I would like to begin by honoring my long-time teacher, Elder Malidoma Patrice Somé of the Dagara Tribe of Burkina Faso, West Africa…This great soul, who completely altered the fabric of this dimension, is now living in the Otherworld. I honor you, Malidoma, eternally…
I remember sitting at the kitchen table in front of a box of cereal, Rice Krispies, when I was a little girl. I was four years old, full with the essence of joy and love of the natural world. I was crouched in such a way, like a baby tiger ready to pounce into the cereal box! My older sisters came into the kitchen to ask why I still wasn’t moving from the table after being there for most of the day. I told them that I was waiting for Snap, Crackle, and Pop, the Elves that I had seen on the television commercial, to come out. My older sisters, already too steeped in the ways of the physical world, told me that it wasn’t real, as if they were alleviating me from unnecessary anguish. In my little, big heart, I knew they were real. I stayed there at the old wooden table, dedicated to waiting.
Many years later, very magically a book seemingly fell out of the sky and into my life, Of Water and the Spirit by Malidoma Somé. With the aura of enchantment that surrounded this book, I knew that I should read it immediately! For three days, in human time, I entered a state of awe and spiritual absorption. I seemed to have been teleported to a dimension that I somehow remembered. When I received Malidoma’s detailed and very alive sharings about the Kontomblé, the ‘Little People’ of Burkina Faso,
I shouted out loud, “I knew they were real!” From that moment, it seemed that life began emitting supernatural charm. Where was he?! With certainty in my heart, I knew that I had met my teacher.
As my ancestors witnessed from the Otherworld my very passionate way of embracing my true path, they responded by laying down aetheric flowers of good fortune. The heartbeat of the sacred began pulsing in my life in a way that felt like pure water after being thirsty for far too long. They created some kind of miracle that enabled me to find my way to Malidoma’s home to formally begin my remembering. He later told me, “I didn’t know how you found your way to my doorstep, I was just glad that you had finally arrived.” The spirits had told him that I would be coming.
It seemed like the next eight years of studying, apprenticing, and remembering with Malidoma were a bit of an energetic flurry. There was so much unraveling of my conditioned self that needed to occur in order for me to know for myself the truth of what Malidoma told me. He saw me as having a distinct and sacred role with the Kontomblé. He let me know that I needed to take my spiritual seat, so to speak, so that I could be supportive to others who would need help remembering.
Somehow my soul understood the ineffable that he shared with me through the years. In the physical world though, there wasn’t a clear way to make sense of it. This is also what I’ve learned through my ongoing remembering with the Otherworld, they don’t rely on logic or reason. In fact, I have a sense that they delight in creating ripples in the physical world that cause one to scratch their head in confusion.
My journey of remembering with Elder Malidoma’s immense support had so much to do with the hidden influence of the Kontomblé. The Kontomblé are extraordinary beings that originate from the brilliant night sky. It seems that they enter this dimension within the essence of a shooting star, or perhaps from the arc of a rainbow. They live inside of ancient trees, the kind that carry bodies of knowledge about the nature of reality and how truly fluid it is.
They also live inside of caves. It was through their incredible way of love that I miraculously made my way to physically enter their dusty cave in Burkina. In hindsight, I have a sense that Malidoma knew what would enlighten in my being by having the courage to enter. A lot of courage was needed, especially after being told by the otherworldly and truly steeped gatekeeper about the massive snake that also lived in that dark, dank cave. That experience activated an initiatory near-death experience within me that ultimately felt like finally being embraced by the luscious quality of life. It also activated in my being the ancient tongue of the natural world which is in steady communion with the great whale mother.
By the time that I had healed up from my shamanic initiation, it seemed that the Kontomblé took me by the hand and then said, “Ok, now pack your suitcases. We have friends to meet around the Earth!” When the Kontomblé speak, they’re saying at least three things simultaneously. Partly, though, they were speaking about the other ‘Wee Folk’ of the Earth, the ancient beings that have gifted so much, so generously to all of our ancestors.
They’ve been forgotten and misunderstood through our collective amnesia. I’ve devoted myself to doing my best to honor these great brilliant beings of light, love, and humor. So, here’s my little ode to the Wee Folk of the Earth…
“Ancient ones, humble tenders of the stream of creation, I admire you endlessly. You’ve worked with our ancestors, have helped them to understand the importance of tending to the natural world. You’ve taught them recipes and have given them brews that would enable them to enjoy life more heartily. You’ve given them folk dances that altered their consciousness so positively! You’ve reminded them of the magic of the stars and to never stop dreaming. You’ve come to the children who carried the knowledge of the ancients, and have helped them to become the healers that were needed for the people to be well. You’ve reminded us that with the right kind of heart and care, secret doorways appear in the misty spaces. I commit to you, great beings, to continue to do my part to help humans to come out of the false mist of modern thinking, and to remember our place in creation.”
When I recently met the beautiful souls who are the visionaries behind Christy Dawn, I recognized a similar kind of heart and care that I experience with the Wee Folk. I do believe that these are some of the visionaries that the Kontomblé have told me about who are part of the welcoming of the New Earth, one that is alive with the buzz of honey. The Kontomblé and I lay flowers at their shrine, and honor the many ways that Aras and Christy Dawn are loving Mama Earth, as well as humanity.
