nina simone in barbados, 1974. all hail the priestess!!!

this was during the time she recorded "it is finished" and more specifically "obeah woman". obeah a traditional congo spirituality is practiced throughout the caribbean. obeah is particulary important to understanding one of the key approaches to resistance in ninas work as a musician and civil rights leader. through her practice of obeah, and her deep pentacostal upbringing nina was able to move in the world as a conjure woman, a creator, an artist, and a revolutionary. all hail the high priestess!!!

here is a another poem in honor of studying and hopefully continuing her legacy~~~~

conjure woman, soul woman
for nina

nina
they say you have stolen shadows
say you have cast the babyspirits out in nocturnal limbo
that you make them wander
in search of womb
in search of milk
in search of the space between heaven and hell where each step is a breathsqueeze
they say you keep a sachet of boneshavings crescent city spit
and motherlanddust under your slip
and you blew
the eyebrows clean off a man's forehead
for cutting his eyes at you
they say you could have been a street preacher
but you couldn't keep your legs closed
or pray just to our lord jesus
but i know a woman who carries your face
and she aint nothing but sanctified
and she speak sweet like i heard you speak
and her fingers too are wands that stir heaven
and she too can hold night in her skin and sing it to her children at the break of dawn
nina
they really don't know how you got the blood and the lightening in your tone
they really don't know how you swung back this lifetime without wings
they really don't know how you birthed us with out light so
they call you witch when obeah woman is your name
they call you mystery when you are everywhere like dew
they call you magician when magician you are
they call you alien when you are mama
they call you alien when you are tuned to their hearts
obeah is your name

i do know you can bend time
and siphon your way through space
i have heard you do it
stretching through speakers at me
stretching through speakers at me
just when i get tired of shouting freedom
writing freedom birthing freedom

i have heard you do it
and have been redeemed


www.high-priestess.com