Healing Is Not Meant To Be Done Alone
Grieving is not meant to be done alone. Our bodies keep the score. How do we shake off our rage, pain, and fear? Simple. We call our community to come dance it out. She reminds us of this whenever she dances on a loved one's grave.
Wearing a veil and dressed in pink, Yewa is the orisha who guards the cemetery and guides spirits to the afterlife. She links ancestral remembrance and death with life.
Although death is the only guarantee in life, it’s important to note that Yewa doesn’t cause death. Her role is to help spirits move to the afterlife.
She does this by literally moving, dancing on top of fresh graves. Her movement is an invitation for spirits to shake off whatever emotions they might be feeling about having died in order to transition smoothly into the afterlife.
In the US, the phrase “dancing on someone's grave” is a hateful metaphor used to mean a person who takes great pleasure in hearing that an enemy has died.
But through African diasporic deities like Yewa we can reclaim the dance as a healing ritual after a death.
Yewa’s dance on a grave asks us to reflect on the question: what helps us move through the grief of a loved one’s passing? What grief rituals do we practice?
Most importantly, Yewa reminds us that we aren’t meant to grieve alone. Next time you’re going through it, call a community member you trust who can come dance it out.
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