Of Water and the Spirit Essay Questions

1. In the book, Of Water and the Spirit, the Grandfather Bakhyes mortuary ritual must be

performed in a very particular way. Grandfather Bakhyes death ritual starts out with

Grandfather walking himself to his own burial. Due to the fact that grandfather died

outside his territory, on the mission hill, he had to walk back to their house. Grandfathers

body would be brought to a burial ground once the funeral ritual has come to an end.

About five or six men began rearranging the order of the gourds and cans, while some

other men prepared the medicine/ lighting aromatic plants. The Grandfather was stripped

of his clothing that he had left on his body and had his head carefully shaved clean. Later,

a large pot of warm water along with 3 clay pots full of more water, seasoning, and millet

flour were placed before Grandfather. A meal was prepared for grandfather because this

food strengthens the body...You cannot begin the trip to the ancestors on an empty

stomach (51). There is so much emphasis on the long, difficult journey, therefor

everyone is concerned about. At the end of the ritual, a prayer of the dead was recited in

order to honor the dead. This ritual practice was only performed on people of importance

in the village. In one of the readings that was assigned this past semester, we learned

about many different types of rituals. From the previous assigned reading, this ritual

practice performed on Grandfather can be viewed as an Ideological Ritual. The

Grandfather had a rite of passage and the three stages of rite of passage are separation,

transition, and re-incorporation. The Grandfather is going on a journey to join his

ancestors in the afterlife. The ceremonies helped the people of the village have a sense of

solidarity even though one of the most important people in their village had just died. It

brought the village together as one. Grandfather was caught in between the real world
 that his grandson and son and villagers are still in and the world for the spirits.

Grandfather is being called by the spirits to finalize the transition and to finally leave the

living world. Grandfather was able to remain in communication with his family and the

villagers by, tightening his grip upon the hyena tail (53). The hyena tail allowed the

dead to contact and interact with those who are still living. This funeral ceremony is

much different from any funeral that I have ever attended. For instance, Grandfathers

funeral ceremony lasted three days in comparison to funerals I have gone to, they

typically last a few hours with a repass that takes place after. The funerals that I have

attended typically have a quiet and sad setting while the ceremony performed on the

Grandfather was happier as if it were a celebration.

2. The traditional education within Somes culture is that the children in the village soak in

the cultural knowledge from the stories that they will hear from their grandfathers. In

their culture, grandfathers were the main source of attaining information and knowledge

through the stories they tell their grandchildren. The grandfathers in this community had

a large influence on the grandchildren. The stories that are passed down from generation

to generation gave a great amount of knowledge from the cultural standpoint. Besides

listening to stories told by their elders, children were able to gain knowledge and

information by their physical actions. On a different note, Malidoma was expected to

know French and was physically punished when he was unable to find the correct answer.

He had received a very different type of education at the seminary in comparison to the

education in the community. At the seminary, they used fear as a tactic for teaching.

Priests and preachers are the ones who share the knowledge to the children. For instance,

at the seminary, Malidoma was required to learn about geography, science, and math.

These are the type of subjects that are typically required to be taught in any education
 system as of today in the United States and many other countries. It was not until now

that he was introduced to Christianity and who God was. A similarity between both the

forms of education is that they are both taught by elders. Both these forms educations are

different from the form of education that I have grown up with. In my past fourteen years

of education, I have had a majority of young, female teachers. In my time at school, I

have always been taught from a book and worksheets rather than having a teacher tell me

a story about what they want me to learn. Another difference is that never have I ever had

a teacher attempt to get through to me by scaring or hurting me. Although there are

differences, a similarity between my education and the education received at the seminary

is that I have grown up being forced to learn the basic subjects of math, science, and

literature. A close similarity with Somes way of learning is if I have difficulty

understanding a concept, I have a teacher further explain and elaborate more in order to

better my understanding. I am currently in a class where I have become more

knowledgeable about religions and this class (LBST 20120) can be compared to their

forms of educations due to the concept of religion and global connections. In Somes

culture, they focus on the importance of family and ancestral history. In Somes

education, the emphasis of learning is focused on religion and some basic subjects. In my

education, it is more technologically based on a wider range of subjects.

3. Malidoma Patrice Some must be initiated into adulthood in order to re-join his

community transitioning from an adolescent to an adult. An adult will eventually

transition into an elder, if one obediently walks their life path (23). One will only

become an elder depending on their good record. His community is hoping that after his

re-initiation, Malidoma will continue to possess the old characteristics of life after being

gone for so long. A few concerns that the elders had were Malidomas awareness about
 other cultures due to the white people. Knowing what you know is not common (176).

The elders were concerned about the knowledge Malidoma now carries within him and it

is unusual for people in their community to have this knowledge. He is going through a

rite of passage for his initiation into becoming a man. Malidoma is in the process of

leaving his adolescent and entering the state of adulthood. There were many rituals that

go into his rite of passage. The first stage of the rite of passage is separation. This took

place when Malidoma left his community and left behind the life he had. The next stage

of the rite of passage is the transition from the life he had, as if it were a cleanse from his

old self. One event that I recall him doing in the book was diving into a pool as a

transformation. This was a life changing experience for him and he felt that everyone

should have the opportunity to have the same experience as him. This process has helped

him become reborn into the world. It was a spiritual change cleansing him of who he

used to be. Who he used to be was being washed away and what was left was a new man.

The idea of the womb=the tomb is represented by the ritual when Malidoma is buried

alive. This represents the second ritual of his transition. This shows how he is in the

process of passing onto the next stage of life which is adulthood. The last stage is the

incorporation phase. Malidoma has officially become a man and is ready to re-enter his

community as a new person. Each and every one of these rituals were important in the

process of Malidoma breaking out of his childhood and being reborn into his new life as

an adult.
4. The concept of naming and destiny is very significant and important in Malidoma Patrice

Somes culture. In the Dagar community, the naming of a child is portrayed as a reminder

of what their true responsibilities to their community. The name that a child is given

defines what they will do in their future as an adult. In the Dagara culture, Malidomas
name can be translated to be friends with the enemy. Malidoma Patrice Some was

given the destiny to befriend all enemies and strangers by his ancestors spirits. I believe

that he has met his destiny and is living up to the name he was given because he was able

to befriend the white people and was able to attain a great source of knowledge from

these enemies. Some is able to travel the world in order to gain new knowledge about

different cultures to bring back to his own people. He is befriending strangers from all

over the world. In this culture the spirits of the ancestors communicate to the family

through rituals to help them find a name for the child to fulfill their true destiny in life.

With the help from ancestors, they help the children stay focused on working towards

their destiny. Ancestors are always there watching over and leading the children in order

to fulfill what they were born to do.