Of Water and the Spirit Essay Questions

The Grandfather Bakhyes mortuary ritual was an Ideological ritual, meaning that the

ritual performed was to seek social control by reinforcing the moods, behaviors, sentiments,

motivations, and values of people for the sake of the community as a whole. The three stages of

initiation of the rites of passage were evident in the fact that the first initiation stage, separation,

occurred when Grandfather Bakhye actually died and had to return to his home which embodied

a loss of identity which this stage of initiation represents. The second stage, transition, occurred

during the second day of his funeral where magical practices are being performed in the

community. This ritualistic act involves the physical/mental ordeals where the community is all

gathered together and those that have good intentions are kept safe and those that intend to do

harm are eradicated and often times hurt injured when their lobie backfires on themselves (pg

61-64). On the third day of the funeral, the incorporation phase begins to play out in the act of

the community healing and resuming back to being whole. The third day of the Grandfather

Bakhyes funeral is reserved for celebrating and dancing and in Malidomas words, as if

Grandfather had never died (pg 66). During Grandfathers funeral, there are symbols that are

evident throughout the ceremony that is important to the tribe. During the third day of the

funeral, the leaders blew a wl, a hunting whistle that represents the special language of a

hunter in the tribe. The special tool was blown by the leaders which gave a psychedelic reaction

from the crowd as many saw the apparition of a stampede of deer headed straight towards the

people. Although some knew the apparition was not real, there was a legitimate reaction from

some of the members of the tribe (pg 67). On page 68 the leaders created another illusion but this

time it appeared to be a black arrow whizzing through the air and into the crowd. The black

arrow symbolizes the power that Grandfather possessed with the bow, it was a power that the
community feared because Grandfather had the ability to kill anything or anybody by shooting

the upside down arrow. Another powerful symbol that is incorporated throughout the entire

funeral was the xylophone, the xylophone is an important musical instrument because it sets the

tone for mourning and dancing which is very important to the Dagara tribe. During the liminal

phase, Grandfather was neither here nor there because he was already dead but his spirit had not

yet passed from this world to the next. Malidoma could tell that Grandfather was not all there

because of the way Grandfathers body moved and because he was unresponsive other than when

he possessed the hyenas tail. This funeral experience is different from my own because in my

culture, once a relative is dead they usually do not rejoin their living body in spirit. As for the

whole funeral process goes, the funeral lasts a total of one day and the mourning process is

comparatively mundane to the tribes funeral extensive activities of three days.

The traditional education of the Som culture is very different than the education of the

seminary and western civilization. Malidoma received his seminary education from the age of

four until he was twenty years old. The seminary education was taught my white westerners and

under the Christian faith. Throughout his time in the seminary, Malidoma was called Patrice

because that was what Father Maillot said his Catholic name would be and if he did not respond

to his given name he would be beaten (pg 90). The seminary also forbade the language of

Malidomas native tongue, Dagara, and was replaced by French (pg 92). The seminary taught

Malidoma prayer and scripture which followed a very punctual and strict schedule (pg 105).

Unlike the seminary, the Dagara traditional teachings come from the elders of the family and

through experience and initiation. Malidomas Grandfather did most of the teaching because it

was important to the tribe that the there was a special relationship between the Grandfather and

the grandson. Grandfather was the source of information for Malidomas tribal education and so
he would spend days listening to Grandfathers teachings. Throughout all of chapter one,

Malidoma described the important role Grandfather had to him and to the tribe. Although

Malidoma was so young, he greatly cherished Grandfather and that is what helped him

throughout his hardships in the seminary and through his initiation. The education that Malidoma

received in the seminary as well as his Dagara education is quite different than the education that

I have received throughout my life. Like the seminary, my education was on a set schedule but

instead of learning religious practices I was taught general education that is supposed to be

applicable to the real world. There were repercussions if I misbehaved but none like the

beatings Malidoma went through in the seminary. In my education, there has not really been a

relatable experience in the Dagara traditional learning that I can apply to my own education other

than respecting our elders and learning from what they teach but it was solely based on education

and not experiences like the Dagara culture.

Malidoma must undergo initiation when he returns to his village because the elders of the

tribe believe that he has lost his soul to the white man and that by going through the initiation he

can retrieve it and be one with the tribe again. The elders also believe that if he goes uninitiated

then he will corrupt the village because the way of the white man is death (pg 176-180). This

type of initiation is salvation because the process of initiation seeks to change a person's identity

from being spiritually corrupt. This type of ritual can also be revitalization because for someone

like Malidoma that was separated from his tribe for so long and greatly influenced by the whites,

it is the first time that the leaders have allowed someone like Malidoma to be initiated. By

initiating Malidoma, it can revitalize the culture of the Dagara because through him the tribe can

ultimately be saved when he spreads knowledge of the tribe to the western world. Through the

three stages of ritual, the initiation process takes a great toll on Malidoma and his spirit. The first
stage he experiences during the initiation is separation, the loss of identity occurs when

Malidoma is faced with undergoing the initiation. The initiation is a dangerous ritual that

sometimes ends in death for some tribe members. Malidoma knows his chances of survival is

low and his doubt only increased during the first obstacle of staring at the tree. He felt like he did

not belong to either the white man or the tribe because he believed he could not complete the

task of what the elders were asking of him. The next stage of initiation is the transition phase,

this liminal stage occurs when Malidoma has otherworldly experiences with nature. This period

of confusion and revelation for Malidoma occurs when he talks to the Women, he has an

overwhelming sense of happiness and belonging (pg 221-223). This experience can relate to the

womb to tomb aspect because he undergoes a rebirthing process in his mind that makes his old

way of thinking about nature no longer exist. Although all the events during his initiation were

important, Malidomas journey to the underworld was a very important experience for

Malidoma. During this process, he experienced what it was like to be reborn from all of his past

lives. I believe the womb to tomb experience is best represented here when he travels to the

underworld. Malidoma not only was metaphorically born when he crawled through the tight

and narrow cave into the underworld, which could represent the womb and process of birth, but

he also experienced the tomb aspect when he experiences himself dying over and over and in his

many lives (pg 270-285). The last phase of initiation is Incorporation, this happens when he

passes all of the tasks that were assigned to him and he is officially a man of the tribe.

The concept of destiny and naming in the Som culture is a very important aspect with

regard to the childs future. The idea of a child having a special destiny is so important that it

was the very first thing mentioned in the book. On page one, Malidoma stated what his name

was and what it meant and that the Dagara believe that everyone that comes into the world has a
specific destiny. Malidomas name meant Be friends with the stranger/enemy, and with this

being said Grandfather knew that his grandsons path was not going to be an easy one. When

Malidoma was only four years old his Grandfather told him that although he might not

understand his destiny now, he will in the future. Grandfather warned him that his life was going

to be full of dangers but that he must these things so that he can save the future of the tribe (pg

43-44). I believe Malidoma has met his destiny because he endured the white man's harsh

upbringing to fight his way back to his people, just as Grandfather had predicted. He now knows

the white man but he also never forgot where he came from. Malidoma has suffered for his

people and he continued to suffer throughout the whole book. Near the ending of the book he

was given yet another demanding task of returning to the white mans world and he did so even

after everything he has endured. Ancestors and reincarnations are a big theme in the book. One

of the first instances we see of reincarnation is when Grandfather calls Malidoma Brother

because he believes that he is a reincarnation of his beloved brother Birifor (pg 26). Throughout

the entire book, you hear about how the relationship between an individual and his ancestors is

crucial to leading a good life.