A wonderful blog post I found today.

Wonderful writing, too, by Nana Whodun, in her blog
http://neohoodoo.blogspot.com/

And I dig that beautiful painting of Marie Laveau by Ulrick Jean-Pierre!

Holy Ghost, part I

Southern slavery in the USA, was one of the more repressive places for spirit possession due to restrictive Protestant influences. Even on Sunday "under the tent" or at the meeting place, full possession was not acceptable as there were always “eyes on you.”

The Holy Ghost of the Southern Baptist Church was a spiritual current summoned by song and rhythmic handclapping. This energy current once contacted was brought “down” from it’s higher vibrational rate or field by Elder Sisters or "Church Ladies," known for their stylish and in some cases eccentric hats, that were a mark of their official position.

They sat across the center rows of the Church. The energy once it appeared was pulled down by the female mediums in the congregation at their crown chakras. The signal of their possession was that their hat was progressively dislodged and eventually displaced by the entry of the “Holy Ghost.”
(to be continued)

Note to da Folk: The media did not understand the symbolic function of head wear in the Baptist Church in terms of stature and station for the female members of the congregation. This is why they riduculed the size or "grandness" of the hat Aretha wore at the 2009 Inaugral when she did a “spiritual invocation.”

I've seen Elizabeth, Queen of England wear some butt "ugly hats" and the media there or here didn't whisper a peep. What was said about Aretha's hat was simply dis-respect of the sister and the Hoodoo tradition. A full frontal assault.

“Re-re” always wore “original” head gear and dressed according to how she felt NOT fashion. She is one of a kind, the undisputed HEAD of the Neo-Hoodoo choir, a songstress. Can’t nobody take her crown as long as she draws breath, regardless of what "lady in waiting" Beyonce say out of her mouth- Tina Turner wasn’t crowned Queen of Soul (that's one reason why she don’t wear dem “hats”…) Tina is a Grand Dame, the Hoodoo "Queen" of Rock n’ Roll . Tina has endurance, longevity and tremendous “life force energy” that she expresses via body gesture as dance.
©2009. Orb of Djenra. All rights reserved in all media.