In Gabrielle Tesfaye’s The Water Will Carry Us Home, the image of three women (as depicted above, 4:30) underwater, each marked with a single, open third eye, symbolizes both the divine vision and spiritual rebirth. The third eye connects each of them to one another and to the divine world of the Orishas–these are water deities from Yoruba tradition. Rather than showing them drowning, Tesfaye transforms them into beings of power and awareness. I felt that it was important as well to point out how their eyes are closed, leaving only the third eye open, which emphasizes that their perception has shifted from physical to spiritual. Their open third eye suggests they have crossed into a higher state of understanding, one that exists beyond the material world.

I researched more about the representation of water deities with a third eye and discovered more about the traditional Yoruba culture. I found that Yemoja is a mother spirit and patron deity of women, especially pregnant women. She presides over rivers, but she can visit other bodies of water–showing that she has the ability to transcend lands and borders. Her name, meaning “mother of fish children,” shows her protection of life and her dominion over living things. Yemoja is also often portrayed as a mermaid, linking water and motherhood together, which resonates with Tesfaye’s depiction of women’s rebirth and collective awakening. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yem%E1%BB%8Dja

By placing these women in the water (as pictured above, seconds before their transformation, 4:28), Tesfaye ties the idea of sight to rebirth and return to water. The ocean acts as a womb–a place of transformation. They are thrown overboard and not simply lost to the sea, but they are received by it. The third eye marks the moment of this change, showing us that death has turned into a spiritual transformation. There also seems to be a calmness in their faces after their transformation, the calm and glowing look of them in the water suggests acceptance and peace, as if the Orishas–like Yemoja–have embraced them. Their bodies no longer are sinking but floating in harmony with the sea, indicating further of this spiritual rebirth. The third eye makes this awakening a collective experience, connecting them to each other and their history carried by the Atlantic. Tesfaye turns the ocean from a symbol of death into one of a return to the ocean. The third eye, alone open, represents the vision that comes after suffering–the ability to see beyond the pain and into renewal. In their return to water, the women are restored, not erased, their divine sight guiding them home.