Hunt 1

Zachary Hunt
Essay Questions
LBST-2102
1) The funeral of Grandfather Bakhye was an important part of the book and was

meticulously detailed. The funeral in the passage could be examined as a type of

salvation ritual. The transition from the human world that is viewed as a corrupt place to

an afterlife that could be compared to a utopia is the main characteristic that would lead a

reader to believe that it is a salvation ritual. The funeral is the epitome of an ideological

ritual. The reason that it is a strong example of an ideological ritual is because there are

three phases that Bakhye must go through to reach his final destination. The three phases

of the initiation include separation, transition, and incorporation. As many other rituals of

the same type, separation is the phase in which the identity is striped from the perished.

This part of the ritual was set into motion when the body of the deceased was safely

transported back to the tribal homeland from the place of death in Europe. His spirit

however had to embark on the journey from his location of death to the homeland by

walking because dying in a foreign land was considered corrupt, he did this with the aid

of a hyena tail. The liminal, or transitional phase is the next part that Bakhye had to

undergo. In this phase Bakhye had to move from his mortal human identity to his

immortal spiritual form. There was an array of festivities that were partaken in during the

funeral ritual. Some of these festivities included fasting, dancing, and mourning, all of

which were used to aid the transfer of Bakhyes identity from the human form to the

spiritual form. There are some tools that are commonly used by other shaman in this

phase to help the transfer, and those are a drum and xylophone. Both of the instruments

were played throughout the funeral to help the transition. The way the food was prepared
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was so that the food could be consumed because if it was not through a symbolic

enactment it could not be effectively consumed to honor him. During this phase of the

ritual Bakhye was neither in the realm of humans, nor in the spirit realm. Since he is

transitioning between the two he cannot be in one. The final phase of the funeral ritual is

the incorporation back into the community. It is important that his legacy stays in the

community after his passing, he will be remembered by the community for his

generosity. He displayed massive amounts of this virtue when he would give his surplus

food to the community. This action of good fortune has made his legacy a prominent

factor in the community, and thus the final phase is complete and the ritual is finished. I

havent been to a lot of funerals, but the ones that I have been to have either been one or

two day private affairs. The deceased will either have a viewing period and a burial, or

will have requested to just have a burial. The main difference between my personal

observation of my familys ritual and theirs is the fact that the whole community gets

involves and that it has three main parts. There will be music at my familys funerals but

it will not be played for the purpose of trying to get the deceased to move on to the next

life, like in the book.

2) Malidoma had two different types of education, the traditional tribal education, and the

education that he got through schooling. A difference between the two different types is

that the tribal education was mostly about the relationship that he had with his

grandfather and his community, and the other education that he was bestowed was more

aligned toward the Christian religion. The two schooling methods focused on very

different curriculums that had to do with different aspects on life. When his grandfather

was teaching him, he learned about his family background and history, what his role in
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the world was, and the future endeavors that he would encounter. His future endeavors

would be mostly doing things that would help him fulfill the prophecy about him.

Bakhyes way of teaching was like helicopter parenting, the lessons that would be taught

were taught by exploration and discovering the meanings on ones own. The seminary

however taught in a way that was more traditional to western culture, in the front of the

class talking to multiple students. Throughout his schooling at the seminary his main

focus was the language French and the history of the bible. These topics were to aid him

in a more modern life, but would not prepare him for when he returned to the tribe. Like

many students all over the U.S.A. the method of teaching would make the students afraid

of failing instead of focusing on the actual content of the classes. To the tribal people the

classes that he was taking did not count for anything. Both of the schools actually had the

same goal. Their goal was to prepare him for the world, although the worlds they were

teach for was totally different. The lessons at the tribe would be focused on teaching him

his role in life and how he could fulfill the prophecy to help the tribe prosper. The

seminary taught lessons for writing and other skills that people in the modern world

would need. Both types of school shared the purpose of teaching its pupal things that he

would need later in life, but they were also dissimilar in the subjects they taught and how

they taught them. The way that both of these forms of education worked is different than

our educational systems in America. In America, the educational system has a few

mandatory classes, but the majority of the classes that are taken are completely voluntary.

At the seminary, the classes that were taught were strictly regulated and the education

that you would receive was not up to you, it was already predetermined. The tribal way of

teaching was also different because if he did not learn the tribal customs he risked being
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exiled from the tribe all together. The idea of a choice was not a part of either of these

types of teaching. In ours, we get to decide a lot of things having to do with our

education, including the university, course of study, and even not getting one at all. The

way that our classes are taught are more closely related to the way that the seminary

taught, but the way the tribal lessons were taught are far from our formal educational

practices. There are many ways to learn on a college campus, a student can wander about

and learn various things from organizational get togethers much like how Malidoma

could wander around during his tribal teachings, or go to scheduled classes and sit

through a seminar which would more directly correlate to the way things are taught at the

seminary. Another similarity between our educational system and that of the tribe is that

the teachers care for the future of the students that are being taught, and they spend so

much time nurturing the students so that they can be beneficial members of the

community. The grandfather taught him with care because he would grow up to become a

valued member of their tribe. The teachers at the seminary were more worried about

getting the students through the classes instead of actually taking the time to see if the

students actually knew the material. The relationships that are sought out by the teachers

in the tribal ways and our educational systems are caring because of the part that the

student will play in life in the community. There are similarities for both of the ways he

was taught versus the way that we are taught in America, and there are contrasts for both

as well.