Lastly, what I wish to share with you, dear friend, is that magic is not only possible, it is what is most real, if only you’ll believe in it! May all of your dreams come true…
With a heart of gratitude,
Liv Mokai Wheeler
A Message from the Kontomblé and Liv Mokai Wheeler:
There is a little dream, a wish in your heart. Once upon a time, when you believed it was alright to dream, you saw these beautiful visions inside of your heart at the same time that you believed that it was okay to do wild cartwheels in the field, when you knew it was safe to dream out loud, and to lay down on the Earth and dream with the clouds. The dandelion flower, the one with bushy hair, wishes for you to lay down on the Earth, and to dream with the clouds once more. The Earth will surely remind you that those wild visions that live inside of your heart are not only possible, but that they are truly real, if only you’ll believe in them.
The Little People of the Earth have been here since the beginning. They have been known by many names, perhaps as many names as there are cultures and villages of humankind. They are Kontomblé, Chahochina, Menehune, Huldufólk, Duende, Ellyllon, Leprechaun.
As beings who guard the Earth, they are also oftentimes said to come to this dimension through portals of nature and the elements such as caves, lightning-trees, forests, mountains, streams, even earthen homes in the hills. In many cultures, the stories tell of small-statured people of magic with long hair and darkened skin who were there to show humankind the way, how to live with heart, and how to create a life that is in reciprocity with all that is. They lived amongst humanity for many centuries, and many of us unknowingly carry their blood in our veins. In 1820, there were even sixty-five Menehune recorded living alongside a forest village of humans in Kaua’i. Across the ages, these so-called Little People who really aren’t so little, have carried magic, medicine, ritual and ceremony, culture, music, and the memories of what we once were and can be again. They are the Fair Folk, the Good Neighbors, the Wee Folk of peace and of mist. They are our ancestors, our relatives, our guardians, and our friends.
Without them, humanity would not have survived. Yet, they have been systematically pushed underground and into the recesses of our minds, cast into the land of make believe, and demonized by the powers that cracked through the Earth to disconnect us all from our nature, our hearts, our truths. The remaining Little People myths are often wrought with the mark of the systems that have sought to commandeer the very fibers of this planet and life itself. Wars have indeed been raged against the Wee Folk; lives of many kinds have been lost in efforts to protect and honor them, or because we have refused to do so. Although humanity has still yet to remember, they are here. They are coming out of the mists, these sages of the ages, tall and with divine dignity. Will we meet them?
In a time where we have nothing more to lose or to maim on this planet, welcoming them back to our hearts and lives is paramount; perhaps more so than we can understand. This is not to take from them, these great beings of truth and goodness. But rather, it is to listen, to humble ourselves, to honor, to give, to thank, to return respect where it is rightfully owed. It is to reconcile what connects us, not what divides us. It is to remember our nature, so like their own, and to walk with them as beloved and revered allies in service of life. This is how it was always meant to be.
A heartfelt welcome to our good neighbors, the Wee Folk, by Sylvie Zacrep, Na Gaothan Tuatha
Liv Mokai Wheeler is an initiated Kontomblé Voice Diviner, ritual facilitator, and multidimensional spiritual teacher that has dedicated her life to reweaving the human experience with the Sacred. For the past sixteen years, Liv has traveled the world connecting people to the vast ecologies of Spirit that exist in all communities. As a voice for the Little People of the Earth, she has reignited people’s awareness of the spirit realm across cultures and landscapes. Liv’s work is powerful and heart-centered, offering the deepest respect for self and Spirit. Liv reconnects individuals and groups of people with the very real experience of a spiritual world that is as complex and intricate as the one we experience in our daily physical lives. She embodies the initiated feminine role of priestess and spiritual teacher. Her work is genuine, heartfelt, courageous, and uncompromising, teaching all who experience the Sacred with her to approach it with the utmost respect, and to approach the ancestors and relatives in the realms of spirit with the reverence and dignity they deserve. Ultimately, Liv is dedicated to restoring what is human to humanity, in the embodiment of the heart, dignity, courage, and humbleness befitting a person that understands that we are here to serve what is Sacred, feeding the unseen so that it, in turn, may continue to feed Life. Guided by the Kontomblé, Liv has completed several international tours guiding people in processes of healing and spiritual remembering. She published her first book, With the Love of the Ancients: My Spiritual Journey of Remembering in 2018, and produced a full-length feature documentary, The Remembering, that was filmed in Mongolia and released in 2019. In 2019, Liv also created the Kontomblé Medicine School, Earth’s Amulet. From the wellsprings of this school came an Earth’s Amulet Certification Program in 2020, and a Heart-Centered Shamanic Healing School in 2021.
Websites to Visit: Earth’s Amulet | The Remembering | Book: With the Love of the Ancients: My Spiritual Journey of Remembering Visit Liv’s gatekeeper, Sylvie’s website: Na Gaothan Tuatha
© 2022 Liv Mokai Wheeler, Earth's Amulet
Sharing Guidelines:
If aspects of Liv Mokai’s lovingly written article touch your heart & you would like to share her words (whether a quote or larger excerpt) via digital media (including web, blog, instagram, pinterest etc) we ask that you respectfully include prominent reference to her authorship along with direct links, visible tags & a clear way to connect your audience to her practice. Thank you for helping us honor the energy, journey into mastery, & the incalculable devotion that goes into the loving craft of the artists we feature.
