition of a social business is "a non-loss, non-dividend company designed to address a social objective within the highly regulated marketplace of today." Distinct from a non-profit, a social business seeks to generate financial resource on its own, which it will use to expand the company’s reach, improve its product or service and to subsidise the social mission. In 2013, Yoga Worldreach will be officially adopting its title as a social business and re-visioning its local and global outreach as a Seva School. We will continue to offer rich and meaningful Yoga teacher training and inspire exciting STF-created seva programs. You may support our mission by purchasing goods through our online store, or by joining us for a workshop or yoga teacher training course. See you in the cOMing year!
 photo: Angie Barnes A few days ago, the U.S. cycled through another Labor Day weekend. Here, in the Midwest, where I have committed to share a year basking in the beauty and grace of my mama, Labor Day marks the "end of the summer." Radio announcers and newspaper ads remind everyone that cooler days are ahead; to savor the last few moments at the beach or with the barbeque. Truly, we will be seeing the glory of Autumn's colors soon, as the Equinox beckons from around the corner. This past Labor Day held sacred meaning for me. Not so much as a "workingmen's holiday", but as an opportunity to honor those things that are coming to an end in my life. As I approach the LABOR DAY of my Lotus Heart Baby's Soul Rise, my belly churns and pulses with life. The sweet baby inside will soon be breathing the miracle of birth. And I am letting myself GO. The beginning of Motherhood marks a distinctive end to something else, just as all sacred cycles do. For me, it is the end of Self-doubt. It is the end of childish fears. As I test my wings of womanhood in the town where I was still a child, the reflection of who I am grows clearer and I remember my True Nature. I am letting myself GO! ...dropping into the arms of Compassion, Courage and Fearlessness! Real Love casts out all Fear. Thank you to all my sweet friends who have uplifted me this summer. You have reminded me of the truly infinite and unfailing power of LOVE. In Love and Gratitude, R. R. Shakti
In the beginning of time Yemonja/Olukun reigned as the primal waters that covered the uninhabitable surface of the Earth. The Creator god, Olódùmarè, caused the Sun to descend upon them, merging forces to produce the sixteen original male òrìṣà (African deities) along with the sweet, fresh waters of Ọṣun. Thus Yemonja, the compassionate ocean goddess, became the mother of all (Neimark 115).
In this story, retold by Philip Neimark, Yemonja is a distinctively female deity with a masculine aspect—Olukun. Together they exemplify the balanced character of the complete mother archetype, both nurturer and warrior. It is this morpheus gender play that appears in African art and religious expression. The gender of Odùdúwà, for instance, who is the progenitor of the Yorùbá race, is ambiguous. Èṣù, who was transformed from female to male while still inside Ọṣunʼs womb, displays properties of both sexes. Ọṣun, herself, by association with Orúnmila sometimes blends with his male nature in a hybrid of gender. Mami Wata (female) is sometimes worshiped as Papi Wata (male). Male spirits, including Ogbuideʼs own husband, Urashi, dwell within rivers and streams all along the regions of the Igbo.
The water goddess in all her forms, occasionally appears as a man. In fact, for some practitioners of Haitian Voudoun, the spirit of the Sea—Agwé —is a decidedly masculine force. He is “both immediate and enduring, a ready strength and a deep peace;” a description Maya Deren uses to express his ideal nature as husband for Erzulie/La Sirene.
Although she is married to Agwé, Erzulie has relations with other Voudoun deities and is not bound by her identity as his mate. Ọṣun, too, complicates African folklore, both in the mother land and the Americas, with intriguing (even incestuous) love triangles and familial associations. Trickster figures, such as Legba, Ghede and Èṣù seem no more androgenous than hermaphroditic—a male character with more than a touch of feminine àṣẹ (energy).
I am led to wonder if this feminine àṣẹ is that same force called Shakti Devi in India. In Hindu Tantra, Shakti is the underlying principle of all the major cosmic powers. The animating force of the animating force, nothing can be accomplished without her. Sixteen male spirits, or sixteen thousand, need her light to illumine their way and her kinetic energy to awaken their potential.
Perhaps Shakti is Ọṣun, Mami and Ogbuide. Perhaps she is Erzulie in a sari.
