All for one and rhum for all

 "Bottles of Barbancourt are routinely incorporated into the Mange loa, or "feeding the gods," the most frequently performed ritual in vodou. Food and drink offerings are placed on an altar, to nourish and fortify these divine spirits, the vodouin equivalent of saints. The Mange loa is performed to allow a devotee to make contact with a particular loa. Each of these beings has favorite foods and totems, but all are partial to Barbancourt, which is poured three times on the ground for the loa's delectation. "

courtesy of Cornelia (nakedauthors blog) "Well I've Never Been to Haiti, But I Kinda Like the Voodoo"

Please take time out of you holiday season to toast to the Lwa. Ogun, Baron Samedi, Maman Brigitte, Ezili Freda, whoever. What would you like to happen in the new year?

the southland

                     outside marietta, georgia.

Them

On this start of a new year, I salute my ancestors and kinfolk. All those farmers,washerwomen,teachers,preachers,medicine men, sailors, doctors, nurse, midwives, cooks, laborers, hunters & soldiers paved the way for us. They made me.

Ezili Danto - Seven stabs

As a new mother, I pay tribute to Vodoun Petwo Lwa, Eruzilie Dantor the Protector of Mothers and Children.

Bad Mout*

*bad mout = a form of spell or curse, bad mouth

People wonder WHY we have this thing called "Black English" without realizing that Africa is a continent with many countries and more than 2,000 languages spoken ( Nigeria alone has over 250 dialects spoken). Bring eight to ten groups of slaves from different parts to this country, set them up on plantations, house them all together and imagine what kind of communication skills get developed.
Let's be serious here, black people learned english from white people so... [please insert inference here] White people from specifically England,Scotland,Ireland. Some of them spoke fancy... most did not, i reckon. [here too]
They didn't come to the New World speaking the language, we know THAT.
The gullah language is a good example of a mixture of tongues. Black folk just creative like that. We took the g's off ing words, omitted apostrophies and had no use for the verb IS cause there is no such verb ( i.e. no equivalent ) in most African languages. What you get is a pidgin spoken, just like in the Caribbean, Central and South America and Hawaii.

I think it's ingenious.

YOU TUBE it:

Origins of Africa-American English

Uprooted - A documentary of the Gullah Geechee culture of the Carolina Sea Islands

Hush arbors ... sound like stomp grounds to me

                                                                           photo credit: Luis Modesti

Not many folks know about the Hush Arbors of back in the day. There was once a hush arbor that my family used back in the day here near Blue Hole Springs in Marianna, Florida as well as Pine Arbor Town. So much of the information about these kinds of gatherings are attached to revival movements and country churches ( i.e serpent handlers ) when you search the internet but, it is important to look deeper into the picture. I know for a fact that, these places of worship were very, very closely linked to the busk or green corn dance, one of the two major ceremonies of (Mvskoke) Creek people. We forget the ties that Native and African people formed in the South and the busk is a obvious example of how the Creeks infused African aspects into the fold. It is well documented that many Africans ( African-born and New World-born ) were a part of these ceremonies/celebrations and the presence of the medicine bundle in Mvskoke ritual is absolutely African. That cannot be denied. It is even stated that after the Second Seminole War, this non-Creek feature in the busk originated in Florida.
( check out: The Florida Historical Quarterly, Vol 56, No. 3, Jan 1978 )


Even the IDEA of a (Tvla) town associated with a medicine bundle (collection of magical objects associated with a medicine man) READ, juju,mojo,gris-gris is so African it should stop being overlooked. (in the eyes of historians) I'm tired of this things being misrepresented to the greater public. In a world where Christianity and Islam take people indoors, it is much needed that my folk get back to the forest, get back to nature. We are too removed from that energy.  

"...slaves would steal away into the woods and congregate in what they called hush arbors or brush arbors, which were sanctuaries constructed of tree branches or in secluded cabins.... "  William E. Montgomery

Varieties of African American religious experience by Anthony B. Pinn

once upon a time

once upon a time, a very long time
monkey chew tobacco
and spit white lime...
                old bahamian sayin'



calypso, mami wata, lasirene, aycayia, yemaya, what ever dey call she... be first in the hearts and minds of all that sail the seas. at time, she rough and hard and other time, she smooth and soft. she known for love and revenge. keep she close by and want for no more. you safe that way.

Don't do no love magic

 When Edwina Minnis come to my Nannie she axe for one thing. She axe dis man love only she. 
My granny say “ Don do no love magic , you do you’n ”, and she give her a dream candle to wish up her own fate. She say to Miss Edwina, You wan love you do one ting, you wan money you do ’nother.
Nanny always think love an hate both sides of the same coin. 

Hear dat, eh...

soon come

Practical Magic

If you love the movie Practical Magic (like me) then you'll love to see the article published in Victoria Magazine about the set.

the Owens sisters' home

thanks to frostedpetunia for uploading this article. this is my dream house!

At home in the Everglades

missing home....