Uncategorized

Africans In America

Published

13 years ago

March 22, 2013

Oakland Post

Part 3

Propitiation honoring
Ancestors

During the Egungun festival, which venerates the ancestors in Propitiation ceremonies, colorful garments are worn by the dancers, singers and drummers and participants. At the top of the page, above the headline, are shown some colorful garments. The funeral dancer/masquerader with the horns, at left, is shown with drummers and singers. At right, the priest, in white, is shown with the masquerader/dancer and the singer, with a whip, controlling the spirit. In the middle is a spirit-filled dancer with many donated family cloths. At right is The Yemoo Grove, house of worship, named for the only wife of Obatala. Bottom Grove of trees at the Yemoo entrance. Photos by Sheryl Quail and Kayode Gbadebo.

According to the Odu Osa Meji, in the Yoruba belief system, Odu (female oracle) established all the sacred groves (places) and maintained secrets of the sacred shrines of the Orisas (belief of the Yoruba, divine system) after descent. Women were not excluded from performing rituals at any sacred grove.
Odu brought the Egungun and Oro (deities) to earth at her descent and performed rituals at their groves. Obatala (the deity of creation) became jealous and went to consult Babalawo (diviner, keeper of the secrets). He was asked to perform sacrifices and to learn patience. Soon Odu invited him to live close to her, and they agreed to worship Egungun together. Obatala then followed her to the Egungun grove where Odu donned the masque but did not know how to change her voice (guttural) to imitate Egungun.
This stage in the Egungun veneration is called Iyagbaro and Dede to honor Egungun women or mothers who know everything. These masquerades are popular amongst the Ibariba (tribe from the Benin Republic) and the Tapa (northern Nigerian tribe), from whose culture Egungun was supposed to have originated. The masque was only a piece of cloth with little holes pierced in it, but Obatala put the net for the Egungun to see clearly and a longer distance or range. Obatala performed better than Odu as a masquerader, thus began the monopoly of men as (ara orun kinkin), or people from heaven. But the men were ordered to respect the power of women and mothers (Iya mi) since power belongs to them.
The Irunmole deity dwells underground and asserts authority by purifying society. Because Egungun is expected to make contributions to the progress of the living, when a person dies they become a spirit and believed to possess powers in the spirit world and can carry out their wishes in the physical world by inspiring those that are living to perform those wishes. The invocation of Egungun by the Ojes , the custodians, is performed in the sacred grove Igbo Igbale, which is hallowed ground, and the shrine Ilerun, or sky home. The culture is woven around communion with the spirit world since Olodumare, or God, remains completely outside earthly intellectual knowledge range and cannot give deep meaning to human existence.
In the Diaspora, where Africans were enslaved in the Caribbean and Americas, many of the surviving cultural practices live on in modified expressions in the masked Carnival festivals, mardi gras dances and second line marches of New Orleans-style funeral ceremonies. The masked Egungun dancers, called Layewu, (shown garbed in pieces of cloth in the pictures above) perform during Yoruba funeral ceremonies which are meant to communicate with those still living. When a person dies family members donate pieces of cloth, in the same manner that African Americans donate and toss flowers on their graves or march in New Orleans-style second line funeral dances.
The Oracle Osa Meji is one of the senior Odu Ifa that explains the protocol that all must use when approaching the totality of femininity. Ashe is an African (Yoruba) expression with the fundamental meaning of the ability, or power, to make something happen..
Thus Egungun rituals are for propitiating( honoring) the dead , represent the “collective spirit” of the ancestors, hold high significance in the Yoruba religious system , or ‘Orisa Worship’ of veneration..
(Next: Part 4, Offerings, gifts and foods presented at Egungun).
Visit www.postnewsgroup.com to view Part 1 and 2.

Oakland Post

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Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

7 months ago

June 17, 2025

Oakland Post

Special to The Post

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department (Oakland HCD) announced its awardees for the 2024-2025 New Construction of Multifamily Affordable Housing Notice of Funding Availability (New Construction NOFA) today Five permanently affordable housing developments received awards out of 24 applications received by the Department, with award amounts ranging from $7 million to $28 million.

In a statement released on Jan. 16, Oakland’s HCD stated, “Five New Construction Multifamily Affordable Housing Development projects awarded a total of $80.5 million to develop 583 affordable rental homes throughout Oakland. Awardees will leverage the City’s investments to apply for funding from the state and private entities.”

In December, the office of Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 City Councilmember, worked with HCD to allocate an additional $10 Million from Measure U to the funding pool. The legislation also readopted various capital improvement projects including street paving and upgrades to public facilities.

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is the media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

11 months ago

January 30, 2025

Oakland Post

Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 city councilmember. File photo.

Special to The Post

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units, including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Alameda County

Oakland Acquisition Company’s Acquisition of County’s Interest in Coliseum Property on the Verge of Completion

The Board of Supervisors is committed to closing the deal expeditiously, and County staff have worked tirelessly to move the deal forward on mutually agreeable terms. The parties are down to the final details and, with the cooperation of OAC and Coliseum Way Partners, LLC, the Board will take a public vote at an upcoming meeting to seal this transaction.

Published

12 months ago

January 11, 2025

Oakland Post

Alameda County Board of Supervisors Chairman David Haubert. Official photo.

Special to The Post

The County of Alameda announced this week that a deal allowing the Oakland Acquisition Company, LLC, (“OAC”) to acquire the County’s 50% undivided interest in the Oakland- Alameda County Coliseum complex is in the final stages of completion.

Oakland has already finalized a purchase and sale agreement with OAC for its interest in the property. OAC’s acquisition of the County’s property interest will achieve two longstanding goals of the County:

The Oakland-Alameda Coliseum complex will finally be under the control of a sole owner with capacity to make unilateral decisions regarding the property; and
The County will be out of the sports and entertainment business, free to focus and rededicate resources to its core safety net

In an October 2024 press release from the City of Oakland, the former Oakland mayor described the sale of its 50% interest in the property as an “historic achievement” stating that the transaction will “continue to pay dividends for generations to come.”

The Board of Supervisors is pleased to facilitate single-entity ownership of this property uniquely centered in a corridor of East Oakland that has amazing potential.

“The County is committed to bringing its negotiations with OAC to a close,” said Board President David Haubert.