Jessica Burris Of Water and the Spirit Essay Questions LBST 2102, Katsanos

1. In Of Water and the Spirit, when we are introduced to Malidomas Grandfather Bahkye,
he is described as an old frail and wise man. Pretty soon after the introduction of
Grandfather, there is a noticeable decline in his health, and we soon experience his death
on Mission Hill. Because Mission Hill is not the home of the tribe, Grandfather Bahkye
must return home to his village by walking and carrying a hyena tail as per the Dagara
culture to correct his death. The hyena tail was given to him as he was walking home to
eat because it was frowned upon to arrive to the ancestors on an empty stomach, as well
as giving the allusion that he was alive by eating and walking. After returning back to his
home, Grandfather was placed to rest on his bed. In the space surrounding his bed, gourds
were arranged around his room along with food and medicine to complete a ritual. Along
with the gourds and food, to complete the ritual, Grandfather must have his hair cut and
body washed. Grandfather Bakhye had such an important role in the tribe that a special
ritual took place in his room where everything was turned upside down while the prayer
of the dead was being recited. This is a special symbol and ritual for when a person of
great importance in the tribe has passed away. I believe this type of ritual to be an
ideological death ritual because of its three separate phases present: separation, transition,
and re-incorporation. The separation phase in his death is when he dies on Mission Hill,
away from his home and his people. The transition phase is where Grandfather Bahkye
dies, but is then reborn into his new identity. The re-incorporation phase seems a little
tricky, because even though Grandfather isnt technically reincorporated back into the
tribe with his people, his spirit and body are still present, just by being back home.
Grandfather Bahkye is neither here nor there because he was able to transport between
the two worlds since he was able to be woken from such a deep sleep. The
aforementioned hyena tail aided him in this journey. Once the rituals and prayers were
completed, Grandfather was relocated to his grave, and was subsequently buried. The
funeral lasted for three days, where people would stand around his burial and praise him
for his actions in the community.
The experience of this type of funeral is far from anything I have ever experienced. A
typical funeral here in the Western World seems to typically be a lot sadder, more
mournful with more grieving. The Dagara funeral ritual seems to be more of a celebration
of life and spirit, with a festive atmosphere (pg. 59). As well the difference of the general
Jessica Burris Of Water and the Spirit Essay Questions LBST 2102, Katsanos

mood in the air, the time difference between the two is whats most different. The Dagara
ritual lasting three days, the typical Western funeral maybe lasts a few hours, depending
on the service.

2. Malidomas time in the seminary was very different than one would traditionally acquire
an education. For the three years he was there, most boys had to live in fear of being
tormented and had to grow up fast (pg. 111). If there was anything that I could be able to
relate to Malidoma on in this book, it was being able to find an escape in school work. It
was easier to stay there in that imaginary freedom than to go out and face the boring
reality of the sanctified realm, (pg. 112). Compared to traditional education, because of
the heavy religious influence, curiosity was discouraged when it contradicted the word of
Christ. According to Father Joe, This institution does not tolerate this kind of
freethinking. You are here to learn to become a soldier of Christ and thats it, (pg.
113). Malidomas educational experience in the seminary was white man focused.
While for us today, this seems unfortunately normal, Malidomas experience was far
from that. He was forced to learn about a past that wasnt his own, and forced to
disregard his own past with his ancestors and the stories that his grandfather would tell
him about his ancestors. The overarching purpose of the seminary was to erase their
indigenous past and convert them into believing and following the white man and the
catholic religion. Growing up I went to a non-secular private school for thirteen years. I
feel very lucky for my upbringing because I was allowed to make and form my own
opinions regarding what I had learned in school and was not judged for what I thought
and believed, unlike Malidoma. Although, similarly to Malidoma, I grew up hearing
about my past relatives, and my ancestry, and where my family had come from. My
maternal great-grandfather was a first generation America from Croatian immigrant
parents, fought in WWII, was awarded numerous medals for his heroism and
achievements in regard to assisting with the liberation. He passed away in 2004, but I
would give anything to be able to see him one more time and hear the stories of his past
he was too scared to tell.
3. When Malidoma finally returned to his village back in Burkina Faso after fifteen years,
he had to be initiated back into the village because he had been gone so long, all he knew
Jessica Burris Of Water and the Spirit Essay Questions LBST 2102, Katsanos

