It is quite ironic that Malidoma’s name so accurately depicts the life mission to which he so persistently tries to accomplish. Indeed, the magnificence behind Of Water and the Spirit lies in Malidoma’s approach in trying to "befriend a stranger" and educate rather than defame the Western world. The vividness and conviction to which he explains his grandfather’s life and the events in his initiation, which seem whimsical to any Westerner, definitely remind one that Malidoma’s tribe belongs to a world so remarkably different to the West. He also makes it apparent that the Westerner can only learn from his tribe, whose customs are equal in validity to that of the West. Contrary to his own experiences with the French Jesuit missionaries’ educational methods, Malidoma invokes his audience in the first part of his story through an innocence in tone and a profoundness in concept. This statement also parallels the plight of African indigenous culture in the presence of the white man. To be more specific, Malidoma explained that the Western world seemed to attack the traditions of Africa or several countries, which the white man did not understand. Although they feared much of the white man’s culture, Africans tended to accept the non-threatening aspects of other cultures as different and even tried to incorporate ideas into their own lives. Malidoma himself went even further in this approach by being educated in both societies. In his life, he has tried to understand the motives and values of both cultures, point out the differences, and even draw out some parallels in the two. Malidoma recognizes the equality of importance of both cultures. Of Water and Spirit seems to be his way of trying to instill this same recognition to other... ... middle of paper ... ...ed through one’s own experiences. He carefully notes that he also could not understand the purpose in the first event of tree gazing until he discovered the green female. Furthermore, he explained that not only could he not disclose much of the events in the initiation, a six week long process, but also most involved so much intensity that it would be impossible to manifest his feelings in words. Indeed, much of Malidoma’s purpose is to allow the audience to enter temporarily the realm of his culture in order to educate any outsider, specifically the Westerner, of the importance in the preservation of his culture as well as all indigenous cultures. He accomplishes this task by trying to note the oppression he felt in a Jesuit missionary and reveal aspects of his tribal life by delving into his emotions during initiation, in a captivating story and a warm voice.
In order to understand another culture, one must be compassionate when trying to fit in “someone else’s shoes”. One must be able to treat someone with the same care as if he/she is one of his or her own people. Limon exhibits this idea through her use of point of view, characterization, and internal conflict. When people are treat other equally, regardless of race, is when culture are properly understand.
Of Water and the Spirit is more than simply an account of Malidoma's life and initiation, it is a detailed description of the worldview of a Dagara man, who is forcibly subjected to traditional Western thought for fifteen years and then returns to his home physically, at first, but spiritually only once he goes through initiation, or what the Dagara call the Baar. Malidoma's recount of his story, being very similar to the storytelling of an African Griot, uses amazing imagery that allows the listener to sincerely experience his thoughts and actions and the things he sees, hears, and feels throughout his early life up to now.
Underneath the tale of Segu is the hushed and disloyal question few people tend to voice: how did they lose the rights to use the land and resources of an entire continent? This novel explains that it was not just Europe’s greed and Christianity pretense that led to the fall of Africa. It shows that Islam was a major force that endangered Segu as well. However, aside from the tragedy’s that were outlined, there lies a captivating story about culture, spirituality, and diversity.
...d issues of post-colonialism in Crossing the Mangrove. It is clear that Conde favors multiplicity when it comes to ideas of language, narrative, culture, and identity. The notion that anything can be understood through one, objective lens is destroyed through her practice of intertextuality, her crafting of one character's story through multiple perspectives, and her use of the motif of trees and roots. In the end, everything – the literary canon, Creole identity, narrative – is jumbled, chaotic, and rhizomic; in general, any attempts at decryption require the employment of multiple (aforementioned) methodologies.
In the novel Segu, Maryse Conde beautifully constructs personal and in depth images of African history through the use of four main characters that depict the struggles and importance of family in what is now present day Mali. These four characters and also brothers, by the names of Tiekoro, Siga, Naba, and Malobali are faced with a world changing around their beloved city of Bambara with new customs of the Islamic religion and the developing ideas of European commerce and slave trade. These new expansions in Africa become stepping stones for the Troare brothers to face head on and they have brought both victory and heartache for them and their family. These four characters are centralized throughout this novel because they provide the reader with an inside account of what life is like during a time where traditional Africa begins to change due to the forceful injection of conquering settlers and religions. This creates a split between family members, a mixing of cultures, and the loss of one’s traditions in the Bambara society which is a reflection of the (WHAT ARE SOME CHANGES) changes that occur in societies across the world.
