Asase. A round tribal-inspired mudcloth mat, placed at the center of the Eye. Drawn from Asase Yaa, the Earth goddess of the Akan people of West Africa (primarily Ghana and Ivory Coast), it symbolizes nourishment, stability, and the grounding wisdom of the land. The Asase anchors the process, providing the energetic gravity around which the Torus is cast. At a YAS4US session closure, the ritual removal of the Asase is the final act of dissolving the container.
Matlala. The seats of the primary Facilitators are marked with coverings called Matlala. Traditionally imagined as animal hides, they may in practice be cloth or other fabric. The term Matlala is rooted in Sepedi, where it refers to 'spots' or 'patches,' and is also a prominent surname among the Bakone people of Ga-Matlala in Limpopo, South Africa. In our use, it symbolizes a distinctive marking that sets these seats apart, not for status but for responsibility, identifying them as the holders of People, Space, and Time.