Culture & Community | Nature | Arts & Anti-racism | West Rock
Dishaun Harris, who also goes by "Farmer D." Danielle Campbell Photos.
Dishaun Harris led eight people to the West River's edge, listening to the nature around him. Water slipped and whispered over the stones. Chimes from the nearby memorial garden vibrated softly in the wind. The calming rush of water, bright sunlight and the stillness of the woods made the moment feel magical.
A squeal of delight went up: one of the attendees had spotted a snapping turtle. Harris asked for the spiritual meaning of a turtle, because he had been to the same waters before and had never seen a turtle there.
On a recent Sunday, that sense of being on and celebrating sacred ground wove through “Afro-Eco Therapy,” a restorative hike through West Rock Park that wove in a focus on both Native people and the African Diaspora. For three hours, Dishaun "Farmer D" Harris and Sansau Tchimna led a tour through the park to the summit, pointing out the signs, symbols, and omens that are in harmony with plant and animal life in the New Haven greenspace.
By the end, he had turned the hike into a healing and restorative space. Tchimna, who planned the hike, said that was part of the mission.
Top: Sansau Tchimna pouring water libations by the river before the hike. Bottom: the intimate group by the West River's edge.
“Whenever I like to go into nature, I like to honor those forces. Honor the spirits of nature,” said Tchimna, who runs Rasa Roots LLC. “Honor our ancestors. Each and every person’s ancestors that walk with each of you. We're gonna pray for a successful trip up and back. And last but not least, obviously the most high.”
Before starting the hike, Tchimna guided the group through a Kemetic meditation, stretching, and libations for the land, the original peoples of the land, and the ancestors of all those on the hike. He also shouted out the Community Alliance for Research & Engagement (CARE), a nonprofit organization that works to increase health and health awareness in the New Haven community, and was a partner on the hike.
As Harris led hikers through the park and up towards the summit, many discovered plants like mountain mint and juniper, not always associated with New Haven’s city environment. No sooner had Tchimna started to give cultivation tips than Hartford-based participant Terri Sol also hopped in to suggest ways to grow and care for plants.
Sol, a certified holistic skincare formulator, herbalist, and nature guide, described herself as a “lover of nature” who wanted to reconnect with both Tchimna and the New Haven woods. She later said that the hike’s focus on the diaspora, which included drumming for all participants at the summit, was her favorite part.
“My hands feel so, like, alive,” Sol said. “I just, from that blood rushing, especially my working arm, my right arm. It’s just like, blood stimulated.”
As they made the ascent, participants communed with nature, chatted amongst themselves, and paused to take in their surroundings. At the top of the rock, snacks and boxed water waited for them beside an assortment of instruments, including drums meant to call in the ancestors. As attendees drummed, a black and yellow butterfly appeared, fluttering close to the group.
Tchimna noticed the insect and suggested that it must be someone’s ancestor. A member of the group mentioned that their grandfather, who passed several years ago, often appears to them in butterfly form.
“See I knew it had to be someone’s ancestor,” he said. It felt like another confirmation of the energy participants were creating together on the hike.
Top: The group enjoying the drumming circle. Bottom: Sansau Tchimna, Zion Adjua Brown, Dishaun Harris, Shaina Donaldson, Malamai, Raquel Bolling and Terri Sol.
Taking a break from drumming, Harris said he enjoyed being able to be in space with other Black and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) people and be free in nature.
“It definitely was nice being able to show people the trails that I like to take daily and share that and have that experience with other people,” he said. He added that he loved practicing yoga and drumming with the sounds of nature around him.
“All of the elements of the water, the fire from the sun, the gentle breeze, and just the earth underneath our feet,” he said. “It's very therapeutic.”
Zion Adjua Brown, founder of Afro-Centric in Nature, was excited about the culturally relevant ways in which they connected to nature.
“That's something that I really appreciate that they emphasized on this hike is that it's in our roots to connect to nature and it's in our culture to connect to nature. And so, they just kind of created a normal feeling around connecting to nature for us today, which I really enjoyed,” said Brown.
Shaina Donaldson of Ivy Auragämi LLC was also appreciative of connecting with nature in a way she never had before. Watching others integrate their spirituality with nature was eye-opening for her and empowering, she said. Her friend Malamai felt “a good union, you know, with myself and with the people I was with, and with the energies all around us most importantly.”
The hike ended with the group discussing how great they felt and how much more connected they were to nature, themselves, and each other.
“I also want to shout out nature. We love your nature, you gave the best vibes,” Brown said. “And that's one thing that I really appreciate about doing ecotherapy is that nature is like the co-facilitator as well as the humans to kind of bridge that gap.”