She is the catalyst for evolution in nature and transformation in society. She is the waters that mold a seed into a sequoia...or a child, the baptismal fluids that transform a human heart. She is the imagination that begets all deities. She is the beauty and abundance springing forth as Venus/Aphrodite, Ganga or Lakshmi.
Monotheistic and patriarchal religious opposition has dammed the flow of widespread water worship, but the tides are always turning. The deities of water thrive on human imagination as well as inspire creativity. They yoke humanity to natureʼs sovereignty and significance. If we listen, we may hear her Siren song, beckoning to follow the path of beauty and grace; to celebrate the abundance of the Earth and to preserve itʼs healing waters.
The African òrìṣà have spanned across the sea, unifying races, cultures, and genders. The world is turning its attention toward the empowerment of women, the protection of children and the preservation of our natural environment. Perhaps we stand to gain from the mythic expression of the water goddess, as she bridges the chasms that separate us, one from another and reunites humankind with the abundant flow of Nature.
READ MORE:
Abiodun, Rowland. “Hidden Power: Ọṣun, the Seventeenth Odù” Ọṣun across the Waters: A Yoruba Goddess in Africa and the Americas. Ed. Joseph Murphy and Mei-Mei Sanford. Bloomington: Indiana U P, 2001.
Badejo, Diedre. “Authority and Discourse in the Orin Ọdún Ọṣun” Ọṣun across the Waters: A Yoruba Goddess in Africa and the Americas. Ed. Joseph Murphy and Mei-Mei Sanford. Bloomington: Indiana U P, 2001.
Beier, Ulli. Yoruba Poetry. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1970.
Castellanos, Isabel. “A River of Many Turns: The Polysemy of Ochún in Afro-Cuban Tradition” Ọṣun across the Waters: A Yoruba Goddess in Africa and the Americas. Ed. Joseph Murphy and Mei-Mei Sanford. Bloomington: Indiana U P, 2001.
Cohen, Peter F. “The Orisha Atlantic: Historicizing the Roots of a Global Religion” Transnational Transcendence: Essays on Religion and Globalization. Ed. Thomas J. Csordas. Berkeley: U of CA P, 2009.
Deren, Maya. Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti. New York: McPherson & Co, 1953
Doumbia, Adama and Naomi Doumbia. The Way of the Elders: West African Spirituality and Tradition. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 2004.
Drewal, Henry John and Margaret Thompson Drewal. Gelede, Art and Female Power among the Yoruba. Bloomington: Indiana U P, 1990.
Drewal, Henry John. Mami Wata: Arts for Water Spirits in Africa and Its Diasporas. Los Angeles: Fowler Museum of UCLA, 2008.
Grillo, Laura. “African Religions.” Encyclopedia of Women and World Religion. 2 vols. Macmillan Reference USA, 1999.
Houlberg, Marilyn. “Water sprits of Haitian vodou: Lasirèn, Queen of Mermaids” Mami Wata: Arts for Water Spirits in Africa and Its Diasporas. Ed. Henry John Drewal. Los Angeles: Fowler Museum of UCLA, 2008.
Jell-Bahlsen. The Water Goddess In Igbo Cosmology: Ogbuide of Oguta Lake. Trenton: Africa World P, Inc, 2008.
Murphy, Joseph. Santeria: African Spirits in America. Boston: Beacon P, 1988.
Murphy, Joseph. “Yéyé cachita: Ochún in a cuban mirror” Ọṣun across the Waters: A Yoruba Goddess in Africa and the Americas. Ed. Joseph Murphy and Mei-Mei Sanford. Bloomington: Indiana U P, 2001.
Neimark, Philip John. The Way of the Orisa: Empowering Your Life Through the Ancient African Religion of Ifa. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1993.
Ribeiro dos Santos, Ieda Machado. “Nesta cidade todo mundo é d’Oxum: In this city everyone is Oxum’s;” Ọṣun across the Waters: A Yoruba Goddess in Africa and the Americas. Ed. Joseph Murphy and Mei-Mei Sanford. Bloomington: Indiana U P, 2001.
Vega, Manuel. “Mãe Menininha;” Ọṣun across the Waters: A Yoruba Goddess in Africa and the Americas. Ed. Joseph Murphy and Mei-Mei Sanford. Bloomington: Indiana U P, 2001.
“We are the lake people.
The lake people?
Yes, the lake people. We live on the lake.
