"Elders, like the ancestors," Malidoma says "are expected to identify and address what is not working in the village, not to give compliments and praise behavior. They take up the job of executing tasks forwarded to them by the ancestors. Elders do not express energy, they hold it. The elder holds the space within which each villager's gift operates and encourages it with blessings and with silent nods."

"Mastering the powers of an elder," Malidoma continues, "is a process that takes place slowly over years at the harsh school of life where the storms of trials and tribulations, of pain and suffering solidify and make sacred the mind, body, and soul of a person. When a person like this speaks, it is as if the Other World is speaking. The pull to listen is natural to one who is familiar with the sound of Spirit. This is also why elders are more accountable than anyone else in the village. But this accountability is even greater in the Other World than in this world because every day brings the elder closer to the world of Spirit and thus more distant from this world, hence this sense of increased sacredness associated with the voice of an elder. The pull to the Other World also explains the gradual distaste an elder develops for involvement in the ordinary world."

The East Coast Village, the Village or ECV is located at 246 Bly Hollow Road, Cherry Plain, NY 12040, about 40 miles east of Albany. You can find it on the map (for mapping, the location is Petersburg, NY 12138). Situated in a rustic, natural setting with a protected stream and plenty of woodlands, the Village is a three season camp-like facility, with few indoor accommodations for sleeping and no running water. Drinking water is provided from nearby Lebanon Springs or local well during events.

The East Coast Village is the home of the Ancestral Wisdom Bridge Foundation, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting public awareness of the living traditions of indigenous peoples and the relevance of such traditions to improving the spiritual and personal well-being of people throughout our society, encouraging people to live in harmony with the environment and to preserve the environment for future generations; to thereby promote the spiritual and personal well-being of people;