The Witches Collection
We're Okay: Abikú Children of Ironá
Witches (Iyamí) care for the Abikú—souls who leave Heaven but do not complete their earthly mission. This includes children who never make it to adulthood, including those who are miscarried or aborted. We leave sweets and toys at the edges of wooded areas to keep them entertained and remind them that they are not forgotten.
(Uncomfortable Stories)
Iyamí: My Mother of Vinegar
Iyami is a title of respect given to an elder woman and can mean “My Mother” or “Our Mothers”—the collective ancestral mothers. Iyami can also refer to “the witches.”
Witches come in three flavors: the good, the evil, and the one who gives you what you need at the moment you need it.
In the Afro-Cuban tradition, there is a saying: Madre, aunque sea de vinagre—“Mother, even if she is made of vinegar.” A Mother of Vinegar can be sharp, sour, difficult, overpowering, or scathing. My own mother was a Mother of Vinegar. But mother is mother and I honor her.
This painting is my depiction of what happens when I light a candle in her memory at my Ancestor Table.
The world we live in is depicted in black and white. When I light the candle, it creates a crack between that world and the spirit world—where my mother appears in color, smiling back at me.
The candle is not simply a memorial. It is the moment that opens the way for her presence to break through.
(Iyami - Our Mothers, A Colab with MJ Africa Art)
Boy Bye! Calling Back My Power
Oya concealed her true powerful nature for the love of a man and tried to fit into his world. When she was betrayed, she reclaimed her power—and things got ugly. She smashed that shit up! Don't play with a powerful woman.
