Of Water and the Spirit: Final Exam Questions

Grandfather Bakhyes mortuary ritual is a ritual that is very new to me,

in the sense of what an Americanized funeral would typically be like.
Although I have only been to one funeral in my life, the ritual aspect of
Grandfather Bakhyes, going through the three stages of initiation, is
something that although very different is very intriguing. I had a hard
time classifying this ritual between two; a Salvation ritual and a Death
ritual. The reason I would apply this ritual as a Death ritual is due
solely to the death of a significant individual as well as the mourning
process that comes along with it. The major events that took place with
this mortuary ritual started with separation, which as I took it, the
Grandfather was no longer in his body (the spirited was lifted), his
spirit and body fully separate into two separate entities. I saw this in
the scene after hospital when grandfather Bakhye takes possession of
a hyena tail. The next phase is a transitional phase and is a very
important one in the Dagara society. It commemorates a time that is
pivotal for the people of that society to push forward the dying of an
individual into the spirit world. This process involves celebration and
cheer as well as mourning and sadness but does so in a way that
makes the spirit feel loved and cherished as it transitions. The Kontobl
was a vital symbol that showed up during this phase that I took as
showing Bahkyes relationship to the spirit world as well as the Earth or
nature he lived with. The Kontobl is a powerful being that helps the
individual to evolve. The final stage of the initiation phase was the
reincorporation phase or typically known just as the incorporation
phase, involved Malidomas father as well as all of the people
accepting the death of the grandfather. This phase involves his actual
body being buried into the ground, ending the process. After this, a
new leader was publicized for the tribe; Malidomas father.
Two main differences that come to mind between my
experiences at a funeral and grandfather Bakhyes include the time
spent for the process and how the individuals involved responded to
the situation. Again, I have only been to one funeral in my life but I feel
as though I have a pretty good feel as to how the typical funeral is
suppose to go in America. The funeral I have been to only lasted from
about one to two hours. Bakhyes funeral lasted a couple days or
longer where as a typical funeral would only last a couple hours at
most. It is a time for mourning but also a time to commemorate and
celebrate the life that was lived and to move on. The other interesting
experiences I have had with funerals that are in opposite effect of
Bakhyes is the process each individual goes through during a regular
funeral. I feel like the family is completely welcomed to grieve and
mourn as much as they feel, but in general, everyone is suppose to
keep it somewhat composed for the rest of the family.

Malidoma Somes education within his own culture could be compared

to the seminarys education experience as complete opposites. When
he left from his village, I can only imagine the amount of culture shock
that Some went through. The seminary education involved violence,
criticize (to say the least) for thinking above and beyond and using
explorative judgment and frowned upon Somes usual way of beliefs
involving great connection to the Earth and nature as well as strong
ties to ancestry that seemed almost foreign to the catholic. That is why
I cannot even begin to believe the hardships Some went through being
introduced to the new beliefs that were absolutely foreign to him as
well. For example, when Some was going through sight training within
his village, he was not punished or criticized for not being able to fully
see, rather he was encouraged to find it through himself. The
teachings of the seminary used force and fear to encourage their
students to learn. The seminary sought only one way of living and one
path. If you did not follow that teaching and path exactly, you would be
punished. No free thought was involved as well as no questioning of
any other faiths. Malidoma was brought up in his village to not
necessarily encourage free thought, but to accept it, which was very
different compared to the seminary education. However, the
persistence of Christianity taught to Malidoma during his stay was
almost fully incorporated into his daily life while he was there. It
seemed as thought he kind of forgot his own ways and conformed into
the seminarys way of education, which is only expected as it was
mainly forced upon him. When I think of education today, the last thing
I think of is teachers having a forceful nature within their teaching
style. Even at UNCC, teachers teach what their curriculum is but never
force it down a students through to where a student learns out of fear.
It just seems obsolete in America today. I am not saying that education
in the past has not been a one-way street of learning, but today all
opinions are accepted and not criticized but taken into consideration,
which has proved very useful in a way of learning. Today, I would
consider my views of teaching as honestly, a little exciting. You are
able to have your own thoughts and opinions but are willing to accept
what your professor is saying as the right way of thinking. However,
religion is an aspect that I would say has definitely been removed from
the education aspect. Today, education and religion are two separate
things. You go to church and/or read the bible or practice whatever
religious teachings your culture appoints and it does not coincide with
your schooling. Schooling these days is based purely on science and
how our society as well as economy is interacting today, in the
moment. In conclusion, religion as well as instilling fear into students is
obsolete to me. Education today is focused on learning the right idea
but is more of a free sense to the way of doing things.

When Malidoma finally returns home, he expected a warm welcome as

anybody would. However, since his beliefs and identity have been
significantly challenged, his father as well as other people in his
community welcome him with nothing but questions and concern. They
have Somes go through an initiation known as a Baor. This initiation
focuses on returning the lost sprit and redirecting it back to their
customs or roots. Since the ritual involves focusing on being reborn, to
me, it most similarly relates to the separation phase purely because
youre required to go through a rebirthing process in order to fully
complete it. I felt as if this relates because when you go through it, you
kind of lose your identity. You lose yourself. The green lady ties into this
somewhat as apart of the transition phase. He started to lose
attachment to his ancestry. Relating closest to the womb to the tomb
aspect would have to be the live-burial aspect. Being buried into the
ground as in the Dagara culture, as just a body is like a tomb in some
sense. The womb part, I wasnt very sure of, I can most relate to when
he starts to see other figures and smoke. This was like his having of a
near death experience acquiring new sight.

Naming children in Somes village is a very vital step within their

culture. It not only determines their future to say but also conceals
their fate and what role they partake in within the society. Malidomas
name means, befriending the enemy, and throughout his journey, he
truly shows this. Transitioning through being kidnapped and introduced
to an identity very foreign to his own to journeying back into his own
culture with a new identity, travels us as readers through his time
befriending the enemy. In this case, befriending the white man was
necessary in Somes case as opposed to optional. He was forced to
learn the white mans ways, which in fact is in perfect correlation to the
meaning of his name, befriending the enemy. The white man in his
story allows us to see the destructive nature of how some cultures
operate and the way they get their selfish ways of what they want.
What is so beautiful but sad at the same time is how Malidomas
journey shows us the pain and suffering that his journey entailed but
also an amazing realization of how Malidoma truly existed in a life that
was caught up between two worlds.