YeYe Luisah Teish is a beloved elder, a master storyteller, and an initiated priestess (Iyanifa) of the Ifa/Orisha tradition of the African diaspora. She is the founder and spiritual leader of Ile Orunmila Oshun (House of Destiny and Love) and a member of the Mother Earth Delegation of United Indigenous Nations.

Her classic Jambalaya opened a gateway for countless women into the beauty of African spiritual traditions, while A Calabash of Cowries carries the voices of the Orishas and the wisdom of the natural world. Her prayers and poetry have been translated into seven Indigenous languages, and her collaborations with Elders of the Diné, Toltec, Potawatomi, Māori, and Hawaiian traditions have deepened the weaving of global community.

Honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Black Women’s Congress and the Demeter Award for her contributions to feminist culture and spirituality, YeYe Teish continues to serve as a vessel of ancestral wisdom. Through her storytelling, ceremony, and radiant presence, she invites us to remember the sacred stories that live in our bones and the devotion that binds us to the Earth.