Carson Pace

LBST 2102
Professor Katsanos
4 May 2017

1. Grandfather Bakhyes funeral is a very detailed and specific portion of the book, for a
good reason. Grandfathers funeral is a good example of a salvation type of ritual. It is a
salvation type of ritual because it shows the transfer from the corrupt, human world to the
peaceful, free afterlife. Also, it could be classified as an ideological ritual because it is
Grandfathers rite of passage as the medicine man to have a well-planned, detailed time
of mourning. There are three stages of the initiation to his funeral. The first stage of his
funeral is separation. This stage includes stripping the identity away from the deceased.
This is done when Grandfather is moved from his place of death, the European territory,
to his home on the tribal land. He could move himself back to his home through magic
because dying somewhere other than ones home was considered corrupt. The second
stage of the funeral was the transition, or the liminal, stage. This includes the deceased
moving from one identity, in the human form, to another identity, in the spiritual form.
All the festivities that included mourning, fasting and dancing aid in moving
Grandfathers identity from one realm to another. There are several symbols used in this
stage to help the movement of the soul, including the drum and the xylophone, both of
which were played throughout the funeral. Another symbol found during the funeral was
a lobie, which is a weapon used to hurt people while attending funerals. Grandfather is
technically not in the human world or in the spirit world during this phase because his
spirit is transitioning from one state to the other. This process takes his spirit from his
physically body, excluding him from the population on Earth, and transforming it into the
afterlife, though he is not fully there yet either. The concluding phase of the funeral is the
incorporation phase. This phase includes making sure that Grandfathers legacy remains
incorporated in the community after he passes. He was a large part of the success of the
tribe by feeding people with his excess food, something many people will remember
forever. His generosity continues to be remembered in his community, and that is one
way his spirit was incorporated in the final stage of his funeral. My personal experience
 with funerals is much different than the funeral in this novel. One reason is that funerals
here are very private matters typically. For example, the family typically controls who is
in attendance and who is allowed to see the deceaseds body. Also, funerals are typically
held in a two-day series of events instead of three. For example, all the funerals I have
attended have a familial visitation the day prior to the actual funeral, while in the novel,
the funeral lasted three days with many different activities on each day.
2. Malidomas education was clearly defined by the leadership of where he was and the
reaction to the leadership at the school as well. One major difference between the two is
that his original tribal education focused on the relationship between him and his
grandfather, an individual education, while his seminary education was a group setting
focused on the bigger picture of Christianity. Also, each school taught a different
curriculum and focused on very different aspects of life. He was continuously learning
when he was with his grandfather, whether it was about his future endeavors, his family
history, or his role in the world. These lessons focused more on his purpose and fulfilling
a prophecy. Also, these lessons were taught through exploring and discovering things for
himself, while the seminary focused on teaching in front of students. While he was at the
seminary, however, he focused on French, the Bible and other lessons that helped him
become more prepared for modern life. While these lessons seemed to aid him in
achieving more in the school, he was not prepared for his life back at home on the tribe.
He was taught the fear of failure instead of the gaining of knowledge. These lessons
meant nothing to the people in Burkina-Faso. There is one similarity between the schools
however. They both were focused on making Malidoma prepared for their ideal society.
At the tribe, his grandfather wanted him to understand his role in life so he could help the
tribe prosper, while in the Seminary, the Priests taught him French and writing to help
him better communicate in the modern world. So, while there are similarities, such as
overall purpose, there are many differences like an individual setting versus group setting
and the lessons being taught that stunted the enjoyment felt by Malidoma. Our education
in modern-day American is much different than both forms of education. The first major
difference between our educations is that our education is for the most part a choice. The
seminary Malidoma encountered did not allow him the choice at all as to what he learned,
how he learned or if he could learn or not. Also, the tribal education was more of a learn
 the customs of the tribe or get kicked out kind of education. In both education systems,
no choice is given, while we can decide what college we attend, what we study and how
much effort we put into our education. Another difference is the style of learning. Our
lecture-style of learning is closely related to that in the seminary, but differs from that in
the tribal education. Grandfather taught by story-telling, in a quiet, non-structured
environment. Malidoma also learned through hands-on exploring, something that can be
found on a college campus. The seminary is like the typical college classroom with a
teacher in the front talking to students at desks. The last similarity is between our
education system and that of the tribe. Our teachers, as well as Grandfather, teach
because they care about the future of their community and the future of their students.
Grandfather taught Malidoma so thoroughly because he cared about the outcome of this
child, much like teachers in college. In the seminary, teachers did not care about the
progress of their students, but about how fast they could learn the material and move on
to the next course. The teachers both here and in Burkina-Faso wanted to create a
relationship with their students and help them in their journey through life, while at the
seminary, they wanted to get as many children through as quickly as possible. Our
education systems are more similar than I realized, but they both still hold some major
differences from the education we are available to have in the United States.
