Excerpt

Mami closed her eyes and whispered a prayer. The lamplight danced on her face, filling it with shadows. She looked at the cement head.

"Eshu, is we here tonight; me, Gros-Jeanne, and my granddaughter Ti-Jeanne, and she baby with no name, and she baby father, Tony."

Tony started; looked over at Ti-Jeanne, who ignored the surprised question in his eyes. It made Ti-Jeanne mad. What Mami have to go and tell her business for?

Mami kept talking: "Eshu, we ask you to open the doors for we, let down the gates. Let the spirits come and talk to we. Look, we bring food for you, rum and sweet candy."

She took one of the candies out of the bowl, crunched it, and swallowed.

"We bring a cigar to light for you, Eshu, to sweeten the air with the smoke."

She picked up the cigar and put it to her mouth. She lit it, cheeks sucking in to draw it to life. She took a deep drag of the cigar and gently blew the smoke in Eshu's face.

"Eshu, we ask you to bring down the doors so the spirits could be here with we tonight. Spirits, please don't do no harm while you here; is we, your sons and daughters."

Mami balanced the still-burning cigar on the candy bowl. She got c ... read full excerpt from Brown Girl in the Ring ebook