Summary: Nanny was a spiritual leader, a healer skilled in herbalism and guerilla warfare. Her abilities included her understanding and use of the natural heritage of Taino ancestral lands, the Blue & John Crow Mountains. She is the pride of today’s Caribbean woman.

In this painting, Nanny steps into a river. Surrounding her are stylized Taino carvings of the Cemi’no (ancestral spirits). There are birds and plants unique to Xaymaca (Jamaica) that hold profound symbolism and intrinsic values. This piece was created with the intention of telling multiple stories at once, with the flexibility to change and alter focuses within the same painting. The combination of imagery within the painting portrays an in-depth lore that would be near impossible to cover in one essay.

Within indigenous ways of knowing Nanny’s foot touching the water serves as a link between birth, life and death. It also symbolizes purification, taking a step towards healing. Her foot is right behind a stylized statue of Atabey. Atabey is the Taino female creator ancestral spirit that represents primordial waters, fresh rivers and pools. In Taino spirituality they see all bodies of water as entities. Water is sacred. Without water, there is no life. Numerous sacred animals, herbs and trees surround her, and she protects them. Caves are also sacred, and caves are the openings to Atabey’s womb. The golden umbilical cord rooting straight into the earth and water signifies a permanent and unbreakable tie to the earth. The seed in Nanny’s hand is bright gold, surrounded by a fertility symbol. Burying the umbilical cord under a tree remains an important Afro-Indigenous traditional practice in Jamaica and signifies ancestral ties and connection with the land.