African spiritual traditions have exponentially grown in visibility and practice over the last century in America. In the 1970s, the Oyotunji African Village in South Carolina was established as the first recognized community in the U.S. dedicated to the preservation, promotion, and practice of Yoruba culture. People of West African descent have carried their spiritual traditions throughout the Diaspora. From the rich history of Ifa and Orisa in Nigeria, other systems have developed, such as Vodun in Haiti and Santeria in Cuba. These traditions were introduced into the U.S. via the African slave trade and secreted into communities under the guises of Christianity and social euphemisms. In the past few decades, the rise of access to this knowledge about West African traditions has attracted a new generation of awareness and practice. Most major cities in the U.S. have communities of Ifa, Orisa, Palo, Santeria/Lucumi, Akan, and Vodun who are enjoying a greater freedom of study and worship, slowly losing the negative stigmas attached to these traditions by media and pop culture. References and interest in West African traditions are even becoming popular among millennials as they begin to explore beliefs outside of their family traditions and western norms. This is evidenced, for example, by Beyonce’s not-so-subtle Oshun iconography in her song/video Lemonade.
The children’s book, Oshun’s Book of Mirrors, pays homage to the important icon and principle in these traditions. As an Orisha/goddess/energy, Oshun embodies attributes which are depicted in the main character and within the message of the story itself. Yet even those unfamiliar with these traditions will recognize the importance of offering tales which celebrate faces of color as well as appreciate the life-affirming concepts woven into the narrative.
