Blood and Bone: Ancestors, Power, and Sacred Identity Among Nonbinary Black Womxn

Abstract

This community-based participatory action research project led by the C.I.R.C.L.E. (Collective Infiltrating Research to Center Community, Liberation, and Embodiment) employed interpretative phenomenological analysis via eco-womxnist and Afro-Indigenous cosmological frameworks to examine the connection between gendered-racial identity and sacredness among 11 nonbinary Black womxn (NBBW) from the US. Using semi-structured qualitative interviews, we elicited participants’ responses to the following inquiry: Would you we describe being a nonbinary Black womxn as sacred? Why or why not? Data analysis resulted in two themes: (a) Origins of Sacred Powers and (b) Manifestations of Sacred Powers. Four subthemes informed Manifestations of Sacred Powers: Sight/Seers, Osmosis, Intergenerational Healing/Curse Breaking, and Immortality. Participants described these four interconnected manifestations of sacred powers in service of collective and individual liberation, rooted in African spirituality, ancestral power, and the gendered-racial identity. We conclude with implications for future research and clinical practice with NBBW regarding spiritual beliefs, practices, and identities.