Nana Sula Janet Evans  is a revered public speaker, spiritual priestess, teacher, healer, performer, artist, author, musician, producer and cultural preservationist dedicated to the sacred traditions of the African Diaspora. She was initiated in 2007 at the Shrine of Impohema in Ghana, West Africa, where she trained since 1992 with Nana Obusumfo Ahia and Nana Santrofi.  Nana Sula is a Mamisi (Priestess of Mami Wata) whose title is Mami Ablo le Sodzi Bona.  She is a Queen Mother at the Temple of Mami with the great Mamisi Nana Sika Apukesi in Gbawe, Ghana.  Her spiritual path also includes decades of study in the Ifa/Orisha tradition of Nigeria, which she began in 1985.  

 

She is the Founding Priestess of the Temple of Light – Ile’ de Coin-Coin, a sacred Mami Wata Temple located in New Orleans, LA.  Nana Sula also serves as a Medicine Queen with the Black Masking Indian tribe Mandingo Warriors – Spirit of Fi-Yi-Yi, and is a proud member of the Queens of the Nation Society. As a traditional bead artist, her elaborate creations honor the beading traditions of her ancestors and spirit guides. Nana Sula served as the Sacred Music Instructor at  Ifa University in Washington, DC for two years where she taught from her acclaimed Yoruba book and CD project Spirit of the Orisha with Professor Kola Abimbola.  A Birth and Death Doula since 2006, Nana Sula founded the Na’Zyia Doula Collective (2007–2012), the first doula collective of color in the state of Louisiana. She currently serves as the Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Congo Square Preservation Society, where she has been an active board member since 2009.

 

In 2014, she authored and produced the groundbreaking book and CD project Spirit of the Orisha—a Yoruba language preservation initiative featuring 38 sacred chants alongside their English translations. The project features translations by great Nigerian born scholar and artist, Omoba Adewale Adenle.  A  lifelong educator and global traveler, Nana Sula shares sacred music, healing practices, temple wisdom, and spiritual workshops around the world. She is a powerful voice in the preservation and sharing of African ancestral traditions, offering her knowledge with humility and deep reverence for the sacred and the power of the divine feminine.

 

Born and raised in New Jersey, Nana Sula has lived in New Orleans since 1996. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in African Studies and English Literature from Rutgers University (1994). Since 1991, she has participated in numerous community development projects across Africa through her work with Operation Crossroads Africa. Her extensive travels throughout the African continent and the Caribbean inform her practice and creative work. Her debut solo album, A Journey Within, was written, arranged, and produced by her in Tanzania, East Africa in 2016, and is available on all major digital platforms. She has produced 2 Afrohouse singles Mami Wata Afrohouse and Powder 4 Mami Wata under her artist name Sula Spirit..  In 2022, Nana co-produced the CD project Medicine Bag, RX for Healing with artist Carol Akua Bebelle and continues to lead and produce music for others and well as herself.  

Nana Sula is available globally for:

Workshops, Sacred Talks and University Lectures              Healing Circles and Land Blessing Ceremonies

Trauma Healing and Release Workshops                           Sacred Song Circles to Heal Communities