say what?: Black Gods inna Bablyon

I've been reading this with interest. You have to wait to be vetted for the group so I won't be getting in the conversation right now. It's an interesting conflation of the various points I've brought up here and how they work themselves out culturally. It might seem a little unfair to demean dude's experience by pointing out that he's trapped by his culture and has some work to do, but, hey we all are and we all do. Also I'm willing to accept his experience at face value, which alot of people won't do. As he starts to integrate his experiences into his daily life hopefully he'll work through certain things and come out the other side.
Oxum= Bratz= mulatto sex goddess. Simuteaneously tragic and funny ina ain't those white people strange kinda way.

the color: Black. who overstands? who-do!

Engaging the concepts underlying the color Black brought over from
Back Home for the purposes of Rootwork requires seeing behind the
veil of meanings the color black carries in Western thought and
entering the mindset the Original Rootworkers brought with them to
the States. It bears mentioning that the more sun a Black person gets
the darker their skin gets. To put it a little more metaphysically,
the Person who spend the most time in the Light of the Sun is going
to be the darkest. This concept has an internal as well as
external dimension. By way of example Yoga theory says that
the chakra at the top of the head gives off the light of a thousand suns
and the goal of Yoga is to witness and absorb that light.
Also Black when referring to the Earth is the ground of fertility,
the place to plant and look for Roots. The points to Black's relationship
to the concepts of Earth deity as both Mother and LawGiver.
The ritual of the Old Folks stopping the boat crossing the River Niger
(Oya's river for the Yoruba heads) in the middle to drink the Black Water
from the middle is one well worth contemplating.
Black when referring to drinking the Black Water points to the concepts
of purity, rejuvenation and suggests the process of fractal communion
with the African Ancestors though ritual.
The fact that word Black refers to the color as well as the people
tells us that the ones who made the language feel that Black people have
Black Power inside them as their essence.

peace

Black: the original gris-gris makers' view

An African perspective of the color black:

The Concept of “Black” and “Blackness” in the Songhoy Language

In the Songhoy language the concept of "black" (bibi) or "blackness" (borobibi or kuurubibi) identifies the color and refers to people of African descent as well. However, this concept is never used to designate anything negative. In fact, bibi and its extended meanings represent positive valuations in Songhoy—Senni, as the following examples illustrate:

Ciini bibi maana ti kala kuurubibidaawoo
Black Speech (Black Spiritual Power) is Black people's essence since the beginning of time.

Ay noo hari bibi.
Give me black water.

Tiira ma faya kuuro kaž ra a ga kokor.
The gris-gris should be made in the leather box that lasts for good.

Saddiža labu si boori kala nda bibi.
The soil in a garden is not good for planting unless it is black.

Ma sii fatta wayne bibi woo ra.
Do not go out into that black sun.

1. In Gao, which is located on the Greenwich Meridian, the sun reaches its highest point at 12 o'clock noon. That is when the Sožay people say the sun is "black" or wayne bibi. This is the hottest time of day, and bibi refers to the fullest expression of the sun: to the brightest, most dazzling, and radiant time of the day. This "black sun" symbolizes luminosity, unlimited and total expression. It also indicates that it is noon in Gao.

2. When crossing the Niger in a canoe, it is common for old people to ask for water to drink when the canoe reaches the deepest part of the river. At that point, where the water is most clear and clean, Sožay people will say, "Ay noo hari bibi." (Give me black water). Here, hari bibi means plain, pure, potable water--in contrast to the dirty, muddy water near the river bank where children play. The deepest part of the river offers the purest, most refreshing water any one could ask for.

3. "Saddiža labu si boori kala nda bibi." The soil in a garden is not good for planting unless it is black.

From these examples in the Sožay language, we can observe and conclude that black (bibi) symbolizes the:

a) beauty and totality (i.e., the fullest expression of the sun);

b) purity and reliability (i.e., fresh, clear water);

c) fertility and productivity (i.e., the richest soil; and

d) quality and durability (i.e., lasting color).

Excerpt from: H. Maiga, Conversational Songhoy Language of Mali (West Africa). New Orleans: Muhrem Books, 1996.

The Big Black Man - I said Big. Black. Man.

I couple of months back I got into a back-and-forth with someone about
what the "Black" in Big Black Man meant.
(For those of you who don't know who the Big Black Man is - he's the
"devil" you meet at the crossroads who teaches you or gives you a power,
playing guitar being the most famous example)
The person I had the exchange with told me the Black in Big Black Man
referred to his clothes and was not a reference to his skin color.
I explained to him that the Black in Big Black Man was a reference to a
quality and most definitely referred to his skin color in the same way
that Krishna (which means black in Sansrkit - Krishna is Black, Nubian
Black, so Black he's Blue) does.
I also told this person that all the Old Folk I knew had one thing in
common - they were very exact with their speech. If they'd meant to say
the Black in Big Black Man referred to his clothes they most certainly
would've. It must be said this person did eventually acknowledge and
accept the idea of a deity being African-American, but it also must be
said that they never really got their head around the ramifications of
this deity being Black nor did they show any increased insight into
African-American ways of speaking.
Which means the Big Black Man is a deity it will be difficult at best
for this person to know.
The Big Black Man can't teach you much If you don't understand Black
people.

peace

rootwork lives

Rootwork Lives...
It's not something that happened, something that
existed in the far-off past. It lives. It lives inside those who get and
answer the calling of the ancestors Back Home.
It lives inside those who move with water and communicate with trees.
It lives inside those who recieve the energy transmissions of
Great-Granmas and Great-Granpas and the
Salt-Water Blacks who
made the Middle Passage. It lives inside those ones
who talk to animals and see people's auras.
It lives inside people who've had experiences and insights they've long
since stopped trying to explain to others, but just accept.
Rootwork Lives

wormhole

the altar-ego

one mo' gen'

I'm back after taking a break to travel - physically and mentally
I spent the fall in Europe. Made some breakthroughs and tightened up my game.
Spent a few weeks after I returned contemplating my cipher. Now I'm ready go public again.
I've put my old name (snake2G ) on cyber hiatus. Rootwork names bring responsiblities and
the responsibility of that one is not one want to bare daily at this point. I'll still work it from time to time when the situation warrants though.

morph 2

It's 2006 and I'm here now