Princess Nokia – Brujas
Published on Nov 7, 2016
Directed by Asli Baykal
Art Direction & Concept By Destiny Frasqueri
Produced By Blanco & Dj Bass Bear
Song sung By Djali Cepeda Brown
From the album '1992 Deluxe'
Genre - Hip Hop
I’ve been listening to hip-hop seriously for about five years now. It is a genre that is lead by the men mostly. That's why it is super exciting to follow how women grow in the hip-hop and to discover some new artists. In 2014 was the first time that I heard something of Princess Nokia. After two years of almost silence she released an EP ‘1992’, later she added 8 more tracks and released it as an album called ‘1992 Deluxe’. One of its greatest tracks is ‘Brujas’.
I chose this video for its strong values, appealing aesthetics and uniqueness plus I enjoy the song. If you follow Princess Nokia you can see that ancestors play a huge role in hers everyday life - she prays, do rituals and educate herself to become stronger and to improve the well-being. In the concerts and interviews she reaches out to young females and encourage them to do what they want, speak up, be in peace with themselves and achieve goals. For me as a young female, who listens to hip-hop, thinks that it is important to explore ancestors and celebrates uniqueness this video and the song itself speaks to me strongly. Below I will try to dig deep about the meaning of the video.
What you hear?
 |
| Yemoja |
In the beginning you can hear a song from the Yoruba religion in honor Yemoja – African Goddess of the Ocean and the patron deity of pregnant women. “Yemoja is notably addressed as mother of all the gods in the Yoruba pantheon, in which over three hundred gods and goddesses abound.” “In her path of Okutti she is the queen of witches carrying within her deep and dark secrets.”
Yemoja is a goddess from Yoruba religion. The roots of the religion comes from Nigeria. During the period of Atlantic slave trade, many Yoruba were captured and sold into the slave trade and transported to Argentina, Brasil, Cuba, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela, and other parts of America. According to this the literal translation of the lyrics is:
“Yemaya is the Gush of the Spring!
The Gush of the Spring is Yemaya!
The Mother if the Children of Fishes is the Owner of Rivers.
The Owner of Rivers is the Mother of the Children of Fishes.”
After the intro the song starts.
According to this “The Supreme Witch, known more colloquially as The Supreme, is a worldwide status recognized among the witches descended from the Salem Witch Trials. While most witches possess only a handful of inherent supernatural gifts, the Supreme is said to embody multiple, if not all.”
[Verse 1:]
We is them ghetto witches
Speaking in tongue bitches
She is referring to being a mysterious and magical women with her other women fellows from the ghetto.
Fall on the floor
Got sage on the door [x4]
Sage on the door is used for keeping the bad energy out and purify all who enter. “Fall on the floor” as I understand is meant that the person who just entered had a lot of bad energy that changed so radically so it caused the person to faint.
Talk shit, we can cast spells
Good witches, I fuck with
Bad bitches, we run shit
Good witches, I fuck with
Hopped off of my broomstick
Witchcraft, bitchcraft
Light magic, it's nothing
Princess Nokia here is saying that she with fellows are more powerful than “you”. After that she's describing the characteristics of girls from the ghetto. “North, East, West, South” is a reference to a ritual – Calling the Quarters.
[Chorus:]
Orisha, my alter [x3]
Got coins on the counter
An orisha is a spirit who reflects one of the manifestations of the supreme divinity in Yoruba religion. “Alter” is ”a pseudonym of an internet forum user's primary account. By saying “got coins on the counter” she could mean that she is ready for the next that's coming.
[Verse 2:]
In this verse she is proudly stating her heritage. The roots are from Africa, but after Atlantic slave trade her ancestors was brought to America. She proudly declares hers Afro-Latina background and states that being a witch has been always in her blood.
[Chorus:]
Orisha, my alter [x3]
Got coins on the counter
[x2]
She is warning “you” not to mess with her in any way. In witchcraft it is a common to set curses to your enemies that drains your energy.
[Verse 3:]
Casting spells with my cousins
I'm the head of this coven
And if you don't watch your step the greatest bitch will be back
I ain't no queen of the night
She has people around her with similar view that are like relatives to her. Coven is a group or gathering of witches who meet regularly and Princess Nokia is in the lead of it. Witches usually have the power to shape-shift into different animals. By saying that “you don't know who you loving” she knows how to manipulate very well.
“Better light you a candle; I heard the nighttime was black” By this she could mean that you should look up to her, how she is doing it, she can lead you in the bad times. Also maybe it is a reference to the saying “better to light one candle than to curse the darkness” which means “In the face of bad times or hopelessness, it is more worthwhile to do some good, however small, in response than to complain about the situation.”
If “you” will not be careful about how to behave, Princess Nokia will be your trouble.
