Iya Keturah Monroe
Iya Omisayade-Osunremimo, lovingly called “Iya Keturah,” was born and raised in Queens, NY to a strong African-centered, spiritually gifted and culturally diverse family. Her parents were musicians, artists and educators, which gave her a creative and scientific lens to every endeavor.
The Journey to Global Community Service
As a young person, Keturah travelled extensively throughout West Africa and the Caribbean studying the healing sciences, philosophies and religious practices of her ancestors. She was impassioned by the stories of the courage and strength they had to keep their traditions alive as they suffered through the middle passage and gave birth to the African Diaspora. Her parents instilled in her that education was the true path to freedom. This fueled her dedication to a life of learning and community service. So it was no surprise to her family when she got her first initiation into the Yoruba tradition. Within that same year, she was enstooled as a tribal chief and became an internationally recognized priestess of Yemoja & Osun Logun by her elders in Lagos, Nigeria.
First day of priesthood and beginning of the “year in white.”
A moment to reflect on the meaning of her work as an Iya.
Following in the footsteps of her ancestors, as do many other diasporic people, “Iyawo” Keturah (new priest) decided to initiate into more African spiritual traditions to maintain their prominence and access to her bloodline. Her Caribbean Godparents “made” her a Grand Mambo in Sanci-Vouldoun (a Latino lineage of Vouldoun) and a “Yaya Nkisi” in Bakongo (Palo Kimbiza), a Congolese tradition that unites peoples and cultures throughout the deep interior and southern countries of Africa. This would ensure that future generations would be able to use these spiritual resources to actualize their destinies in whatever life paths they choose.
Community Engagement and Outreach
All of the spiritual traditions Iya Keturah initiated were once principal governing systems for nations, led by kings, who were almost always priests as well. Ancient people understood that ancestral veneration, divination and spiritual counsel were essential to state governance and any successful reign of power for a ruler. All matters of law and order were addressed through spiritual means.
This marriage between spiritual and political power became ancient African peoples’ greatest strength and subsequent mortal fear of their enemies. All imperialists setting out to conquer African nations did their best to destroy these traditions during times of war and colonialism. Fear forced many traditions into hiding, away from those who would kill its priests and erase their influence on future generations.
“Baba Ogunse” at his first ancestral community event.
This is a traditional ancestral “Masquerade,” a major component of all community ancestral ceremonies. This is a literal “shrine suit” that traditional egungun priests wear. The priest (who remains anonymous) dances and engages the community with spiritual messages from their ancestors during the ceremony.
To keep many African spiritual traditions’ essence and roots intact, enslaved Africans reimagined them by merging with religions considered “acceptable.” These adaptations helped traditions survive cultural genocide and the demoralizing trauma of slavery. Today, the Yoruba tradition has two diasporic versions called Santeria and Lucumi, which are practiced and accepted by people from many different cultures and ethnicities around the world.
Community offerings in Baltimore, MD
Community shrines and offerings: food, drinks, candles and money for ancestors and the Orisa (divinities) that support them. People participating in the ceremony can bring items to a table with photos of loved ones to share in celebration.
Later in her priesthood, Iya Keturah was ordained as a minister of the Universal Life Church. This provided her with an excellent bridge between African traditions and her Christian roots, which provided the diverse communities she serves with spiritual counseling from many different perspectives as well as conventional rites of passage ceremonies including but not limited to baptisms, weddings, grief counseling and funeral services.
Having a multidisciplinary background in education and world religions provides a strong foundation for comprehensive community outreach programs that can serve the needs of a growing global community.
Establishing an Ile & Building Partnerships
All the priestesses of Ile Yemaya Achaba Obara Meji,
hosting Ancestral Veneration Day at Cylburn Arboretum in Baltimore, MD
Iya established her first spiritual house (Ile) in Baltimore, MD with a view towards cultivating partnerships with other priests in other traditions to expand her network and community outreach. The mission, given by spirit, was to offer people diverse models for “good character” and practical pathways to spiritual sovereignty by connecting individuals with their Egungun (elevated ancestral bloodlines). This community ancestral work would require a collective of individuals with diverse backgrounds and expertise in several transformational disciplines. “No man is an island entire of himself.” Building healthy relationships with people of different socio-economic and culturally diverse communities is key for our work at Ile Yemaya Achaba Obara Meji.
Our Ile Healing Science Expo in Roanoke Rapids, NC
Iya Ayo Minirah, member of clergy, offers Tantric services.
In our Ile, we have Reiki Masters, Massage Therapists, Yoga & Tantra practitioners, Midwives, Psychologists and Cultural Anthropologists, experts in clinical research, and environmental stewards. Every discipline has a role to play in providing agency to the people we serve when they are offered through a spiritual lens. Understanding spirit and the messages they bring requires information to make living a spiritual life practical. We coordinate our individual gifts to serve the greater mission of community sovereignty as we “live in power” together.
Healing Science Expo in Baltimore, MD
Iya Osunremilekun, a Reiki Master, offers attunement to community member.
Our Spirit-Led Introspective Work
After several years of integrating all these wellness therapies into her spiritual work and with the support of her Ile, Yemoja Achaba Obara Meji, Iya Keturah developed a signature introspective process to personal empowerment called Living In Power. This method assists people in addressing their “plurality” as a complex spiritual being. It identifies all aspects of the “Community of Self” so that healing work can be directed to specific “members,” making it easier to identify the power dynamics at play inside one’s community of self and outside in relationships with others. Once in the program, Living in Power offers an intensive ongoing maintenance practice we call “staying in power” which focuses on mastering the ego, cultivating pride in one’s uniqueness and promoting emotional resilience in daily life.
Our laymen and clerical members are very active in supporting our service mission. They help coordinate our annual community ancestral events and regularly attend our healing science classes, group counseling sessions called “Check-In.” We also provide daily support through our social media Facebook group called STAY IN POWER PEOPLE! These programs help keep our members engaged with each other and consistent with their spiritual and introspective work to live in power. All people are invited to join this group, regardless of their age, race, color, gender identification or creed.
Sunday “Check-In” with STAY IN POWER PEOPLE group.
Ancestral Veneration Day with Creative Alliance (2022).
Ile members pray, sing, chant and dance with egun (ancestral) staffs to call community ancestors. People are invited to share stories about departed loved ones as we call them all forward to be uplifted in community as one family.
Education is the Key to Living in Power
The education of our children is a major part of “living in power.” “Finally, my degree in Biology and Environmental Science will be useful,” she thought. It became clear that including children in our work was critical to the legacy of our mission to empower people. Our children’s unique connections to diasporic influences, ancient history, modern sciences and their own creative genius needed stewardship. Creating an international education extension to our mission helped meet that need; and so OURSEP (Open your eyes! Understand your greatness! Revive your practices! ST.E.A.M. Enrichment Programs) was born!
All OURSEP programs include science, technology, engineering, arts (cultural), and applied mathematics. They are designed specifically to support and partner with existing K–12 programs in educational institutions throughout the world. We offer a holistic approach to the educational experience for students. OURSEP inspires young minds to use education to explore their unique gifts, expand their world view and learn how to translate their skills into community service.
Students create works of cultural art and science to display at the OURSEP Interactive Cultural Science and Art Fair at the Trenton Public Library.OURSEP program at Julius Sprauve School in St John, USVI
Students show off their arrow head spears and grass skirts made to honor the indigenous Caribs of the USVI.