|
A Wedding Story
|
||
|
“When Osun Weds, the Eagles Fly”
Most African Traditional Weddings here in the Americas are mainly focused on the physical outer customs of a particular tradition. But when one chooses to have an African Ancestral Spiritual Marriage Ceremony, it takes on a whole new meaning. In preparation for this tremendous task and for the ceremony to be a success, it must truly be seen from the inside and to capture capture the true souls’ of individuals.
This was surely a
necessity for me, the bride, because I am an initiated Priestess
of Osun. My initiation was performed in Osogbo, Nigeria and
completed in the Osun River. So the task of taking care of my
ancestors properly was critical and more important than all the
other trimmings to my ceremony - which were all very beautiful. Our
ceremony began a week before the actual public had any viewing.
Prayers,
As a Priestess of Osun, this deity or patron saint carries the attributes of sensuality, love, beauty, fertility, graciousness, gracefulness, and wealth. Her accents are cowrie shells, gold and the color yellow, just to mention a few . So it was extremely important to incorporate as many of her qualities in my wedding and therefore the colors of my ceremony were comprised of yellow, purple and gold. And to really honor Osun’s attribute of fertility I had my seven month pregnant daughter give me away.
But an Ancestral Spiritual Wedding includes all your ancestors and therefore, besides West African Ancestral honoring of Ancestors, I had to also honor my Christian Ancestors brought over to this country by Slavery. Thus I had the presence of a Baptist Minister, Reverend Jake Manley of Bethany Baptist Church, also perform parts of the Christian rituals and lastly incorporate “The Jumping of the Broom”.
My go My gown and veil was custom designed by the famous designer, Therez
Fleetwood. I chose a
non-traditional sheath silhouette (the AMINA style dress) with a
peplum hemline and front slit extending to a chapel length train. He
fabric was hand picked by my groom from
Kuwait. My cowrie shell earrings
were custom made and embossed in gold and were also designed by the
groom himself. We both wore attire that represented our African /
Indian ancestors and added final touches to the wedding by adding
the
Our ceremony was performed at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens in Virginia and when the Ministers announced “You May Now Kissed Your Bride”, the Eagles which nested in the gardens flew over us. This was a true sign in African Tradition that our ceremony was performed authentically and accepted by all of our Ancestors and truly blessed by God. Ashe’ by Joy King, joyking7@cox.net (757)287-5976 |
||
An Ancestral Wedding
Event is comprised of consulting both bride and grooms’ ancestors by
a genuinely initiated African American Shaman
libations and necessary rituals were done to insure our acceptance
by our ancestors. We, meaning myself and my groom, partake of the
bitter and sweet drinks to remind each other of the roads leading
towards life’s journeys of ups and downs but remembering that we
will endure the bitter with the sweet.