To cast a circle in white is a reference to “casting a circle of protection is a way for Wiccans to protect themselves during magick work. It creates a high-energy space where you can safely carry out your magick, without the interference of any negative or harmful entities that might otherwise be attracted to your metaphysical energies during rituals and spell casting.” Princess Nokia can defeat anyone's desire to hurt. Nothing can stand in a way of her, because she is really strong and powerful.
I'm your supreme [x8]
In the outro there's a sample from the second episode of the third season of a TV show American Horror Story. The theme of the third season was witches.
[American Horror Story: Coven sample]
Tituba! Voodoo slave girl who graced us with her black magic
You made her a slave
Before that she came from a great tribe, the Arawak
She gave it to your girls of Salem
A gift repaid with betrayal
Maybe you ain't heard the news about civilization starting in Africa
We more than just pins in dolls and seeing the future in chicken parts
Everything you got, you got from us
“The Arawak are a group of indigenous peoples of South America and of the Caribbean.” The lines again highlights that a lot of culture and rituals are taken from hers heritage from Africa and one should do more research. She demands that her's heritage needs to be respected.
What you see?
In the beginning you can see the Yemoja – African Goddess of the Ocean and the patron deity of pregnant women standing in the water. It is not possible to see hers face, I believe it is that way to create more mysterious and magical effect that she is not human like, but something more.
Around the goddess are four women – four witches all dressed in white, because the colours of Yemoja are blue and white. Looks like they are praying to the goddess for their well-being.
The second place of the video is in the nature. You can see some scenes with women doing rituals like casting spells in the nature, using cards and other stuff.
The third place that is shown is in the ghetto where all of them have kinda like schoolgirl outfits – more regular.
After that we are back in the nature, but now we can see Oshun – “a Nigerian Yoruba deity of the river and freshwater, luxury and pleasure, sexuality and fertility, and beauty and love. She is connected to destiny and divination.”
 |
| Oshun |
Women dressed all white are bringing yellow flowers to her to show her theirs appreciation. Yellow flowers are Oshun's favourite flowers.
Now women are dressed in traditional Taino clothing. “Taíno people were among the indigenous people of the Caribbean. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the principal inhabitants of most of Cuba, Trinidad, Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and Puerto Rico.” Princess Nokia is a Puerto Rican.
Scenes of different women holding a snake and a little girl being around. I believe that it has something to do with snake symbolizing rebirth, but I'm not sure, because I couldn't find exact info about Taino tribe's meaning. “Snake Spirit has divergent symbolism in Native American tribes ranging from a huge monster that swallowed people in one gulp to the far more positive meaning of fertility (Pueblos) and rebirth (Ojibwa). One story from the Hopi tribe tells us of a winged Snake that communicates with the Earth Element. To honor this Spirit they have an annual dance that offers Snakes to the serpent, making prayers for the health and well-being of the tribe. Here and in several other North American tribes, Sneak is a rain-bringer.”
Then there's a scene where three women are braiding hair to the fourth one at the same time dressed all in white again. When they are in white they are representing Yoruba culture in which taking care of women hair takes a great role.
Since Yemoja is also a goddess of fertility the scene where all the women are soaking the dress in the water that could mean that they are praying for their own fertility and well being.
Then there’s a couple of scenes of Princess Nokia dancing and playing hand games with sisters.
Scene of magically appearing in different place in the ghetto. This is an example of one of the seven magical abilities that a witch can have known as "The Seven Wonders". One of them is Transmutation, it’s “the magical ability to move instantaneously from one place to another without physically occupying the space in between.”
It was quite tricky to wrap my head around the ending.
At the end of the video there can be seen two new women, one of them has horns. The meaning of horns could represent masculinity. In modern Pagan Witchcraft movement also known as Wicca there is a Horned God which “is viewed as the masculine side of divinity, being both equal and opposite to the Goddess. (..) For Wiccans, the Horned God is "the personification of the life force energy in animals and the wild" and is associated with the wilderness, virility and the hunt. (..) In traditional Wicca, the Horned God and the Goddess are seen as equal and opposite in gender polarity. However, in some of the newer traditions of Wicca, and especially those influenced by feminist ideology, there is more emphasis on the Goddess, and consequently the symbolism of the Horned God is less developed than that of the Goddess.” Since the artist is all about female power it could mean that woman with the horns represent woman being powerful and having it all.
In the last scene you can see previous sisters now dressed all black with two new women disappearing in the foggy night. I believe that it could mean that they are going for a hunt for those who misbehaved.
Interesting materials:
Princess Nokia and The Art Of Doing What You Want https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIH4MmtIHyI
Article about Santeria: http://pluralism.org/religions/afro-caribbean/afro-caribbean-traditions/santeria-the-lucumi-way/
Article about Santeria: http://pluralism.org/religions/afro-caribbean/afro-caribbean-traditions/santeria-the-lucumi-way/
National Geographic video about Santeria in Cuba, 5:06: https://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/cuba-santeria-pp
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