WOYENGI & THE MEDICINE WOMAN

 

A woman sets out on a quest to change her fate….

About the show:

In the beginning there was mud. At a large wooden table in the centre of this muddy expanse, accompanied by the awesome sound of thunder & lightning, sat the goddess of creation and fate. This is Woyengi. Rolling bodies into being between thumb and fore-finger, she invites each one to select their own destiny.

However, there is one among her creations who has changed her mind about her chosen future. Driven by a deep desire to bear children, Obingba the Medicine Woman sets out on a quest to take on the Goddess and transform her fate, bringing about chaos and disaster in her quest for an alternative life.

Join Jan Blake and percussionist Pan Pradere as they take you on a journey through this little known creation myth from the Ijaw people of the Niger Delta.

Bio:

Jan Blake is a storyteller, consultant, mentor & plenary speaker who has been performing world-wide since 1986. Born in Manchester, UK to Jamaican parents, Jan specialises in folktales and myths from the Caribbean, West Africa, North Africa, and the Arab regions.

Always innovating within the form she has a well-earned reputation for dynamic and generous storytelling – appearing at most major international storytelling festivals – leads storytelling workshops for schools and universities and has been a contributor to BBC Radio programmes.

Career highlights include storyteller-in-residence at Hay Festival, the Viljandi International Folk Music Festival in Estonia and TEDx Warsaw & Tedx Manchester.

.