now was the way of the white man and not of the Dagara. While his father was
encouraging him to be initiated, the elders were mainly concerned that it wouldnt work
because he is a part of two separate worlds, he couldnt fully immerse. The elders were
also afraid that he wouldnt be able to take in all the information he would need to learn
throughout the initiation because his head had been filled with all of the knowledge from
the western world. I felt like this type of initiation ritual was ideological as well. These
rituals seek social control by changing (or reinforcing) the moods, behaviors, sentiments,
motivations and values of people for the sake of the community as a whole. Examples
include rites of passage, ritualized study of scriptures or oral storytelling, rites of
rebellion like Mardi Gras or carnival, (Types of Rituals, Katsanos), because of the rite of
passage associated with it as well as aiding the community as a whole. The elders want
him back associated with the village even though he was a part of the western world for
so long. In Malidomas, there were distinctly three separate parts to his experience. In the
first part of his initiation, the ritual begins with him and a large group of other men he
knew from neighboring villages were taken into the bush, void of any clothes. They
stayed in the bush for several weeks without any outside contact. For the initiation phase,
Malidoma and the other boys were subjected to a multitude of tests to see if they were
worthy of the ritual and fully becoming a man. The first test started with him sitting and
staring at a tree under the sun. He waited and waited until he saw something appear, even
though he wasnt instructed on what he was supposed to see. He waited so long and got
so frustrated he was the last person standing, so he decided to lie to the elders so he didnt
have to wait any longer and said that he saw an antelope staring at me. It was gigantic
and brownish, with a white line on its side and another between its eyes, (pg. 219). The
elders immediately know this was a lie and almost gave up on him because they thought
he might have been too brainwashed. Just then, a green woman in a black veil appeared
to Malidoma. Part two of initiation called for the men to jump into a hole in the ground
and hold on to the wires as they were descending so they wouldnt get stuck in the hole
forever. After this hole in the ground, the final step was to travel into the underworld.
Malidoma was told to find an egg shaped cave and crawl into it and take something from
inside of the cave to prove that he was actually inside of the cave. When he was still
down there, Malidoma saw sights that reminded of the real world, but it wasnt the real
Jessica Burris Of Water and the Spirit Essay Questions LBST 2102, Katsanos

world. One of the most notable things he saw down there were crocodiles that had lined
up to form a bridge for him to walk across the river safely. This is notable because in the
stories of his ancestors, his family had made an agreement with the crocodiles long, long
ago to keep peace between each other, in the real world and in the underworld. The
crocodiles then helped him to find a special stone to take back up in to the real world. As
soon as Malidoma held the stone in his hands, he had visions of his future, his destiny. A
future in which he had a wife and children. In this future life, he broke the law and was
sentenced to death. After this vision on his journey back home, completing the final task
meant he was a man and was able to be welcomed back into the village. The importance
of being initiated into his village stems back from the fact that he was born there, and the
overwhelming sense of the womb is the tomb, meaning where you are born is where
you should die.
4. In the Dagara culture, the naming process is extremely important. The name chosen for a
person signifies their destiny, their outcome of life. In Malidomas case, his name means
to be friends with the stranger/enemy, (pg. 1). This translation couldnt relate to his life
any more, because he did exactly that. He transitioned and survived into the western
world, a world that does not fully accept him. He went to the western world, came back
to his roots, and went back into the western/white mans world once again. The second
time returning to the white mans world to spread the knowledge and awareness of the
indigenous lifeways to protect them. Besides spreading his roots, and becoming friends
with the enemy, he even acquired three degrees. Quite a feat for a man who didnt
grow up in the western culture. Reincarnation is also an important part in ones life. At
the beginning of the story, Malidoma asks about the naming culture that takes place when
a baby is still in its mothers womb. It is said that the fetus talks to the grandfather and
the unborn child tells the grandfather of its own destiny, which ancestor they are
reincarnated from, and says Birifor. This came as a shock because Birifor was
Grandfather Bakhyes brother, which created the strongest of bonds between Malidoma
and Grandfather. Ancestors and their spirit are the ones who are with you always and
guide you through life to maintain their previously spoken destiny.