written by Lisa Pérez 

The white-clad men, women, and children began arriving at dawn, shortly before six in the morning: at first a van and a taxi-cab, then one car after another, to a beach on Lake Michigan, a body of water so vast that it bounds four states and resembles the ocean in its horizon-filling breadth. This is where Yemojá has agreed to receive offerings from her landlocked children in an annual celebration sponsored by Chicago’s Ilé Osikan. In past years, Olorisha Richard “Lalu” Mosley built a boat to launch into the lake filled with offerings, but as of late, the community has opted to create a large wreath that floats on the waves as if it were a raft, nailing together wooden boards and weaving leaves and flowers between the thin slats. Continue reading →