3. Malidoma must undergo initiation when he returns to his tribe because he was not able to
be initiated when he was growing up. In his tribe, initiation shows that the person can
change and lose his identity to gain the identity of the tribe itself and become a man of
the tribe. The elders are concerned about the amount of white in him when he returns
home. He could read and write, which possess as a threat the elders who do not believe
that this is a skill but a curse. The elders also believe that Malidomas spirit, or his si,
has left him. This is a problem because a persons spirit is what connects him to his
ancestral world. However, they give him another chance to become initiated because they
believe his passion for being reunited with his tribe showed that he is dedicated to their
culture. He must undergo initiated which occurs after the harvest. This is a salvation
ritual, because he is attempting to change his individual destiny, and recreate himself. He
is attempting to reconnect with his ancestral roots and fulfill his destiny. The first stage of
this ritual is separation. In this case, the separation refers to the separation from his past
life to his newfound self. He accomplishes this by overcoming the wall that is in front
of him. He completes an exercise where he stares at a Yila tree until it speaks to him.
While this process lasts much longer for him than for the other students, it eventually
turns in the Green Woman. He says that he experienced such joy and comfort from her,
and eventually went to hug her. When he came back to reality, he realized he was
hugging the tree. Once he completed this phase, he moved into the liminal phase, or the
transition phase. The first activity they experienced was jumping through the skin to enter
the underworld. Malidoma is very anxious about this journey, because another initiate
before him became stuck in the underworld. While he was there, he said his body was
invisible, yet he could feel every sensation more vividly than on Earth. He was worried
that he would be stuck as well, but he was thrown out onto the Earth following his
journey, showing he was capable of change. The next activity he experienced was in the
bottom of the pool. He was told to jump into the pool, but not to fear drowning. If he felt
fear, drowning would occur. However, if he relaxed and trusted the sensation, he would
experience a journey. He accomplished this journey as well. He came to see a dolphin,
nursing him like a mother on this journey, and was comforted. He realized that the more
he began to trust the elders, the more he could learn and adapt. The last activity in the
liminal phase was the act of being buried alive. This was the final test of endurance for
Malidoma. He controlled his pain and fear through a hallucination, and he made it
through the night without even realizing it. This phase focused on the progress of each
boy and how well they could handle the situation at hand. The last phase was the
incorporation phase. During this phase, he was tasked with making the trek to an egg-
shaped cave, assigned to them by the elders personally. During this trek, Malidoma
witnessed a boy attacked in a river, something he could not understand. However, he had
to continue. He entered the cave with a sense of peace and followed it until he saw the
light. Once he encountered the light, he realized he was in the underworld. At first, he
could not control the noise of underworld, until he stopped breathing. This calmed his
thoughts and he continued. He entered the underworld and was told the story of his
ancestors, allowing him to understand how he came to be on Earth. He discovered that to
live to your full destiny, you must be reborn and learn again, furthering your knowledge.
This shows the womb=the tomb for when one member of his ancestry died, a new one
 was born. Also, this same idea is present throughout his initiation process because he is
being reborn through the death of his old identity, in order to become a Dagara man.
4. The concept of important and meaningful names in Malidomas culture is incredibly vital
to their existence as a tribe. Malidoma for example means be friends with the enemy/
stranger. His purpose was tested when he was taken by the priest, and he endured life
with the strangers. The most important thing he accomplished with the Catholics,
however, was the ability to show that his tribal blood was not going to be hidden or
diminished because of their intense teaching. He conquered the school by leaving and
returning to his home. I believe because of this he has accomplished his destiny, because
he showed them that though they had control over his physical body, his mind was his
own, and his mind still belonged to his tribe. Also, he befriended many people throughout
his journey, whether it be the children he met in the seminary, to the people he
encountered on his way back home or his journey through his initiation. He obtained
information and knowledge through these encounters, something that he took with him.
Also, the elders were technically strangers to him when he returned, but he befriended
them throughout his initiation by completing his challenges and succeeding in the face of
obstacles. He completed his destiny in different ways with many different people, but
through doing this, he formed his identity alongside his prophecy, making his identity
unique to him. His ancestors and reincarnation are a main component of this concept
because they are technically forming his identity without him being aware. When he
travelled to the underworld and discovered his unique ancestral line, he understood the
prophecy his grandfather described to him when he was younger. He understood the
larger picture being shown to him, and how it was because of the sacrifices these people
made that he completed his destiny here today. For instance, when he is asked to leave
and defend their tribe to the enemy or strangers of the world, he decided to fulfill his
destiny and help his tribe. This showed him that no matter where he travels or goes, no
matter what enemies or strangers he encounters, none will compare to that of his family
and tribe.