The Blessing of Gratitude
- Feb 8
- 3 min read
Updated: 8 hours ago
In giving, one receives. Members of Omnira Institute were asked to provide blessings of prayer on two occasions – both gifts for the givers.
Tobaji and Wanda made a quick mid-winter visit to Earthseed, a 14-acre solar-powered farm in Sebastopol to support the blessing of their newest building: a 30-foot yurt. Established in 2021 and stewarded by Pandora Thomas with the blessing and permission of the Graton Rancheria tribe, the farm focuses on community nourishment through permaculture education and retreats for urban kids to learn where their produce comes from.
“It was our third visit there,” Wanda said. “Each time we go, we are uplifted by the peace and feel a sense of sanctuary.”
Ras K Dee opened the prayer offering, speaking in Pomo, and was followed by Tobaji’s and Wanda’s prayers in Yoruba, fitting with their spiritual practice in the Lucumi tradition. The staff and others added their hopes for the farm and how the new building will serve more people. On the way out, they were treated with a rich apple cider, the last of the fall batch. https://www.earthseedfarm.org/
Two days later, they were joined by the drummers of Awon Ohun Omnira for an intimate festival in honor of Obatala. Our host, Dr. Orisajinmi Ifalayomi, came from the bitter cold of Boston to an almost balmy day in Sacramento. Omnira’s offering of a drum salute by Bata drums is actually a form of prayer and was received well by a small crowd and their spiritual leader Dr. Ifagbenusola O. Alanda, who delivered a sacred tale about Obatala, the Yoruba credited with the creation of humanity.
Umoja productions followed with djembe drumming, Yemanja and Olivia. drumming by Umoja productions.
Coming Up…
On Feb. 17, Wanda will appear on the Oak 420 podcast hosted by Chaz Walker. They’ll be live between 4 and 6 p.m.
On Feb. 28, Awon Ohun Omnira will close out Black History Month with an appearance at McGee Avenue Baptist Church at 1640 Stuart St. in Berkeley.
Looking Ahead… It’s Time to Grow
It’s seven months until the 11th Annual Black-Eyed Pea Festival, and our prep for it parallels the effort to get a fall harvest. Digging Deep Farms in Fremont will plant a patch of black-eyed peas for Omnira Institute in a couple of weeks (BlackAgtech.org/diggingdeep). We’ll certainly have some fresh peas in time for the festival on Sept. 12 at Marston Campbell Park in Oakland.
And, Wanda, who used to say she ‘had no relationship with dirt,’ has planted some black-eyed peas in a large pot in her sun room just this week. “We expect a ‘harvest’ by late May,” she says.
Speaking of Land,
In the months since Omnira was given land in the mountains of Butte County, members have been preparing to fulfill the vision of creating space for healing and growing in a rural setting.
What was needed were tools for clearing, a place to store them and shelter to be able to work. To that end, Tobaji bought a 35-foot trailer to establish a base camp so members can clear growth and debris from the 2020 fire. On Feb. 5, with his son and nephew, Tobaji delivered the trailer and the generators to power chain saws and other tools to an area cleared last fall. We’re going up on President’s Day weekend. Anyone want to join us?
