The Shango Festival · Guerneville, California

Isokan The Blessed Binary

Seven days on sacred land. The sacred masculine and sacred feminine held in right proportion — thunder, drum, ancestor, feast. On the land or by virtual pass.

June 14 — 21  ·  2026
Reserve a seat Tie a Shango Ribbon
The Calling

Come to the land. There is work to do together.

Isokan means oneness. A convergence. A gathering of parts that have been made to forget one another — and now, in right time, return.

For seven days in Shango’s season, we come together on the land in Guerneville — villagers, priests, elders, children — to study, to ritual, to eat, to rest, and to honor what the ancestors ask of us now. Chief Iyanifa Yeye Luisah Teish leads the week. The Egbe Council of the Ile walk beside her. The work is held with joy, precision, and lineage-accountable care.

This is the first Shango Festival of the Jambalaya Center. It is also the beginning of a rhythm we intend to keep for seven generations.

Three chairs gathered on the land in Guerneville
Chief Iyanifa Yeye Luisah Teish in ceremonial gold
Chief Iyanifa Luisah Teish · Yeye
Led By

Yeye and the Egbe Council.

Chief Iyanifa Luisah Teish — author of Jambalaya, priestess in the Lucumí tradition of Ifá/Orisha worship, chief in the Fatunmise Compound of Ile Ife, Nigeria — carries the lineage at the center of this gathering.

She is joined by the Egbe Council of the Ile — Oludari of Egbe Egungun Shylah Hamilton-Touré, Oludari of Egbe Osain Iya Sobande Greer, Oludari of Egbe Ogun Aiye Jamie “Raven” McGill — and by invited priests from across the African diaspora who have answered Yeye's call.

When we hold the masculine and the feminine in right proportion, the whole comes alive. That is Isokan. That is the blessing. Yeye Luisah Teish
Isokan · The Blessed Binary

Two becomes one. One holds two.

The Yoruba cosmology teaches that the universe moves through complementary forces — masculine and feminine, sky and earth, thunder and water, forge and river. Neither is complete without the other. Neither is the truth by itself.

Shango is the thunder and the sacred drum. Oya is the wind that carries the storm. Obatala is the white cloth. Yemaya is the ocean. Ogun is the iron. Oshun is the sweet water. Across this week, we honor the male and female Orishas together, in proper proportion, in ceremony and in teaching — and we hold a long-form workshop on the Goddesses of the World, remembering the many names by which the Mother is known.

Seven Days on the Land

The rhythm of the week.

Each day carries its own teaching. The land, the creek, the redwoods, the three trees — each holds part of the week's work. Morning and evening Zoom windows keep the remote village in the circle.

Sunday · 14

Arrival

Welcome to the land

Villagers arrive, settle in, and gather for a welcome feast and opening circle.

Monday · 15

Land Blessing

Redwood Circle

Blessing the ground we stand on. Prayers for the forests at the Redwood Circle.

Tuesday · 16

Sojourn to the River

A day at the water

A ritual day at the river with Iya Sobande and Baba Akin. Evening teaching on the male Orishas.

Wednesday · 17

Isokan Workshops

Female Orishas · Goddesses of the World

A full day of workshops. Female Orishas with Yeye and elders. Max Dashu on Goddesses of the World.

Thursday · 18

Workshop & Village Dinner

A gentler evening

An afternoon workshop. Dinner off-property at Saucy Mama with the whole village. A lighter night.

Friday · 19

Honoring the Ancestors

Freda · Damballah · The Feast

Shy's Sacred Ancestor Drawing with Egun. Ceremony for Freda and Damballah Hwedo. Labyrinth. The Feast.

Saturday · 20

The Great Ebbo

Fire · Procession · Three Trees

Fire ceremony, the full procession, and Yeye's ribbon fastening at the three trees. The sacred peak of the week.

Sunday · 21

Closing

Departure blessings

A gentle closing circle. Gratitude and send-off. Villagers depart.

Full schedule coming soon The complete day-by-day — with times, teachings, and teachers — is being finalized. Confirmed villagers receive the full program before arrival.

Teachings, Ceremonies & Offerings

What the week holds.

A weaving of study, ritual, art, and embodied practice. Some of what is planned — more will unfold in proper time.

Male Orishas · Female Orishas

Held in proper proportion

Teaching circles on the roles and right relationships of the Orishas. Male Orishas with the Ogboni Chief, Baba Akin, and Oba Omitosin. Female Orishas with Yeye, Iya Sobande, and Iya Ayele.

Goddesses of the World

Max Dashu

A long-form presentation on the Mother across cultures and cosmologies — the many names, the one lineage of the sacred feminine.

Sacred Ancestor Drawing with Egun

Shylah Hamilton-Touré · Friday

An embodied drawing practice that invites Egun into the page. Honored by Oludari of Egbe Egungun, placed on the ancestor day of the week.

Herbal Care & Plant Wisdom

Iya Sobande Greer · Master Herbalist

Plant medicine and herbal first aid on the land. A teaching session for adults and a children's herbal tea making circle.

A Sojourn to the River

Iya Sobande & Baba Akin · Tuesday

A full day at the river. The most intimate water ceremony of the festival, led by the Master Herbalist and her partner in Ogun Aiye.

Redwood Circle & Land Blessing

Opening day ceremony

Blessing the ground. Prayers for the forests. A visit to the Redwood Circle to meet the trees that hold this region.

Praise Singing & Drumming

Drum circle for Shango

The sacred drum that calls the village together. Praise singing to Shango and to the Orishas throughout the week.

