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I was born in Harlem, raised in the South Bronx and transplanted to Worcester, Massachusetts.
I am a direct descendant of my fifteenth-generation grandmother, Hwanjile who was a Nigerian Princess, high priest, Kpojito and mother of Ahosu Gangnihessou Do-Aklin Aggassou, the founder of the African Kingdom of Dahomey and the spiritual system of Vodoun.
As far as I know, I am the only known member of my immediate family that has researched, studied, documented, observed, practiced and maintained our African ancestral lineage, heritage and culture and maintained our ancestral altars for my biological family over the last 35 years.
In 1988, entered my training under Nana Yao Opare Dinizulu, Omanhene and Okomfohene of the Bosum Dzemawodzi, the Akonedi Shrine in New York as an Akan Okomfo of Nana Adade Kofi and received the name: “Ama Anane Yeboa Botwe”. I was the first, and to this day, the only member of my immediate family, to journey home to the Motherland.
I traveled with Nana Yao Opare Dinizulu, Omanhene and Okomfohene of the Bosum Dzemawodzi, Akonedi Shrine in New York and a group of 52 African diasporan people that were priests of the Bosum Dzemawodzi, Akonedi Shrine. As an Akan Okomfo of Nana Adade Kofi, I was required to complete a portion of my training in Ghana. We traveled to Accra and lodged at the university of Legon. We visited with Okomfohemmaa Akua Oparebea, Okomfohene of the Akonedi shrine in Larteh, Ghana. As soon as we arrived, as I was stepping off the plane, I knew I had arrived home… I had virtually returned through the “Door of No Return”!
I was recently enstooled as an elder and as a Queen Mother by the National Black Council of Elders. On March 31, 2017, the National Black Council of Elders enstooled me as an Elder. The following week, on April 7, 2017, I was enstooled as Queen Mother by Queen Mother Wakeelah Martinez, of the Chartered Wichita, Kansas Council of Elders.
I am currently preparing for my initiation rite of passage from elder to ancestor and would prefer to complete my transition in Ghana.
I am awakening the ancestors who dwell within me as I’m learning and evolving, expanding my mind, strengthening my spirit and preparing myself emotionally for that final journey.