We call the lake Uhamiri or Ogbuide.
We sometimes call her Mother.
She is the mother of us all.
~ from Flora Nwapaʼs novel: The Lake Goddess (Jell-Bahlsen 37).
Traditionally known as Uhammiri, Ogbuide is the goddess who presides over Oguta Lake in Southeastern Nigeria. Her name, Ogbuide, depending on pronunciation, means both “life giving beauty” and also stands for her destructive potential. To some she is but one manifestation of Mami Wata, but to the Oru-Igbo people she is the mother of all. Like all African water spirits, she is elusive, colorful, and dynamic. She is widely known as the one who gives, an attribute that could be translated towards generosity in distributing abundance, but also eludes to her flexible fluidity. In daily relationship with Ogbuide is Ani/Ala the earth goddess whose rigid code of conduct is enforced by the patrilineal priests of the Oru-Igbo culture. The townʼs male elders are the representatives of the ancestors and the custodians of the customs. In legend, to break tradition means to be eaten alive by Ani/Alaʼs soldier ants! On a spiritual level, the “giving” nature of the water goddess balances the stringency of the earth goddessʼ laws.
Oru people perceive their cultural identity around their knowledge of the water and commit their very lives to her service, observing her ways and honoring her for their very subsistence. They look to her for an abundant harvest, protection from enemies, financial blessing and most of all reproductive fertility.
Her fertility and resilience is empowerment of women. Although Oru-Igbo gender roles are clearly defined within their society, Ogbuide is much more forgiving. Women who break the norms of tradition can find refuge in her fluid grace. She harbors innovation, creativity and transformation and despite the male-biased social structure has cleared the path for women to hold positions of political power.
Woven through a rigid and complex system of lineal customs, threads of power are spiritually spun and maintained by merit, achievement, and ethical behavior. Social status is available to both men and women, who are considered compliments of one another. In this way female authority is a complicated movement, coursing like an undercurrent and following the path of least resistance. It transcends lineal boundaries and finds freedom under the surface of “male spacial limitations of power." Jell- Bahlsen writes: “Above all, womenʼs ritual leadership is an expression of their different but complimentary and decisive status, corresponding to the female powers of the universe” (166).
Totems, or messenger animals, for the Lake Goddess are the python, the crocodile and the turtle. These are symbols of the cycle between death and rebirth, procreation and ancestry. All three move freely between the water and land, bridging opposites. So too Ogbuide creates a passageway between the distinctly different attributes of male and female power.
CELEBRATE Ogbuide energy today by reaching out to someone with whom you have experienced "differences." Take time to share with them, exploring the flexibility and adaptability of your fluid nature. Seek to find the beauty and commonalities in those that oppose you.
READ MORE:
Doumbia, Adama and Naomi Doumbia. The Way of the Elders: West African Spirituality and Tradition. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 2004.
Drewal, Henry John and Margaret Thompson Drewal. Gelede, Art and Female Power among the Yoruba. Bloomington: Indiana U P, 1990.
Drewal, Henry John. Mami Wata: Arts for Water Spirits in Africa and Its Diasporas. Los Angeles: Fowler Museum of UCLA, 2008.
Grillo, Laura. “African Religions.” Encyclopedia of Women and World Religion. 2 vols. Macmillan Reference USA, 1999.
Jell-Bahlsen. The Water Goddess In Igbo Cosmology: Ogbuide of Oguta Lake. Trenton: Africa World P, Inc, 2008.
Neimark, Philip John. The Way of the Orisa: Empowering Your Life Through the Ancient African Religion of Ifa. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1993.
