African American Initiation

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Throughout this semester we have learned many rituals of the African culture, particularly the importance of initiations. These initiations signify the transition from childhood to adulthood. Bamana male initiation and women’s initiation among the Mende people are two specific groups that highly recognize this transitional period with great importance. The training is rigorous and involves lots of lessons to build character.
Among the Bamana people, the importance of initiation from childhood to adulthood is seen in various ways. Part of their vernacular used by the Bamana people of Mali was a word called Jow. Men may be initiated into religious associations according to their age and capacity of knowledge. Initiates move through the different …show more content…

It consists of one initiation instead of multiple. Although, the initiation of these young ladies incorporates many symbolic masks, figures, clothing, and rituals. The women society that Mende females become initiated into, when of age, is known as Bondo or Sande society. The initiation of these young girl’s spans over a long period of time for they are taken away from the community and spend their time in the bush. This is also very similar to the Bamana male initiation process. To the Mende people, the bush is where the girls learn what it means to be an honorable woman in their community, and it is often where they undergo a female circumcision, known as a “clitoridectomy”. The bush school is like the initiation camp that creates a sister-like bond between the girls. The initiates do everything together and after this is all done and they are initiated they may look to each other for all sorts of things in life. For the duration of this time, these young girls are off limits in the eyes of men. Their hair is wrapped in a head wrap and their body is covered in white clay to symbolize which woman are undergoing initiation and must not interact with the males in the community. The Sande society holds a “ndaniti” ceremony where carved wooden headdresses, known as “Ndoli jowei”. These masks are worn in Sande ceremonial dances. They characterize the women’s sexuality, complex hair, and health (the neck rolls). The spirit that manifests in the mask guides the performers as the spirits mystical powers work through them. It is important that during the performance the young girls are covered from head toe. If any of their body is exposed during the initiation ceremony, then the spirit may enter her body. After the initiation, the newly initiated adult women of the community dress in modern dresses with modern hairstyles and must sit quietly to reflect on who they are now

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