OLAYINKA'S MAGIC MIRROR AND THE AFRIKAN BEADED COMB

By Isis Brantley

"Olayinka's Magic Mirror and the Afrikan Beaded Comb" is a tale that compresses the beauty of Afrikan antiquity and 400 years without a comb. The young reader will learn codes of conduct, good character, and the importance of the divine beauty of Afrikan culture, represented in this story by the goddess of beauty, Oshun. In the present, Olayinka is visited by an Afrikan ancestral angel, who reveals to Olayinka how she can be the one to reclaim the "beaded comb," representing the lost knowledge of the beauty of black natural hair. Finding the comb in the mud of a riverbank near Olatunji Village (the Olatunji Kingdom in South Carolina), Olayinka now has the power to erase all ignorance of Afrikan "hairitage" and bring joy to the faces of all children as they see their beautiful natural hair in the magic mirror.
The author, Isis Brantley, America's Black natural hair matriarch, is more than a master of ancestral Afrikan hair braiding and ornamentation. Since childhood, she has been a creative artist, writer, and performer. In this storybook, she has spun a beautiful tale that captures the roots of "hairitage" of Black America. The story is told in a way that even most adults will enjoy, especially as they share it with their young readers at bedtime.
Having raised five of her children as a single parent, she endeavored to imbue in them great self-esteem and pride in their Afrikan ancestry. Being a cultural activist and leader in her Dallas, Texas, community, Brantley engaged her children in learning Ancestral history and culture, affirmations, songs, and plays. At every community festival, she would have her five on stage participating in plays or singing and dancing. Out of this immersion developed successful adults.
Her youngest child, Olayinka, was raised in Brantley's salon in the heart of the Black community. All who knew Isis in those days can recall "Yinka" being on the back of her mother Afrikan-style, while her mother was "healing through the hair," touching the hearts, minds, and souls of her clients. During these early years, Isis had the idea to create this story with Olayinka as the main character. Isis wrote this story in 2001, but it is only now that she has been able to bring the book to the public.
Isis Brantley, "Nana" to her Grandchildren, lovingly dedicates this book to them.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0BCCVT2TX
• ISBN13: 9798549334441
• Release Date: August 2022
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 64 Pages
• Weight: 0.43 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 8.0" x 10.0"