And we were content. Our lives had meaning. Some had completed our initiations, some were beginning our initiations. Through this process, we became students of the universe. We learned the healing herbs of the forest. We learned the activity of the ants on the hills. We learned the difference between the sky and the heavens. We learned the difference between the brain and the mind. We were schooled. We were scolded. We were honored. We were praised. We were reprimanded. But we were home.

Among us lived every spirit conceivable. Men who loved women, women who loved men. Women who loved women, men who loved men. These were not choices but life assignments. Everyone had one. There were people who could read the signs in the heavens. People who lived both here and beyond. People who could hear the voice of God. People who understood the makings of the universe. People who interpreted the song of the wind. People who never bore children, but raised everyone. People who wept when others wept. People who inspired by words alone. People who told stories and never became redundant. People who walked the forest at night without fear. People who healed with their hands. People who brought forth fruit from the land. People who carved masks with perfect precision. People whose joy was helping other people. People who stood guard over our spirits.

There were other people, too. People who talked too much. People who loved lies more than truth. People who tampered with evil. People who wouldn’t work. People who were consumed with jealousy. Manipulation. Deceit. Scorn. People who held grudges for far too long. People who sowed discord in the community. People who tore families apart with dissension. People with poor discretion. People with malnourished minds. And so on. We were wonderful, but we were not flawless. We knew excellence because we knew failure. We were human beings.

We’d built kingdoms that lived in legend. Luanda, Kissi, Temne, and Dahomey all boasted kings, governors, and organizational documents that told the world how to administrate large numbers of people. Oyo stood as the military capital of the world. It trained soldiers with such precision that most enemies surrendered to avoid being decimated. Gola, Kongo, and Lunda inspired neighbors with artistic displays of dance, poetry, and kente weaving unequaled anywhere in the region. The nations of Fula, Mande, Susu, and Vili built wealth by trading fish from nearby rivers and lakes. Some kingdoms, however, gained power at the hands of the poor. Those of nonroyal birth often found themselves in the service of royalty. Fata Jallon thrived precisely because the majority of its citizens surrendered their goods to the ruling regime. This was not rare. We were not pleased. Still, we were home.

We were people who loved balance. The most attractive girl among us was neither fat nor thin. We admired a mid-size frame, carried by one of enormous confidence. Too much flesh meant one was prone to laziness; too little meant one’s family could not provide. We shunned extremities. We welcomed the rain just as we celebrated the sun. We beckoned the night much as we summoned the dawn. We slept as much as we worked. We laughed as much as we wept. We birthed as often as we buried. This was life. Everything in its time.