Osun in the New World
A note on the transmutation of culture: Osun written with an ‘H' is the anglicised spelling; in some parts of the Caribbean devotees write about ‘Ochun' - but the purist spelling is Osun with a dot under the ‘S' to signify a ‘SH' sound.
Sister Khemya - In Her Own Words
Misunderstood
"I have a Nigerian sister back home (in the US). She questioned: ‘Why go [to old Yoruba towns]? Why not Lagos? She's made it very well in America."
On the Osun sisterhood
"Being in the community with all the sisters of Osun, watching the practices and how they deal with each other... I don't have to worry about anything. They are teaching me what it's like to be a sister in this belief. It's a vulnerable place, but I feel safe... comfortable."
Interacting with Yeye Osun
"It's like mother and child. She took the role of a mother as soon as I saw her - a closer connection that I had with my own birth mother. A nurturing communication in which I am finding everything I didn't have as a child."
On becoming a priestess
"Becoming a priestess will make me stronger back in my own community. It will bring a sense of peace to the restlessness. I imagine it will be completely different when I go back. Here (in Iragbiji) the sisters do everything with what's around them - it's sustainable."