Conjuring the Calabash

MAWIYAH KAI EL-JAMAH BOMANI Mawiyah Kai EL-Jamah Bomani is an award-winning writer, educator, and spirit woman. Mawiyah is an eighth-generation Witch, Egun Medium, and Priestess of OYA in the Yoruba system of spirituality. She is also editor in chief of the culture and Afrikan Traditional Spirituality e-zine, Oya N'Soro. Mawiyah is the host of FishHeadsinRedGravy, a podcast dedicated to celebrating marginalized people of the esoteric/occult world. Her writings have appeared in numerous magazines, including The Crab Orchard Review, Dark Eros, and Catch the Fire. She has written several plays, including Spring Chickens, which won her the Southern Black Theatre Festival's 2012-2013 Playwright of the Year Award. She is also the Critical Mass 8 Literary Award winner and a KAT Artist Residency recipient. Mawiyah currently lives, writes, and conducts Orisa rituals, spiritual consultations, workshops, house cleansings, and divinations in both northern and southern Louisiana. Visit her at .