Act like a moko jumbie.

Why, in the past ten years, have we seen a resurgence of the moko jumbie? It can’t just be that we like to see people walking on stilts.
Maybe this is the mas we need the most now. It is ancient memory living powerfully now. It is a ubiquitous mas of protection and healing found throughout East, West and Central Africa.
The fact that so many of our children, our young people are drawn to this jumbie mas is part of the obeah of this moment, when all our protective institutions are failing us, when our schools are little more than holding centres, when the natural curious mischief of childhood gets co-opted by cynical hardened criminal elements.
We need this mas now more than ever, not only because we need spiritual healing but also because our arts can save us from the despair that we want to wallow in. Act like a moko jumbie. Rise above, find your balance, see further, keep walking.

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