 artwork: Laura James http://www.aviscafineart.com “I am cold, I am wet I have just come from the cold sea I cannot stand up because half of my body is a fish Bring me my comb Bring me my mirror” ~ A Voudoun Lasirèn Song. (Houlberg 143). Originating from the Nigerian delta, Mami Wata (Mother or Mistress Water) permeates all boarders as her fame is spread cross-culturally throughout Africa. She is found as the mermaid, the snake-charmer, the fearsome and beautiful mother. Like Ọṣun she is both the invoker of transformation and the exemplar of transmutation. In the preface to Drewelʼs book on the goddess, museum director, Marla C. Berns, writes: Mami Wata is the product of both transaction and localization. She came in on a wave, yet she emerged from the depths of the waters. She is both foreign and indigenous, and somewhat paradoxically, she is a singular being of multiple incarnations and manifestations. (10) Drewel, himself, calls her an “ʻin your faceʼ spiritual presence,” as her story is found everywhere one might look, once she is recognized. To the Afro- Catholic, she is Santa Marta la Dominadora who tames the great serpent, or dragon. Influenced by Indian material culture, she can assume the forms of Hindu deities without sacrificing her identity. She may even be found wearing a bindu. It is possible to find her among Christian iconography, as one who punishes those who skip church. In Haitian Voudoun, she may be spotted as Lasirèn (the mermaid incarnation of Erzulie). In Sierra Leone and Liberia, she is known as Tingoi/Njaloi and presides over female initiation rites, epitomizing ideal beauty and goodness. In eastern Ghana a mural depicts her as Mami Titi who carries the same attributes as Hindu Lakshmi. Depicted as a buxomly fashionista in Côte dʼIvoire, particularly during the economic development of the 1970ʼs and 80ʼs, Mami Wata bestows money and prestige to those who love her. Like Ọṣun, she is sought for economic blessing as well as reproductive issues—fecundity, conception and birth. Akin to Erzulie of Voudoun and mermaids of European lore, the mirror is her prized possession. Reflective like the surface of calm water, it symbolizes the permeable threshold of duality. Mami Wata is often associated with Danbala the Benin rainbow python who, like the Kundalini Shakti of Hindu Tantra, psycho-spiritually links the earthly realm to the spiritual. Mami Wata is generally pictured with flowing hair, which for the Mende people is a sign of fertility. She also sports a fish tail. Her half aquatic quality allows her to traverse earth and water, symbolically bridging nature and supernatural, present and future. Twentieth century colonialism elaborated her myriad forms, casting her from molds of Christian, Muslim, and Hindu iconography. It is difficult to ascertain the exact origins of Mami Wata as she is truly an amalgamation of religious symbolism and secular folklore. Based on the accounts of explorers, like Christopher Columbus and artwork found around the globe, Mermaid spirits seem to have evolved simultaneously throughout the world. Depictions of water beings have been discovered from as early as twenty-eight thousand years ago. Early African water deities who presided over female initiation rites, such as Nnem Mmo of southeast Nigeria, may have adopted this hybrid mermaid form before becoming Mami Wata. Berns tells us that such an epic history of global communication is rarely found among the extant African expressions. Perhaps Mami Wata is truly the mother of all water gods. Celebrate Mami Wata TODAY by meditating on the invaluable beauty, resource and spirit of water today. Donate to an organization that helps support water efforts in Africa like WATER.ORGAlso by honoring the Natural Mystic—the beauty, art and movement— that is intrinsic within you! Gaze in a mirror, as you recognize: Just as the water is the bridge between the EARTH and the SKY, You are the bridge between SPIRIT and NATURE. Both are pulsing, radiating, emanating from your eyes and in your unique dance! LOVE YOURSELF TODAY. READ MORE: Beier, Ulli. Yoruba Poetry. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1970. Cohen, Peter F. “The Orisha Atlantic: Historicizing the Roots of a Global Religion” Transnational Transcendence: Essays on Religion and Globalization. Ed. Thomas J. Csordas. Berkeley: U of CA P, 2009.
Deren, Maya. Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti. New York: McPherson & Co, 1953
Drewal, Henry John and Margaret Thompson Drewal. Gelede, Art and Female Power among the Yoruba. Bloomington: Indiana U P, 1990.
Drewal, Henry John. Mami Wata: Arts for Water Spirits in Africa and Its Diasporas. Los Angeles: Fowler Museum of UCLA, 2008.
Grillo, Laura. “African Religions.” Encyclopedia of Women and World Religion. 2 vols. Macmillan Reference USA, 1999.
Houlberg, Marilyn. “Water sprits of Haitian vodou: Lasirèn, Queen of Mermaids” Mami Wata: Arts for Water Spirits in Africa and Its Diasporas. Ed. Henry John Drewal. ! Los Angeles: Fowler Museum of UCLA, 2008.
Murphy, Joseph. Santeria: African Spirits in America. Boston: Beacon P, 1988.