Labyrinth Ceremony

Friday · embodied practice

A walking ceremony of release and return. Held in the middle of the week when the work asks to be moved through the body.

Children's Programming

Near the main house

Orisha coloring, planting, beading, altar building, nature walks, tree meetings. A gentle, ceremonial container for the little ones.

Freda & Damballah Hwedo

Friday afternoon ceremony

Ancestor ceremony honoring Damballah Hwedo and Erzulie Freda — serpent and love, wisdom and tenderness held together.

Dramatic Reading & Storytelling

A night for the voice

A shared evening of telling and hearing — the stories we carry, the stories we've been asked to pass down.

And much more

Woven through the seven days

Invited priests from the diaspora arriving with their own teachings. Sharing circles. Integration breaks. The village cooking together.

Saturday · June 20 · 2026

The Great Ebbo. The procession. The three trees.

Saturday is the ceremony the week has been preparing for. Fire is lit in the afternoon. The procession begins at the porches — salutes to Elegba, Ogun, and Ochossi; the Shango and Aganju altar; the offering of twenty-four quarters; the taking of the banner strip.

The village crosses the bridge asking Aganju to carry us across the waters of life. Each head is cleansed as we pass through Obatala's white awning. Then the walk continues to the three trees — where Yeye speaks the five requests of Shango and fastens every ribbon, from villagers on the land and from those at home.

The drum rises. The ribbons are tied. Praise singing for Shango opens the closing hours. A dramatic reading is offered. Elegba is sung out of the field.

This is the sacred peak of the week. The day the year turns on.

$6
Shango's sacred number · Twenty-four quarters
Register by June 13
The Shango Ribbon Offering

Whether you are on the land or at home — your ribbon belongs at the three trees.

If you cannot travel to Guerneville, the Center holds a place for you in the Saturday ebbo. At registration you write your name and the intention or prayer you are carrying to Shango. On Saturday June 20, Chief Iyanifa Yeye Luisah Teish personally ties that ribbon at the three trees.

Before the procession begins, ribbon participants gather with Yeye on Zoom. After the festival, you are notified that your ribbon was placed.

$6 is Shango's sacred number. It does not change. The offering is open to everyone — you do not need another festival ticket to register. Registration closes Saturday June 13, the day before villagers arrive. No exceptions — ribbons must be prepared before the week opens.

Tie a Ribbon
Join the Village

How to come. There is more than one pathway.

Choose the way you can arrive. All registration — residential, off-site, single-day, virtual, ribbon, and RV — flows through the Center's Zeffy portal.

Full Festival · Residential

Seven days of teaching, ceremony, meals, and on-land sleeping. Shared lodging on the property.

Full Festival · Off-Site + Meals

All programming and meals for seven days. Arrange your own lodging with our partners in Guerneville.

Single Day with Meals

Come for the day that calls to you. The Great Ebbo on Saturday June 20 is the day if you can only come for one.

Virtual Pass · Available

Join from wherever you are. Morning and evening Zoom windows across all seven days. Full programming access by livestream.

Shango Ribbon

Your ribbon placed at the three trees by Yeye during the Saturday ebbo. $6. Register by June 13.

Scholarship Sustainer

An act of communal care — your gift funds a seat for a community member who cannot attend at current prices.

RV Hookup

Two spots on the land — one 30-amp and one 50-amp. Add-on to a Full Festival registration.

Jambalaya Ambassadors

Called to serve? The Jambalaya Ambassadors pathway is a covenantal work-trade — separate application.

Sacred Marketplace · Vendor

For aligned artisans, herbalists, oracle workers, and ritual goods makers. $150 booth fee, juried — separate application.

Reserve your seat Jambalaya Ambassadors → Apply as Vendor →
The meadow at 11900 Hwy 116 in Guerneville
Jambalaya Ambassadors

Called to serve the Ile.

Twenty ambassadors will be called to the land this June. Jambalaya Ambassadors is a covenantal work-trade pathway — not a discount, not a loose volunteer role. Each ambassador commits 3–5 days, brings their own tent, is assigned to an Egbe, and becomes part of the architecture that holds the village.

Applications are reviewed by Iya Sobande Greer, Oludari of Egbe Osain and Master Herbalist. Ambassadors who serve well are invited back annually.

Learn about Jambalaya Ambassadors
Practical Information

What you need to know.

Where

The sacred land stewarded by the Jambalaya Center is in Guerneville, California — among the redwoods, the meadow, and Pocket Canyon Creek. Exact address shared with confirmed villagers.

Lodging

On-land shared lodging is available for Full Festival Residential. Off-site villagers arrange Guerneville-area lodging through our local partners. Two RV hookups on the land — 30-amp and 50-amp.

Daily Rhythm

Zoom windows at 9:00–9:30 am and 7:00–7:30 pm Pacific each day. Program closes at 9:30 pm. Three thirty-minute integration breaks daily. Elders rest protected midday.

Meals

Full meals provided each day of the festival. Dietary restrictions collected at registration. Thursday night we gather off-property at Saucy Mama's for a shared village dinner.

Children

Children are welcome and held in their own gentle programming near the main house. Parents remain on-site and reachable at all times. A liability waiver is required for all minors.

Accessibility

Most sessions take place on the meadow and around the house. Some ritual work happens on uneven ground and at the creek. If you have access needs, contact us at registration and we will work it through with you.

Scholarship

If the current tier pricing is a stretch, reach out. Scholarship is held for community members — sustained by the Scholarship Sustainer tier and Yeye's discretion.

Questions

Email info@jambalayacenter.org. We answer within a few days.