Hand of Ifa Weekend

Let me first say that I am changed forever. The weekend of May 20th my husband and I received our Hand of Ifa. I short, you receive some information about yourself that helps you to develop further in the tradition and you also receive the tools to continue to stay in contact with the necessary energies. I don't really feel comfortable saying much more than that because I already feel as though too much information in just kinda hanging around in cyber space.

I would, however, like to speak on the beauty of the experience.

Community/Family
We all learned something about what real community and family looks like. We arrived and got lost in the neighborhood and Iya and Yeye (both mean mother but that's what we stick with for differentiation) came to rescue us. When I saw Iya's face I was SO EXCITED!!! I immediately knew I was home. When we got to the house they had bought food from a Senegalese restaurant and didn't ask for a dime. Wait, forgot to tell you. We had only been greeting via verbal instructions. It was a little different, but it felt good to see and do all the bowing. They are so worthy of it. It was wonderful for the children to learn it also. Back to the food. It was delicious. All my vegetarian ways were on hold for the weekend because I thought myself a little haughty to expect someone who is kind enough to feed us to rearrange their eating habits. Plus to be honest, MY IYA CAN COOK!!! OMG!!! If we had stayed any longer I would have been a cow. One thing that my husband loved was that EVERYBODY is EVERY child's Iya and Baba. I didn't have to worry about where they were and what they were doing. They were also very excited to meet Iya's two girls. Let's be honest I was SUPER excited to meet them. They are such wonderful STRONG little women. Olamide even gained a teacher while we were there. They have so much in common and he is a magnificent Awo. Baba Ifakayode's duality shows in a very beautiful way and is a very balanced omo Esu. Honestly he is like the male version of my Iya so I gotta love 'im. Long story short I have a whole new family and I love them all. My heart has been wanting to return since we pulled out of her driveway. We all cried off and on as we left Atlanta.

Culture/Spirituality
We learned A LOT!!! The thing that I really enjoyed is that if you just have a conversation with the people I met you are going to learn SOMETHING. If you are around them and don't learn, it's because you choose ignorance. Once 3 conversations were going on at once and I just walked room to room trying my best to get it all. Yeye is originally from The Continent so I love that. She has a better grip on the actual cultural aspect and I really appreciate that. Plus she is just the bomb when it comes to Ifa. She can explain things in ways that make the most complex idea simply and easy to learn. She is Omo Sango/Osun but also has been initiate to Obatala. The bomb right? Purdy much. Iya is a southern girl by birth, but her heart has the strength of the Congo and the beauty of Ifa. I just love her for every reason and no reason at all. She saved me from a really bad situation so I owe her my life. I am forever in her debt and at her beck-and-call. I loved learning all of the things she taught us. I really love casting obi and tending the shrines. She is a really straight forward in your face kind of teacher. She ain't gone pull no punches. Her strengths are her humility and love for honesty. That's why we get along so well. I know she is safe, because she values the same things I do. She is truly omo Sango/Oya.

That short weekend made me able to go back home and pick up on my reading and have it come alive. Ifa is real to me. I can feel it now. I give thanks. Ase.