I'd planned to have a bowl filled with Ndinkra symbols for remembrance. Next year. Instead people were handed flowers as they followed the lit road.
Red, white and black designs on the slave dungeons reflected ancestors colors which added an extra dimension to the ritual (spirit certainly in charge here --smile). I had a speech prepared and as each aspect of the ritual unfolded I checked off one part of the speech until at the end--I didn't need to say anything.
We missed Brother Alaman Haile, were happy to see Mama Makinyah while sad to hear the news of Sister Makulla Godwin's loss of her father earlier that morning. Sister Makulla came out for a little while anyway.
The libations for the ancestors were even more lively than usual as Mama Ayanna opened the way and the Sister Geri stepped into the path shifting energy as the dead walked and the spirits sang with us that morning when Brother KolaTee danced and sang us into the realm where all is possible because everything is aligned and all is all right.
Mama Nabilah (Dr. Vera Nobles) and son, Omar Nobles, shared prayers--Nabilah's was to the God of the White Cloth, Oludamare and then Omar shared another prayer.
The day drew warmer and warmer as children played in the sand, built castles and planted flowers, later one taking a bath in the warming waters. As I walked along the beach afterward I noticed eggplant and apples, squash and watermelon--the food of the gods who were playful that day waving their greetings as the distance between the realms closed and we were one.
We had an opportunity to experience the power of that healing and then share it with one among us when Sister Sheba asked for our help and we all came to the center of the circle and laid hands on her. She spoke later of the how the colors changed for her as her breath cleared and she was able to breath better.
Dafina pointed out a red tailed hawk (2) in the sky, a sign from the ancestors that all is well.
Paradise and Leroy shared poems. Paradise opened with a testimony in President Obama's voice, peppering it with his "They Love Everything about You but You." That poem is a crowd pleaser and one of Paradise's crowning poetry legacies. He has many (smile).
Leroy came on next with Holy Ghost rhymes. They were a powerful team. We'd rode to the Ritual that morning: Sheba, Leroy Moore and Richard Moore or Paradise together. Sheba had come up before from Sacramento and spent the night in my junky house (smile).
I'd had lots of plans for the weekend: I'd wanted to meet Mrs. Juanita Meadows, who was honored by The Friends of the Negro Spirituals at their annual awards event Saturday, October 8, 2011. I'd also planned to pick Sheba up at the train station and then both of us go to Portsha's Haiti Event over at Laney that evening. However, earlier that afternoon I got some alarming news which took precedence over everything I had planned and so I spent all afternoon, evening and night handling Maafa Ritual business.
Here's Leroy Moore's poem:
The Holy Ghost by Leroy Moore © 2011 All Rights Reserved
Blood rushing through my veins
spirits break dancing on the sand
tongues speaking in rhythms
falling on our knees
tears cleansing our souls
Harriet Tubman, Kunta Kinta
and Frederick Douglas
breaking modern day shackles
the Holy Ghost is our teacher
She wants us with her
She is our church
She is Mother nature
Drums, spirits and freedom songs
nutrition for our daily struggles
She wakes us up every morning
and push us to go on
like nursery rhythms, she rocks us to sleep at night
The Holy Ghost is our shield
now we are knights this morning
in Her army of love
healing our sisters and brothers’ wounds
No Tick tock, tick tock
Holy Ghost don’t have a Timex or a Swatch
She will take us to that place
a place beyond time
Some of us have lost sight
but searching for the Holy Braille
feeling our way
the Holy Ghost reveals clues
but our egos lead us astray
She has infinite patience
but are we listening
shh shh shh listen
No comments:
Post a Comment