Matthew Millsaps

Essay Question
Of Water and The Spirt
05/01/2017

Question 1

When analyzing Grandfather Bakhyes mortuary ritual, it is very different than what I am
used to. The connection between father and dad were very strong. At the beginning, Somes
father took the ashes of his own father and spread them around the compound and around the
main gate. I believe this could be looked at as a form of rebirth and giving back to the land. As
far as the funeral go, Some states on page 57 that Although there are certain ritual forms of
mourning, it is no less sincere for all that. Public grief is cleansing and a vital importance for the
whole community. The ritual began with mourning from all of the community. On the second
day, the funeral ritual took a change. Some explains that on the second day, magical practices are
performed. Some of these practices are performed in memory and some are performed against
bad things going on within the tribe. On the third day, everyones tension seemed to have
resided. People of the community were somewhat celebrating. Some states, People were singing
and dancing, visibly relaxed, enjoying their last day of the funeral by celebrating rather than
mourning (66). This could relate to the three stages of initiation because the first step is
separation. As far as the death, that could be a form of separation. The second step is transition. I
believe the community went through the transition together because the mourning was
considered a form of cleansing. And the third step is re-incorporation. On the third day, they
celebrated. I see this as a form of returning back to the normal for the community as a whole. As
far as three examples of symbols, I believe the spreading of the ashes, the hyenas tail, and
Somes grandfather wearing his medicine man garb to display his status in the community are all
important. During the liminal phase, Grandfather Bakhye was neither here on
earth nor passed on to a new place. During the liminal phase, multiple
events happened that would suggest that Grandfather was still with them.
The hyena event where grandfather actually awoke and walked around
because a hyena tail would be an example of how Some could suggest that
Grandfather Bakhye was still with them. As far as being dead, he was
actually dead. So with these events it would be somewhat hard to decipher is
he had passed on or lingering in the community. The funeral of Grandfather
Bakhye is very different than my experiences with funerals. One way each
differ is the period of mourning. Usually when a loved one dies, we do mourn
but it does not happen as quickly as Some and the community did and there
is not really community mourning. If I would die, the whole community of
Charlotte, NC is not going to mourn my death where as with Somes
community, the whole community mourned. Another thing that differs is the
rituals that took place during the few days of the death.

Question 2
When comparing Somes education within his culture to what he
learned in seminary, there are many vast differences. When Malidoma was
growing up in his culture, he learned many basic cognitive and survival skills
simply by watching his fellow tribesmen and women. He states, Children
learn by watching adults work and by doing the same things on a smaller
scale. With the help of grown-ups, they obtain the range of skills they need
to confront their own adult duties (17). He talks about how collecting wood
was usually a womans job but boys did it as well. He also learned how to
hunt from his adult peers as well. Compared to what he learned when he was
young, the seminary was very structured and stricter. He even makes notice
on page 105 of the daylight to dark daily schedule that happened while
there. One thing that could be similar to his early learnings from the tribe
would be the simple task of learning how to swim, which he did at seminary
as well. Some also discusses some of the classes he took while in seminary.
He talks about his experience in Geography class and composition class. He
states, In composition, we always aimed at using the rarest words possible
in order to prove to the teacher how far we had gone into memorizing
vocabulary (115-116). This was very different than his cultures learning and
actually opened his eyes to the world, or Christian world, that is beyond
Africa. In comparison to my own personal education, both aspect of his
education experiences can tie into my own. When growing up, I learned the
basics. Just like Malidoma learned to swim from his peers at seminary, I
learned to swim with the help of my parents. One main difference between
my early learnings is that I personally did not learn to hunt or gather wood.
My brothers on the other hand did learn to properly hunt and prepare their
killings from my father. That would be a sport I never was a part of. As far as
higher education, the closest thing to Somes seminary experience would
probably be high school for myself. High school, or public school in general,
was more structured and strict just like his experience. In school, and still in
college, we learn things to open our brain to new ideas and concepts.

Question 3
When Malidoma returned to his village, it was a must to be
reintegrated back into his culture. His main reason of returning was not
because he was home sick. Malidoma states, So I did not come home
because I was homesick, but because I could not become a priest (161). The
main reason Some needed to go through initiation when he returned was
because just that, he had been away. He states, A person who stays away
from his home for a lengthy period of time leaves a great portion of his soul
abroad when he returns. Nothing important can happen until the person is
fully integrated again, that is, body and soul (163). His return did worry the
elders. He goes on to tell about others had to returned and because of so a
new culture had been born. This culture was of working men but still living
outside of the village but what Malidoma had learned and accomplished was
more dangerous. He had learned literacy and was educated. Some even goes
on to state, As an educated man I had returned, not as a villager who had
worked for the white man, but as a white man (167). I believe this was the
main trouble for the elders. Malidoma was seen as a treat and danger to the
village and their culture. The initiation that he had to go through to be
reincorporated back into the community would be considered an ideological
ritual because his new identity from the catholic seminary could have been a
potential threat to the community and this ritual was needed for the sake of
their culture. The first stages of Somes rite of passage would be separation. I
believe this began back when his father awoke him early one morning and
took him to Guisso and Nyangolis home. On this day, many things
happened. One thing in particular is that there were sacrifices of chickens
made to a shrine. With that said, the actual separation did not occur until
Some left his family and went to the initiation camp. The next stage of the
ritual was the transformation stage. Some explains that there was a fire
ritual the first night there and from my understanding he actually passes out.
When awoken later, he is then instructed to go and gaze at a tree. This is
where Malidoma basically stared at a tree for three days. He finally is able to
see the lady in the tree and he believed this was a major turning point in
his process. The last step of the initiation process is returning to the
community as a changed person as Malidoma does.

Question 4
The concept of destiny and naming in Somes culture was something
very important. The destiny of a newborn child is supposedly known at the
time of birth. The chief even states that, The destiny of this grandchild has
been known since his birth (186). Also, going along with the idea of destiny
Kyr argues that Somes destiny is to become a priest. He goes on to say
that the first born male child is destined to become a priest. With this
concept argued for Somes sake, it was a key factor in the decision in Somes
initiation. Breaking this concept would disobey the ancestors and would not
be ideal. They even go on to say that its either initiate Some or he needed to
leave. This shows how sacramental the idea of destiny and ancestral
obedience was to the culture. More than once does Some doubt his progress
and his destiny. While tree gazing, he doubted himself twice. He states, I
had already missed a traditional deadline (211). I believe it was really
concerning to him that he had not yet seen what he was supposed to see
while gazing at this tree and he was comparing himself to others whom had
completed the same task but maybe faster than him, setting the traditional
time frame. Later, on page 219, he does the same. He even cries because he
has a sense of failure and with this break down, he was able to see the tree
as he was supposed to. As far as reincarnation goes, I do believe his vision of
the tree would be considered a form of reincarnation. Evidently, this woman
that takes place of the tree tells him things that are very sacred and that he
can not speak of.