Gbadu - the African Goddess of Fate

Show Transcript

Her story begins upon the back of an elephant as it makes its way into the lands of Alkebulan- the grand continent now known as Africa.

Riding upon the mighty animal was Mawa. She had been sent by the supreme creator Nana Buluku to fill the lands. Climbing down from the elephant, Mawa now took clay and formed all the people and animals to fill the world. Some stayed upon the ground, others took to the oceans, while the rest took to the skies.

It was a glorious and abundant world, now filled with more than she alone could oversee. So with her husband Lisa, she birthed seven sons and seven daughters and each one was given a duty to support her in protecting all that she had created.

Gbadu was her eldest daughter and the first woman, as such she was cherished by Mawa, and her responsibility was to be one of honour and utmost importance. Mawa took her to the tallest of palm trees and gifted it to Gbadu. 

The palm tree would be her throne and her home. It was also from here that Gbadu would perform her grand duty. For it was now upon Gbadu to watch and observe all the world.

She would look out upon the kingdom of the sea, the kingdom of the sky and the kingdom of the earth. Mawa kissed her daughter upon the forehead and Gbadu’s two eyes become sixteen encircling her head so that she could look upon the three kingdoms no matter which way she faced. 

Each night upon her palm tree, Gbadu would close her eyes and sleep. Yet each morning she could not open her eyes. For this she was helped by her brother Legba.

Legba had been granted the duty of regulator of the world. As Gbadu sat and observed the world, Legba would climb the palm tree each day to hear of what she had seen. On that first morning when he arrived at the top of the tree he was overcome when his sister would not open her eyes. Then he realised she could not.

He reached out to do so but was unsure as to which eyes to open. For each day Gbadu opened only those which would show her the regions she wanted to observe that day. When Legba asked as to which eyes to open, Gbadu would not answer with words as she did not want the kingdoms to hear who would be under her scrutiny that day.

Instead, she let her brother know by placing kernels from her palm tree within his hand. Together they devised a code letting Legba know which of her eyes to open that morning. Once this was complete they sat together and Gbadu would share what she had seen the day before.

Gbadu looked so forward to her brother’s visits each day and they developed a deep, intimate relationship. For Gbadu missed her mother Mawa terribly, and Legba was her only connection back to her mother.

One day Gbadu confessed this to Legba, saying that she felt she was forgetting the very language of their mother. Legba took her hands within his and assured his sister that she could never forget their mother. To make this true, he promised Gbadu that each day as he visited that together they would remember the language of their mother, for as well as being the regulator of the world, it was also Legba’s duty to teach his mother’s words.

It wasn’t just that Gbadu feared her tongue losing the vocabulary. It was more her dread that in forgetting the language of her mother that Gbadu would also forget that it was Mawa who had bestowed upon her the breath of life. To neglect one’s connection back to the creator mother, one would also lose their relationship to their soul and life purpose. It was this sense of loss that had weighed upon Gbadu’s heart so heavily.  

Now as she shared the language with Legba each day she felt Mawa close again. Gbadu looked out upon the world and remembered her purpose.

As she looked out to the realms she saw so many of the people were forgetting their connection to Mawa, and so too they lost their remembrance of their soul and their destiny upon the earth. 

The energy of this disconnection was not held to the people who walked the earth. It flowed out to the other kingdoms so that waters did not flow and with the rain forgetting how to fall from the sky.

The discord grew and grew. Legba sat with Gbadu each day as she shared the growing disfunction of Mawa’s creations. He knew that soon a great war would erupt from this disharmony. Gbadu and Legba decided that someone should visit the people and reteach them the language of Mawa so that they would remember their soul and the grander purpose of their life.  

Gbadu decided that it should be herself that would visit the people and remind them of their connection to Mawa, so that they would rekindle their soul love and clearly see their life path.

Gbadu descended from her palm tree for the first time since Mawa had gifted it to her. She was about to begin her journey when her mother appeared and stopped her. Mawa could not let her precious daughter embark upon such an arduous task. Her daughter was still needed to watch the kingdoms from upon her throne.

Instead Mawa chose three of Gbadu’s sons, for Gbadu was also a mother having divinely birthed two daughters and seven sons while atop her palm tree. The three chosen sons were taught Mawa’s language by Legba and when their education was complete, the three men made their way to the kingdom of the earth.

It would be there that they would then teach each and every person what they had learned from Legba. As they did so it was hoped by Mawa they would remember that it was she that had given them their very essence; the breath of life which the people would call sekpoli.

Sekpoli was far more than the simple breath that moved through them. It was the gift of walking the kingdom of earth, it was the drive to live a complete life and to contribute to the world around them. It was so easy to forget they were part of something so much grander, and Mawa’s language reminded them of this.

When her son’s left her, Gbadu returned to her palm tree, but not before her mother gave her one more duty. Mawa handed Gbadu sixteen keys. She explained to her daughter that each key opened a door into the future. Gbadu’s new duty was to be a medium for those upon the earth to communicate with Mawa and their soul. 

Now as Gbadu sat atop her palm tree, she held these keys in her hands. Upon the earth, her sons taught people how they could call to Gbadu, asking her to open her eyes, then to take a key and open a door, revealing their future as designed by Mawa. The person would take palm kernels within their own hand, choosing an amount that would open the eyes needed to see their fate. Within her palm tree, Gbadu’s eyes would open, she would take a key and open the door to reveal that person’s destiny.

Through the door she would see the path that Mawa had chosen for them and send this vison to Earth to the one who was asking.  If their heart were clear and they had truly remembered their soul, they would see their purpose and know the actions they would need to take to manifest the great mother’s intentions for them. However, for those not choosing to connect with their divine origins, their path would remain clouded and distant.

Gbadu remains as Mawa’s intermediary, for this was the fate of her own Sekpoli- a destiny designed by a goddess of whose womb she was born. Sitting atop her palm tree still, she remains devoted to being the connection between those who walk the Earth realm and their divine origins. 

For those with a clear heart and desire to know the majesty of a life filled with their soul, the future is waiting and ready to be known. Gbadu waits upon her throne for the call to come, and then with so much love she will open the doorway for them to step through.

Listen to the audio of this story at 
https://www.spreaker.com/user/8255993/gbadu

©2021 Marisa Calvi

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