All praise is due to the Supreme

Since I was five years old--no kidding--I’ve been dreaming of being a father. And now, all praise is due to the Supreme, I have been blessed.

Two days ago, my wife and I held in our arms for the first time our beautiful baby daughter, Yemayá.

Our child was born under water (I don’t know about the three dollars and six dimes part, but yes, I’ve done my math), and so her name, Yemayá, is fitting indeed. In the Yoruba religion, Yemayá is the orisha (deity) of oceans. It’s said that some of those West Afrikans who survived the hell-ships of the European holocaust praised Yemayá for seeing them alive to the other side. The Yoruba Yemayá is also associated with motherhood and the protection of the family. We pray both will be true of our daughter.

We hope our daughter, born in the hour of Ancestor-I, will grow up to be a proud, strong, intelligent woman who “makes stand those who weep, who reveals those who hide their faces, and who lifts up those who sink down” (Per em Hru LXXX: 13-15).

We love her more than we thought was possible.