Brandon Jackson

Of Water and the Spirit essay

1. The death of grandfather was a significant death within the tribe. He was a village

leader, a warrior and a medicine mane, and with each of the titles he had accomplishments and

respect to with all of them. Everyone in the tribe knew who he was and even some people in

other tribes came to join in paying respect to the lost member of the tribe. His death came with a

funeral ritual. There are 3 stages when it comes to a ritual. Separation, Transition, and

Integration. During the funeral ritual that they did for the grandfather we can see a little biit of

these stages in the book. The Separation is when he was taken out of the physical or mortal

world. Page 52 in the book Of Water and the Spirit specifically the 4th paragraph it talks about

how Grandfather had escape the laws of physicality, and that he was now in the new realm.

The transition part of the ritual is when the community that has gathered tries to help the soul

reach the ancestral world. On page 57 it talks about how It takes millions of tears to produce a

flood capable of washing the dead to the realm of the ancestors That quote was taken directly

from the book. The quote also shows how that it was disrespectful to the dead to not cry. Their is

a liminal phase that happens when one is in the middle of separation and transition. Generally

they are seen the be neither here nor there. In this case it means neither in the physical world

nor the ancestral world, but stuck in between. The last step is integration. Integration is seen has

when the participant is then brought back to the community. In this case Grandfather joining the

ancestral realm is integration, although he is not there physically he is still living within the

community by being with the ancestors. I have never been to a funeral yet. I have lost relatives

before and have even lost my grandfather a couple weeks ago but either unable to go like I was a

couple weeks ago, or because my mother did not want me to experience the sadness that a

funeral has. I have a general idea of a funeral through what I have seen through TV shows and

movies however.In the Tv shows and movies there were never any festive times during or after
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Of Water and the Spirit essay

the funeral, and there was definitely not music that was being played while the funeral took

place.

2. Malidoma/Patrice went to seminary school growing up, but he also learned in the ways

of his tribe. The teaching and how they taught were pretty much reversed. In seminary school

they taught everything through the religion of christianity. They taught french, math, history and

everything else about the white man's world. In the book Malidoma often called it

brainwashing. He found very frustrating to learn from such an establishment that was filled with

contradictions. They were being told that christianity was about love and peace, while being

taught through pain and harshness. They claim that colonialism was there way of bringing wealth

and god to the African land, but at the same time they rip families apart and slay countless men

or use them as slave labor. While Malidoma was with his tribe he learned from his grandfather. It

was custom for the children to be around and learn from their grandfather as they hold the

wisdom of a lifetime. The elders were teachers to the Dagara people. Unlike the seminary where

they taught supposedly through christ, the Dagara taught through nature and through spirits. The

Dagara believed that plants and animals came before humans when it came to wisdom and

power. The Dagara people found that life and being able to live peacefully in a community was

important. The reason I say there teachings are reversed is because those points exactly. The

seminary taught history which taught about war, corruption and the conquest for power. They

taught science and that everything can be explained through logic. And most of all they taught

through religion which believed the Dagara religion was sinful and against god. Because of those

teachings Malidoma found it frustrating and very difficult to reconnect back to his tribe, for the

teachings he received at the seminary were borrowed deep inside him. The education we receive

today is very different than both of those teachings. Children America typically go through
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Of Water and the Spirit essay

Elementary, Middle and then High school. It is then usually expected that one go to college to

even further their education. We spend about 25% of life and then some learning. The subjects

and the different areas we are taught in this country is endless. Unlike the Dagara who seem to

spend a very short time in education learning about nature and spirits, and the seminary who are

more focused on christianity than actually teaching them all the ways of the world. I used to

attend a christian school, so I know what its like to have religion thrown into everything you

learn, especially when it comes to science because the teachers try so hard to not contradict what

they say from the bible.

3. In order for Malidoma to once again become a member of the tribe he must go through

initiation. Initiation is something every Dagarian boy goes through in order to transform to a man

from adolescents, Malidoma has not gone through this initiation because of his kidnapping, in

the eyes of the tribe he is still a boy and not yet a man. They however, fear that during his

unfortunate ordeal that he went through in the seminary, that his original Dagara soul has been

lost and replaced with the soul of the White Men. And that if he should go through this

initiation that he might not make it out alive. Despite their worst fears they allow Malidoma to go

through this initiation in hopes that it brings his original soul back and that he can come out not

only a member of the tribe but as a man. This is a rite of passage called Baor. Its the initiation

that boys go into and come out as men. Just like the funeral ritual there are signs of separation,

transformation and integration. The separation is when all the participants of the initiation are

moved from the tribe away from friends and family to the initiation site. All the participants were

required to be naked, which symbolized them being stripped of their identity. The transformation

process was the different missions and challenges that was asked of him as a result of the

initiation. With the success of each challenge he talked about how he felt like a different person
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Of Water and the Spirit essay

who was more aware of things he was not aware of in the past. HIs liminal phase took place

while he was buried alive. I say this is the liminal phase because it best shows the signs of a

liminal phase. While he was buried alive he was naked, and in pain; as well as it could symbolize

his dying and his old adolescent body being buried and then reborn again as a man. This could

also be seen as a neither here nor there moment because he was reborn again he is no longer a

child but not yet a complete man because has not finish his initiation yet. This would also be an

example of the womb equals the tomb, because them burying themselves are a symbol of their

olds selves dying which is the tomb part, and being reborn which is the womb part.

4. Naming within the Dagara is very important. So important that they have a ritual for it.

The ritual is called a hearing. The Dagara people believe that every person is an incarnation.

Which makes the birth of a child the arrival of someone usually an ancestor to which someone

already knew. A few months before birth the pregnant women and all the males of her family,

excluding the father and any sons she already has, attends the hearing. At the ritual the voice of

the incoming soul takes the voice of the mother. The reason for this is because the living must

know who it is that is being reborn, and the gender it has selected. In the book it says that

sometimes the incoming souls ask for things to be prepared before their arrival, for they do not

want to forget who they are and what it is they came to do. The name of the newborn is the

chosen based on the outcome of the ritual. For example Malidoma is the reincarnation of

Grandfather's brother Birifor, which could also explain why they were so close. Malidomas

purpose was to make friends with the enemy. The enemy being the white man. He was to learn

about the white man so the tribe could better understand them. The Name Malidoma even means

to befriend the enemy. In my opinion, Malidoma has met his destiny. He went to seminary

school, and befriended the enemy. He was not actually friends with the white man, at least not
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Of Water and the Spirit essay

with all of them, but he earned their trust for the most part. He studied in the ways of the

Europeans, learned all about them and then returned home to share what he had learn.