3) Malidomas future or fate had been predetermined for him, like the other boys that

resided in the village of Dagara, they have to undergo an initiation ritual called the Baar.

The ones that do not undergo initiation are considered adolescents for as long as they live
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and misfortunes are likely in their future. The elders of the tribe believed that the

seminary had divided Malidomas soul and body, and that he could not have the capacity

of learning anymore thing like the initiation ritual. It was hoped that initiation would

unite his soul and body once again. The initiation ritual is ideological, the phases are

separation, transition or liminal, and incorporation. Malidoma was separated from his

tribe to go and acquire knowledge that the white man had in his world. He was at the

mission on the hill at first, then he was transferred to the seminary where he would spend

most of his time. He was then forced to put his tribal ways in the past and augment his

appearance. He then had to carry on his life as Patrice. After obtaining the West

knowledge, he had to return to the tribe to go through intiataion and be once again

accepted, the transition phase. The spiritual initiation process proved to be harsh and

unforgiving because he almost died. The initial trial Malidoma had to preform was to sit

and gaze at a distance of twenty feet away from at a tree. During this trial, the

temperature increased and weather conditions had worsened. Malidoma got accused of

lying by the elders, and he had a feeling of isolation. He was confused as he addressed

the tree with respect and sincerity. The before his eyes a vision of a tall, green woman

appeared. They embraced one another, there were feelings of love and safety in the arms

of the woman, she could have been compared to his mother. This could be the way he felt

in the womb, symbolically of course. He didnt want to leave her embrace, he clung to

her, symbolizing the fear that an infant would have with the inexperienced. After the

completion of the initiation it felt as if he was reborn and his previous life was nothing

but a memory. The initiation phase can be observed as the event at the tomb, him

struggling to continue living, and the womb sensation was re-birth, the liminal phase.
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After struggling through various adversities from the previous phases he was

reincorporated into the tribal community.

4) It is believed in the Dagara tribe that each person is an incarnation that has a specific

destiny. The name of a person engraves the persons life they lead. The name bestowed

upon a person acts as a constant reminder of the responsibilities that they have to uphold.

Malidomas name means be friends with the stranger or enemy. His fate was to be as

the white man and to be the center of the compound, center to many friend, and the center

of tribe. The name symbolizes water, which usually stands for peace and reconciliation.

His destiny was already laid out before he was born, inside his mothers womb. A brief

period before his birth of a hearing ritual was performed. In this ritual, the mother is put

in a trance, souls of the past possess her, then during the possession the priest asks

questions. This is done so the tribe knows who is being reborn, where they came from

and their purpose, as well as what gender they chose. Malidoma was found out to be the

reincarnation of Birifor, which was his grandfathers older brother. Grandfather Bakhye

had to guide him for an imminent destiny with getting close to the enemies of his people,

the West. The West could be spiritually sick because of the actions that they took against

their ancestors, it was a duty bestowed upon them to help their ancestors. Their ancestors

were not properly helped and the bad energy cursed their souls. They keep causing

destruction to the world, and have little to no respect for the life or tradition of the land.

The Wests ancestors were murderers and thieves. They have decimated their land from

the processes of colonialism, imperialism, and the wars that they have brought to fruition.

After they have destroyed their own land they move on to other areas and destroy the

local religions, way of life, and decimate populations. It is sought out that history may
 Hunt 7

repeat itself the West does not make the necessary peace with their ancestors. The Dagara

want to upkeep the healthy relationship, and help their ancestors. For serving their

ancestors they receive guidance, teachings, and their nurturing. The ancestors give the

guidelines for living. The Dagara tribe care about the environment and everything in it,

but the West does not give the same sentiment, so they are able to perform cruel acts such

a genocide. Malidomas tactic to combat the west was to befriend the West, the tribes

enemies. The things that the tribe would learn by befriending them is the reason why they

wanted to take the ancestral land and how their minds worked. He met his fate and

successfully made the West his friend. After being kidnapped by priests he was able to

become friends with the West while he was at the mission and seminary. He even made a

personal sacrifice and lost his tribal identity, and was even baptized, which is not

sanctioned by the tribe. He ended up fulfilling his destiny. He acquired the knowledge of

the white man. Then he documented his experiences in a book to help teach others of his

journey. It can be guessed that he is grateful for his experiences because he was able to

obtain a western education to be able to spreadthe word of his journey and raise cultural

awareness. He thinks that isolation comes from the process of modernization. A way to

abolish mistreatment and hate is to be a part of a community and communicate with each

other.