We all need to take time to heal.

KURAPA is a space to feel welcome, safe and open to healing. The purpose is to guide the audience through a healing process that is inspired by African traditions yet adapts to the growing need for collective grieving in the United States.

Disclaimer: Kurapa is an artistic project that visually interprets the stages of healing. This project is in no way meant to treat, or diagnose any condition and is not a substitute for mental health care.

Through multimedia, spoken word, dialogue, movement, and music, Black Love will explore themes of self-affirmation, self-care, healing and sexuality.
Visit Castle Of Our Skins for more details

The KURAPA project is a process of healing by utilizing the power of the five elements - Ether (Ruzha), Water (Mvura), Earth (Ivhu), Fire (Moto), and Air (Mweya). KURAPA aims to bring together a community of spiritual seekers searching for solidarity for people of the African Diaspora and beyond.

Start a designated KURAPA journal for your healing process.
Read the prompts for each element. Digest and work on them at a time and pace that feels comfortable to you.
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Cycles of Healing:
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Ether - Thoughts & intention.
Water - Emotions taking form. Energetic push & release.
Earth - Cocoon stage. Intake, learning, absorption
Fire - Transformation & transmutation
Air - Butterfly takes flight. Reflecting wisdom, sharing of knowledge.

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In this process, we start with the will to heal. Ether represents the creation of energy through intention. The creation of an energy that was not previously present. Nothing can begin without the push of intention. Ether is the element of initial creation, the energy that initiates the process of manifestation.

Prompt
• What aspects in your life are you intentionally seeking to heal? Write these down in a your journal.
• What do you want to be intentional about in your healing journey?

Mvura is the second phase of the healing process. Water in this process represents an agent of change. The tides of the ocean push and pull, moving through us and bringing our emotions to the surface. This is known as catharsis where we release all that we have been holding in to make space for something new. Facilitated by the flow of water, we break down the old barriers that have previously stood in the way of our healing.

Prompt
• What major changes have happened in your life lately? What is your attitude to change? Does the idea of transformation and upheaval excite, frighten… you?
• Based on the intentions you articulated for Ether/ Mavambo. What changes do you expect to see once these intentions have manifested?
• What do you need to release in order to make space for the new?

Ivhu is where the healing happens. Earth assists us in integrating the energy of healing into our bodies. We begin to ground in our daily routines. This part is the acknowledgment and reaction to the emotions that have surfaced. It includes intake, learning, absorption. Your outer world becomes a manifestation of your inner world as your roots dig deeper and sprouts begins to emerge.

Prompt
• What healing practices do you uphold to ground your spirit daily? Prayer? Meditation? Movement practices?
• If you do not have a daily practice, write down a practice you could take on to ground your spirit in intentional healing energy.

The next stage is an alchemical reaction that happens when the fire mixes with water and ether. This is a period of transformation within the person, when the Earth has been integrated. We see the old ways of being die and new ways rise. This is the place where we are able to transform our pain into lessons and teachings.

Prompt
• Refining fire is an essential part of the healing journey.
• Write down the vital lessons you have learned from painful experiences in your life. Be kind with yourself as you revisit these memories. 

Mweya represents moving air, the breath we inhale , the winds of change.
The Mweya stage is a process of breathing life into one another.
From the fires of Moto comes smoke. Smoke signals become a representation of the transformation we go through becoming bigger than just themselves. The thoughts, ideas, lessons gained during this journey begin to move within our community, our children and the greater collective. We begin the dissemination of ideas to the greater collective. The smoke travels to the sky, representing a connection to the Creator / Higher power. You have integrated all aspects of the healing and you are now spiritually in tune.

Prompt
• How has your personal healing touched those around you?

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Simba Mafundikwa
Inspired by his eclectic upbringing, Simba Mafundikwa approaches architecture and design with a diverse lens. He is passionate about improving people's lives and believes design and architecture can have a profound impact on the way people live theirs.
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Simba's architecture education started in Zimbabwe and continued in New York for university. He is currently based in Seattle where he has worked on multiple projects with GGLO and public installations for the Seattle Design Festival. Seattle has allowed him to explore his passion of improving lives through design, most notably on the Africatown Plaza which is an affordable housing project that focuses on creating opportunities to celebrate the history and identity of Seattle’s Black and African community.
Instagram: @simbabwean
Website: www.simbamafundikwa.com

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Amina Maya
Amina Maya is a creative director and curator whose work documents the beauty of the African Diaspora. With roots in both Sierra Leone and the United States, Amina draws upon the imagery, color, and patterns that define West African art as well as the rich, evolving culture of Black America. Her practice is focused on healing from multi-generational trauma and encapsulating ancestral teachings. When she is not working on her craft, she enjoys mixing oils and herbs for Naturaliste Apothecary, or making music under the moniker WATA.
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Instagram: @naturalisteapothecary @urbannaturaliste 
Websites: vesselvessel.com, naturalisteapothecary.com

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