The ‘Wafa Aba’ of the people

In the heart of our island’s green spaces, such as Emancipation Park in Kingston, one can quietly observe motifs of heritage like the West African Adinkra symbols, carved or printed, speaking across continents and generations. Among them, the symbol Wawa Aba (sometimes spelled Wafa Aba) stands out with profound resonance. From its literal meaning the “seed of the wawa tree” it speaks of toughness, perseverance, durability.

That seed is not soft or delicate. It is forged in the hardest wood of the wawa tree, built to endure. The symbol reminds us that strength is not born of ease but of persistence of a will that refuses to crack under pressure.

In Jamaica, we know this story. When the storm has passed, when the skies clear and the initial shock begins to fade, the true strength emerges, our neighbours digging together, rubble being cleared, homes rebuilt. The toughness of the wawa-seed mirrors the enduring spirit of our people. We do more than survive. We spring back. Just like that seed bursts through its shell and reaches for the sun, so we push upward, rebuilding, renewing.

THE ENDURING SPIRIT

In this way, the Wawa Aba symbol becomes more than a design on a wall or a print on fabric. It becomes a mirror of our national character: resilient, purposeful, unbowed. It whispers: the deepest strength is found not in the absence of struggle but in the unbreakable will to rise again.

Whatever challenges you may face - physical, mental, communal - you are never alone or helpless in this vast world. The same force that guides the stars and the planets is with you. It is with you. It is so. Know that you are special. Know that you have a divine purpose. This awareness strengthens you. You are indeed special and you have the right to be here, to stand, to persist, to flourish.

The shell of seed of the wawa tree may be hard, the journey may be tough, and yet the life inside breaks through. So, too, with us: though the winds may howl, though the path may narrow, our root is strong and our spirit unbreakable. Let us carry that symbol in our minds not as a relic of another land, but as a living sign of our Jamaican courage, our collective rebuilding, our forward-looking hope.

With the Wawa Aba as our guide, we rise.

Contributed by Dr Lorenzo Gordon, a diabetologist, internal medicine consultant, biochemist, and a history and heritage enthusiast. Send feedback to inspiring876@gmail.com