7 Sisters

Being born in 1971 in the south side of the Bronx, in an ‘Apocalyptic atmosphere’ and landscape , I realized early on, that hell is literally ‘always around the corner’! The ‘vultures’ of my environment did not posses malevolent monikers whatsoever? They were branded fiendishl, kool names like, ‘Two Ton Leroy’, ‘T-Bone’ and ‘Slick B’ at a tender, young age. And at a juvenile age, they very much so carried around the same pain and tribulations of a much older ‘Mad Max’ of the movies, without being able to afford the freakin apocalyptic car. Most of the time, as a strangely different child, I would sit on the stairs of our meager dwelling, having in-depth conversations with those that seemingly did not exist. I would conversate for an hour or more with mother-like females, that would guide me to the stairs for private discussions. To other family members, I must have seemed ‘dumb- witted’ or insane, but not to my mother. She would encourage my ‘playtime’ with my newly found ‘invisible’ friends. She spoke not unlike an African mother, of a war-torn village, granting encouragement to a seven year old son to speak to the village elders that held a keen interest in him. But, why would a mother encourage this in the south Bronx, you ask? Why would she encourage such seemingly madness? Well, ladies and gentlemen, it began with a silver, ‘heart- shaped’ locket giving to me at birth. Now, to this day, I could not tell you for certain of whom which female elder placed this locket around my neck, but this ancestoral being most have been my mother’s grandmother? My mother held extremely high regards for this jewelry, and much more than just for it’s monetary value. She would whisper to me when we were alone that this possessed ‘the spirit of our true haven….this is our way home’. Even weirder was that I was told never to open it and read the inscription inside until my thirteenth birthday. But, just when my mother hurriedly guided me to those same stairs, after I blew out the candles of the cake and made my wish, I knew it was time for this 13 year old to read the inscription inside. I wonder if she was excited for me gaining the knowledge of the contents of the locket, or just as curious to know of the words written inside also? As I opened the sizable piece carefully, it had just a few words….’The 7 Sisters hold the key to home, 2012 marks the journey’. These words carried more weight than ‘Two Ton Tony’, for certain! Being the first generation of my family to be born in America, I typically know of my Congolese heritage and was proud of such. My grandmother was the matriarch of the family and as my father would say from time to time, “Women hold the key to the ‘tree of life’….and Africa is the root of said tree”. But, what did that mean exactly? After, much examining of my ancient culture, I found out that not long ago, the women of my heritage binded the skulls of their children. This practice predated the birth of Christ by 400 years. My grandmother was the first generation to forego the practice, yet, spoke of an intellectually, ancient African race of beings that possessed the same features at birth and the practice of binding the cranium at birth, was giving homage to the ‘creatures of life’ and that African women, the ‘cultivators of civilization’, should never forget such. We should never forget that the stars are from which they came, and the heavens are always watching! Now, that I am considered a man at 13 years of age, I must continue do more research, to know of the 7 Sisters before 2012…..wish me luck……