On Thursday, June 27th 2024 at HCC’s Heinien Theater, the H-Town Orchestra, Opera, and Theater Company through Jampac Entertainment put on the production of Once on This Island…As Told by the Gods! This version of Once on This Island: As told by the Gods! excluded all human characters, creating a one-on-one storytime and reggae jam session between the “gods” and the audience! One of the four “gods” was the “goddess” Erzulie, played by Yours Truly, iiiYansaje T. Muse. Here is a bit more info on understanding Erzulie’s spiritual essence, and the correlations between Erzulie and Her older depiction, the Orisa Osun.
In the Haitian Vodou traditions, there are actually 2 Erzulies. One is Erzulie Danto, who is a fierce protector. She is more of a warrior queen, correlated with the Orisa Oya. The other is Erzulie Freda, the beautiful goddess of love. She is the closer correlate to Osun (OH-SHOON) in Ifa/Orisa tradition. She is the Erzulie that Once on This Island eludes to.
Osun is the youngest Orisa, and perhaps the most popular. She is the love goddess who carries the joys in life, allure, seduction, bliss, lavish living, and delight in the finer things. She is represented by rivers of flow, and honey, honey! She is also the goddess of erotica and seduction. Much about Her is focused on this aspect of Her, but She is so much more. She doesn’t just govern intimate love affairs. Osun reminds us to move life out of the way to live, love and maximize life’s moments in bliss. She governs all there is to love: love for life, love for nature, love for community, love for others, and love for self. She is filled with sweetness, compassion, and understanding. She loves to love and be loved. We learn much about ourselves by the things that we love, and Osun governs the beauty of things. When angered, Osun simply removes love and zeal for life from those on Her bad side, knowing that life without love is merely existing. Love is the most powerful force on Earth, because God is love. This is why so much is done to try to rationalize it, contain it, suppress it, or destroy it altogether. Her energy can be understood on a more divine level in the Song of Solomon.
She reminds us to listen to our hearts, although the mind may not find it logical. This is why She fights with the other gods in the song “And the Gods Heard Her Prayer.” Erzulie fights for Ti Moune to take a journey of love, although it wasn’t considered logical, nor would it be reciprocated. She quietly teaches moderation, as overindulgence is Her essence can cause imbalance.
Osun is also a teacher of self love through the wrong relationships. The wager She made with Papa Ge was that death could not stop the deep, rare love that Ti Moune had for Daniel. She reveals more about this rare love in the song “The Human Heart.” Some hearts cannot stop loving, no matter how badly they’re betrayed. That was the point She was proving to Papa Ge through Ti Moune.
This is three of a four part teaching series of the four “gods” that appear on Once on This Island. Return to the main article HERE for the scoop on Agwe, Asaka, and Papa Ge! Make sure you check out https://jampacentertainment.com/ for more information about booking, past productions, and future projects!
Listen to the audio version of this article in Friday’s rotation of 222.9 The Mothership Internet Radio, infused with the old school groove of the Sensual Mothers of Song!
Ase in Love,
iiiYansaje T. Muse
P.S. Attached is my personal diary of what it was like to return to theater, as well as shift energies from my Oya essence into Osun!