“She is the wisdom of the forest She is the wisdom of the river Where the doctor failed She cures with fresh water Where medicine is impotent She cures with cool water.” ~ Oríkì Ọṣun (Beier 33). The word Ọṣun (Oshun) means Source. It refers to the “source of a river, a people, or of children*” Ọṣun is the mysterious presence of potentiality, the possibility of life which springs forth from the waters of creation. She is the flow of universal wisdom expressing the secrets and mysteries of the Universe. The geographical origin of Ọṣun traditions—Nigeria—lies in the country of the Ijesa in West Africa. Ọṣun is the living energy of the river that runs through the settlement of Osogbo, where each year the largest Ijesa festival is dedicated to her worship. This river, however, is not her only river. Springs flow wherever she is revered and her essence is considered the sacred vitality of each one. Ọṣun communicates and is communicated through multifarious stories, symbols, and rites. Her nature is as fluid and amorphous as the water through which she travels. Associated with sensuality, love, abundance, motherhood and conception, Ọṣun overflows with beauty and dynamism. For the Yoruba communities of Bahia, Brazil, Ọṣunʼs compassion and motherly love bloomed incarnate in the sweet social servant, Mãe Nenininha (1849-1986)*. In Cuba, she is found in the face of La Caridad del Cobre, the copper-colored virgin of charity who protects all Cuban people, regardless of ancestral origination*. She may be found in the South Bronx of New York City or in a Santería community in Miami, Florida as a living expression of universal dichotomy: mother and prostitute, vengeance and compassion, beauty and crone. For Ọṣun, like all òrìṣà (African deities), morphs and evolves to assist the devotees who honor her, developing a complexity of character along the way. In Cuba, she is Yéyé Sorodo, “mother bubbling with the sweet waters of life. But she is also Yéyé Kari, “a raging flood that overwhelms those who donʼt respect her” (Murphy and Sanford 96). For the tradition of Santería, Ọṣun (there, transcribed as Ochún) is a multifaceted being with five distinct caminos, or paths of personality. - Ochún Ibú-Akuaro is a young and beautiful dancer, joy-filled and scandalous within a love triangle. She is found at the percolating point where the rivers meet the ocean.
- Ochún Ololodí is the serious, divining homemaker; ruler of waterfalls and wife to Orúnmila, the god of divination.
- Ochún Ibú-Kolé the ugly, yet powerful, sorceress waits for the buzzards to nurture her powers.
- Ochún Yumú is the blind crone, living at the depths of the rivers rippling currents.
- Ochún Ibú-Dokó is the goddess of sexuality.
Other, less common, caminos are expressed throughout Afro-Cuban art and ritual. The myriad forms of her nature encompass lifeʼs complex experiences of love, erotica and material abundance. For her devotees she retains wholeness within her complexity, as the governess of all sweet waters who celebrates the sensual joys of life (Castellanos 35-37). The àṣẹ (or energy) of Ọṣun is often a metaphor for the concealed female power. When the Supreme god, Olódùmarè, sent the òrìṣà to Earth to complete the mission of creation, he sent sixteen male spirits and one female—Ọṣun, “the keeper of all good things." In their efforts to organize the world, the sixteen male òrìṣà ignored Ọṣun's presence among them. As a result, their endeavors failed, epidemic plagued the earth and healing rains refused to fall. The Creator admonished them. They would never succeed without that one who cures with cooling water. This story is a reflection of the complex relationship between men and women in African myth and society, particularly the deep indispensability of the discrete feminine power. For no matter what her countenance or demeanor, her potent undercurrent cannot be denied. Ọṣun is infinite in her àṣẹ, balanced in her character and able to represent the comprehensive and incomprehensible depth of feminine life force. Her energy and expression within a society cultivates a sisterhood—a female legacy—of “successful reproduction, business acumen, and social responsibility” (Badejo 138). She is the portal between birth and ancestry, securing the rights (and rites) of women within a communityʼs politic: economically, socially and spiritually.
Celebrate Ọṣun today by celebrating the many facets of your own being: your sensuality, beauty, joy, power, and fluid adaptability. Enjoy the flow of a River. Get involved with local river projects, such as the preservation of the Colorado. Learn more at: http://www.crwcd.org/READ MORE:
Ọṣun across theWaters: A Yoruba Goddess in Africa and #the Americas. Ed. Joseph Murphy and Mei-Mei Sanford. Bloomington: Indiana U P, 2001.
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