Nro Ala #1
- Ino A. Kodjo
- Jul 11
- 5 min read
Updated: Aug 6
Hi,
Some of you know me, some of you do not. I've been on somewhat of a hiatus for a long while. I'd like to reintroduce myself. I've gone under many monikers, but from now on, I want to be called by my ogbanje name, Ino Kodjo. For those of you who don't know me, I am an ogbanje Griot, musician, Vodou man, oneiromancer and surrealist painter. My goal is to reintroduce dream analysis to marginalized communities as a pathway to inter/intrapersonal healing, cultural reclamation, and non carceral community care. I want to share bits of my own story too. Though, I am not sure how much I'll want to divulge here, in thus experimental blog/zine. Anywho, if you're still reading, welcome to Nro Ala, where we playfully explore oneirology, entomology, Black Culture, Beauty, Magic and more!
First Up, Top Five Bug Beauty Count Down!
~ a weekly count down of my favorite insects and arachnids in Turtle Island. Loved for their bizarre and/or dazzling beauty and their interesting social habits.
#4 The Bolas Spider ( Mastophora cornigera) for her mastery of disguise and elite hunting skills
The Bolas Spider is--not a spider at all! It is a moldy mushroom with eight legs! A pile of poo!I know, I know you're thinking "um, ew?" But but but, stick with me here. Bolas Spidies like to hang out in gardens, woodland edges and shrubby areas. so they had to develop a sort of camo. They bulbous bod looks like bird poop or a large snail to predators. It is absolutely fascinating the way buggy bodies adapt over time! Also, if you know spiders you know lots of them are stellar hunters. Get this: Female Bolas spiders, though technically orb weavers don't spin webs instead, they use a single silken line with a globule at the end, which mimics female moth pheromones once a male moth is within striking distance he basically gets lassoed. Bolas Spiders are Cowgirl Queens of the South! Check it out....pssst. Bolas Spiders are harmless! Don't squish them!
#3 The Six Spotted Tiger Beetle
(Cicindela sexguttata) for it's gorgeous green sheen and also cause these niggas actually do not fuck around at all, hahaha. They are so fast baby!!!! They literally run so fast that it blurs their vision hahaha. That is actually so unfair to other bugs and I understand why they are called the cheaters of the beetle world now. They also have fuckin', impressive mandibles. Take a look
I promised yall some cuteness so lets wind down from all that ferocity with
#2, The Whirligig Beetle (dineutus discolor/gyrinus species), because look. Look how small and cute. Splendid Little Beetle Bean!
I really fuck with beetles, do y'all fuck with beetles?
THESE lil cuties are aquatic, they have two sets of eyes! One on the top of their body and one beneath. This makes them excellent swimmers on and below the surface. Adults feed on dead or dying bugs on the surface of the water and larvae prey on living aquatic insects. They can also fly. I think I like whirligigs cause when I think about it, if an insect could ever understand what it feels like to be a two headed necromancer, maybe it is the Whirligig Beetle. I don't feel so alone when I think of it that way, you know?
Here's a video of them swimming around, it's kinda soothing.
#1 Fluttering in ever so gracefully the Sycamore Lace Bug (corythucha confraterna) -- Imma call her Cory if i ever meet her! She is number one for her fragile beauty.
Aren't they so beautiful? I am enamored. I have not been this smitten with any species other than spiders if I am being honest. I've never seen these in real life. They are most common in eastern Turtle Island and are they feed on the sap of sycamore, ash, hickory, and mulberry trees. Considered a bit of pest for gardens. They cluster together on the undersides of leaves. If you've ever seen one or a bunch of these please send in your pics!
In Japan, there have been reports of Sycamore Lace bugs biting humans and sucking their blood. Entomologists say this is likely an accident, they fall from trees and probe humans the same way they would a tree before realizing there is no sap. But I don't know! I'm a little suspicious of these little pals! What do you think? Are they vamps? Would you let em into the Bug Juke?
aight, aight, aight, now that you got your creepy, charismatic crawler craving, I present to you:
Today's Non-Binary Experience
In this moment I am but a small boy lost in the magic of imagining himself and a word that is as audacious, spirited, dazzling and spell binding as she is. If I had to explain.
PLEASE if you are a gender bender, send me a picture collage of your nonbinary experience to be featured in next month's blog! Explanations are NOT compulsory!
Dear Diarrhea !
This is a column for sharing weird/unsettling/nonsensical/whimsical/whatever other adjectives you want to add dreams. I start my entries like this when I am feeling stressed!
Lately, Nro Ala (igbo for DreamLand) is very difficult for me. Very stressful. I keep dreaming that I am crouched next to someone, creeping around different neighborhoods. I never look over at them because before I know it we are running so fast. Almost like the tiger beetles. Everything is really Blurry. The glimpses I am able to save seem eerily familiar though I cannot yet place them into my waking memories. Some dreams are set during the day, in those I am traveling by train or entering a strange airport. Like, it has the lighting, and the packed-like-sardines...sticky floor feeling that old biker bars do. But everyone has suit cases. And there is a reddish/burgundy escalator. I wake up before I can get to the top. But once we enter, it's nighttime. If it's night time when the dream starts, I am just creeping and running around neighborhoods. As always my dreams are the focus of my paintings. I am beginning if by painting about my time in Portland and The Very Bad Thing,
I have recovered some memories of my episodes of somnambulism. I have also read in Projection of the Astral Body, by Muldoon and Carrington, that when we experience sensational speed in our dreams it is because our dreaming body is falling back into coincidence with our physical one. Things like illness, stress, loud noises or emotional responses to dream stimuli can all hasten this "falling" and cause us to loose focus and memory of our dreams. So, as I continue to paint DreamLand III : The Very Bad Thing, I will make portals illustrating these blurred dreams. Maybe it will help me remember the rest of what happened during that time in my life. Here's some progress photos. There are symbols all over this painting from dreams and correlated memories. I don't want to say too much just yet though.
Got a weird dream you want to share? Send it in to anansisdream@gmail.com ! Be sure to make the subject line "Dear Diarrhea!" so I know what it's for. If you wish to remain anon, let me know.
Thats all for now. Thank you for reading my friends!
Oh my god holy shit before i fucking gooooo (lol)
I am opening two online oneirology and art practice courses. Right now the course can only be offered virtually. But! I am still excited to connect over dream culture and practice! The world history is fascinating and combining oneiromancy with creativity is the key to so much inter/intrapersonal healing that is needed at this time. Read more about and register for the full course or a drop in, here https://www.anansisdream.com/book-online . Don't worry , classes don't start until September 8th. So you've got some time to mull it over. :)
Thank you again! Talk to you next month!
Love!
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