contemplating sankofa in florida

I was in Clearwater, Florida at the Midwives Alliance (MANA) Conference for the past 5 days. Of course, the morning I woke up for my flight from Utah, the ground was covered in snow. It was pretty difficult to decide what to wear that would be appropriate from take-off to touch-down. I ended up with lots of layers that I had to immediately strip off when I walked off the plane in Tampa. This was my first experience in the state and let me tell you: the humidity is like New York in the middle of the summer, underground, in the elevator at the 168th street stop (those of you lucky enough to have been in that elevator know that it is like a ride down to hell). To top it off, I had an instant frizz-fro.

I've been to the MANA conference in the past and I always have such a great time. It is a chance for midwives and traditional birth attendants to gather from all over the world, as sisters and share our wisdom. I love learning at the feet of these grey-haired wise women midwives. The theme of this year's conference was Sankofa (see picture above). Here is an explanation from the conference:

The concept of Sankofa is derived from Adinkra of the Akan people of West Africa. Sankofa is transliterated in the Akan language as “se wo were fi na wosan kofa a yenki.” Literally translated it means “it is not taboo to go back and fetch what you forgot.” Sankofa is used today across the pan-African world to promote the idea that African people must go back to our roots in order to move forward. Visually and symbolically “Sankofa” is expressed as a mythical bird that flies forward while looking backward with an egg (symbolizing the future) in its mouth. This symbol is used for our conference to mean that, as midwives, we “must go back to our roots in order to move forward,” without losing what is precious and powerful in birth.

Amid all the soaking up of wisdom I also managed to soak up some rays. Here is a list of my favorites from the trip:

1) Floating on my back in the Gulf of Mexico, watching a pink sunset turn the water pink, feeling tiny clear jelly fish squish through my fingers.

2) Late night chats and laughter with my sister-midwife Jen in our hotel room.

3) Lying on the edge of the pool, on the warm concrete, in a downpour.

4) A half-day at the Safety Harbor Spa

5) Yeshi Neumann's inspiring lecture on her Homestyle Midwifery practice

6) Stone Crab season (yum!)

7) Wearing my favorite Birkenstocks one last time until next summer.