Dr. Charles S. Finch III
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Cosaan
COSAAN FOUNDATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY: THE EVOLVING MISSION
The Cosaan Foundation, founded in 1996, has continued to keep abreast of the emerging cultural and spiritual trends evident in Africa and the Diaspora. Ever more information has come to light concerning the history and cultural antecedents of the African world and this accumulating data is slowly changing perceptions about Africa and people of African descent the world over. The Cosaan Foundation, in response to these developments, is channeling its energies into more dynamic explorations of African religion, spirituality, and cultural history.
The Spirituality of West Africa: The Bridge Across the Atlantic
Since 1996, the Cosaan Foundation has pursued a mission that includes (1) working with traditional and indigenous knowledge keepers in Africa and the Americas and (2) promoting programs of cross-cultural exchange of knowledge, information, and experience. As much as 85% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa still consults traditional healers who increasingly are being enlisted in the national and continental struggles against many devastating diseases, including HIV/AIDS. In August, 1996, the Cosaan Foundation in association with the Morehouse School of Medicine sponsored Coumba Lamba USA, an 8-day Lebu (Senegal) healing ceremony on St. Helena Island, South Carolina, which brought in traditional healers from Senegal, Nigeria, Hawaii, and five Native American tribes including the Inupak, Tlingit, Choctaw, Nez Perce, and Oneida. This event was supported by contributions from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Fetzer Institute, the International Institute of Education (Ford Foundation), the Department of Health and Human Services, the Health Department of the State of Georgia, and the Centers for Disease Control. Since then, the Cosaan Foundation has continued to sponsor retreats and workshops designed to explore the different facets of traditional knowledge in a cross-cultural context. Examples include a series of women's spiritual/ traditional knowledge retreats in December, 1998 and April, 2002. A men's spiritual retreat in March, 2000 was sponsored by Cosaan Foundation and featured as invited guests a traditional chief from Senegal, Maam Gorgui, and the Chief Kahuna of the Island of Hawaii, his Excellency Mr. Hale Makua.
The Cosaan Foundation, consistent with its founding principles, organized a 30-day tour for Monsieur Daniel and Madame Arita Sossah from Lomé, Togo, October 20 to November 20, 2004. Daniel Sossah is an initiate and practitioner of AFA (IFA), an internationally recognized divination and spiritual system that is consulted by nearly 100 million people in West Africa. Arita Sossah is one of the outstanding Mamissis in Lomé and as such has a wide regional reputation as a healer and counselor. Throughout the U.S., complementary and alternative medicine has found a place in the mainstream of medical care and practice, creating a new openness about exploring and collaborating with the traditional healing systems of other countries and cultures. Thus, the tour of Daniel and Arita Sossah was a significant event, exposing an increasing number of persons to the disciplines of traditional healing in Africa. The two practitioners from Togo visited four sites: Atlanta, Georgia, New Orleans, Louisiana, Miami, Florida, and Norfolk, Virginia. In Atlanta, the Sossahs conducted seminars at the Morehouse School of Medicine; in New Orleans, there were public workshops at Dillard University; in Miami, the University of Miami hosted a public presentation. In addition there were myriad community-based encounters with these two expert practitioners of the traditional knowledge systems of Togo.
Through the activities described above and others planned in the coming years, the Cosaan Foundation seeks to deepen and amplify its mission to study and explore African culture, history, spirituality, and healing B from antiquity to the present B as a basis to foster meaningful exchange and understanding between African populations on the continent and in the diaspora.
The Cosaan Foundation, founded in 1996, has continued to keep abreast of the emerging cultural and spiritual trends evident in Africa and the Diaspora. Ever more information has come to light concerning the history and cultural antecedents of the African world and this accumulating data is slowly changing perceptions about Africa and people of African descent the world over. The Cosaan Foundation, in response to these developments, is channeling its energies into more dynamic explorations of African religion, spirituality, and cultural history.
The Spirituality of West Africa: The Bridge Across the Atlantic
Since 1996, the Cosaan Foundation has pursued a mission that includes (1) working with traditional and indigenous knowledge keepers in Africa and the Americas and (2) promoting programs of cross-cultural exchange of knowledge, information, and experience. As much as 85% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa still consults traditional healers who increasingly are being enlisted in the national and continental struggles against many devastating diseases, including HIV/AIDS. In August, 1996, the Cosaan Foundation in association with the Morehouse School of Medicine sponsored Coumba Lamba USA, an 8-day Lebu (Senegal) healing ceremony on St. Helena Island, South Carolina, which brought in traditional healers from Senegal, Nigeria, Hawaii, and five Native American tribes including the Inupak, Tlingit, Choctaw, Nez Perce, and Oneida. This event was supported by contributions from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Fetzer Institute, the International Institute of Education (Ford Foundation), the Department of Health and Human Services, the Health Department of the State of Georgia, and the Centers for Disease Control. Since then, the Cosaan Foundation has continued to sponsor retreats and workshops designed to explore the different facets of traditional knowledge in a cross-cultural context. Examples include a series of women's spiritual/ traditional knowledge retreats in December, 1998 and April, 2002. A men's spiritual retreat in March, 2000 was sponsored by Cosaan Foundation and featured as invited guests a traditional chief from Senegal, Maam Gorgui, and the Chief Kahuna of the Island of Hawaii, his Excellency Mr. Hale Makua.
The Cosaan Foundation, consistent with its founding principles, organized a 30-day tour for Monsieur Daniel and Madame Arita Sossah from Lomé, Togo, October 20 to November 20, 2004. Daniel Sossah is an initiate and practitioner of AFA (IFA), an internationally recognized divination and spiritual system that is consulted by nearly 100 million people in West Africa. Arita Sossah is one of the outstanding Mamissis in Lomé and as such has a wide regional reputation as a healer and counselor. Throughout the U.S., complementary and alternative medicine has found a place in the mainstream of medical care and practice, creating a new openness about exploring and collaborating with the traditional healing systems of other countries and cultures. Thus, the tour of Daniel and Arita Sossah was a significant event, exposing an increasing number of persons to the disciplines of traditional healing in Africa. The two practitioners from Togo visited four sites: Atlanta, Georgia, New Orleans, Louisiana, Miami, Florida, and Norfolk, Virginia. In Atlanta, the Sossahs conducted seminars at the Morehouse School of Medicine; in New Orleans, there were public workshops at Dillard University; in Miami, the University of Miami hosted a public presentation. In addition there were myriad community-based encounters with these two expert practitioners of the traditional knowledge systems of Togo.
Through the activities described above and others planned in the coming years, the Cosaan Foundation seeks to deepen and amplify its mission to study and explore African culture, history, spirituality, and healing B from antiquity to the present B as a basis to foster meaningful exchange and understanding between African populations on the continent and in the diaspora.