Most of the elements and anecdotes described in this book are simply amazing and very insightful. But the fact that the Dagara culture associates life with a mission particularly caught my attention. This belief is the basic theme of the book. It made me wonder about my own beliefs and my own life mission.
Western attitudes to African people and culture have always affected how their art was appreciated and this has also coloured the response to the art from Benin. Over time, concepts of ‘Race’, defined as a distinct group with a common lineage, and ‘Primitive’ which pertains to the beginning or origin,, have been inextricably linked with the perception of Africa. The confusion of the two in the minds of people at the end of the 19th century, and some of the 20th, caused a sense of superiority amongst the ‘White Races’ that affected every aspect of their interaction with ‘the Black’. The ‘Civilisation’ of Africa by conquest and force is justified by these views.
One of the main focus points in European colonization was to further their economic order by using abundant recourses that were found far from the home land. They looked to gain power and produce wealth. In order to reach these goals, Europeans directed cultural change among the indigenous people and justified their actions by claiming it was “God’s work”. However, with all of these changes came diverse reactions from the native people. In the beginning they were eager to build relationships, however after time passed many considered them as sons from the devil.
The story follows Pastor Dowe, a missionary, living in an Amazonian indian village in Brazil. The story focuses on the pastor’s inability to understand this foreign culture and how he gradually comes to realize his shortcoming. In broader terms, the story relates the difficulty of directly imposing ideologies from one culture onto another.
Monique and the Mango Rains is a book that details the experiences that Kris Holloway went through when she went to Mali and meat Monique. In this essay I will analyze some of the things that she went through while there from a cultural realistic perspective. Cultural Relativism is the comprehension and understanding of a particular group’s beliefs and practices from that particular culture’s perspective. Some of things that I will analyze are the economic factors that result in not having adequate resources, the social structure of families in Mali including the sizes of families, and the Healthcare that which plays a critical role in how people live.
Moroccan traveler, Ibn Battuta, is well-known for being one of the greatest travelers of his time. Battuta’s descriptive account of his travels to East and West Africa in the fourteenth century provides important insight into African Islamic life at that point in time. Although Battuta and the peoples in black Africa shared the same religion, he comes to realize that sharing a religion is not enough to completely relate to a different group of people. The story of Ibn Battuta in Black Africa illustrates the difficulties he faced in relating to these peoples due to the non-traditional role of women, different religious customs, and frequent misinterpretation of situations.
Imagine the pressure of being expected to follow your culture’s traditions even if you want to rebel and create your own identity. Carrying on traditions can be difficult for many young people who are searching for their identities as they grow up. One movie and one text, “Whale Rider” by Niki Caro and “El Olvido” by Judith Ortiz Cofer, tell about rebellion and tradition. One shows the reader that when one rebels against cultural traditions there can be surprising results, while the other demonstrates that leaving one’s tradition and culture can be dangerous.
By showing Diouana’s death, the comparison between idealistic beliefs of European life and the reality of imperialism is completed. Ousmane’s film is able to portray and distribute this message to those who were not able to read about the political ramifications of imperialism, and successfully exemplifies the misconstrued, idealistic representation of European culture. This self-reflexivity causes the audience to take a look at and analyze the current situation in Africa. If Diouana chose not to return to Senegal and ultimately commit suicide, this would suggest that neither France nor Senegal is an environment suitable for an illiterate African woman. In this way, Ousmane provides a deeper and clearer understanding of post-colonial Africans and how one should represent them in film.
The epic Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali by D.T. Niane divulges the story of Sundiata Keita and the formation of the Mali Empire in West Africa. Through this classic the prominence of tradition, music, and spiritual ritual in Mandinka culture is revealed. This pre-colonial literature converted into a guide to those Africans confounded after the European Colonial rule. The impact of the literature enlightened Africans that were battling the internal conflict of accepting the new enforced idealism of Colonial living or reverting to back to African roots. A sense of pride can be collected from this epic through the transformation of Sundiata Keita and his destiny to become king against all odds.
Traditional shamanism can be described as a healer or religious practitioner who interacts with spirits while in a trance state. Some cultures claim that becoming a shaman is described as a calling, which can manifest in the diagnosis of personality disorders or personal suffering. The specific term shaman, has been loosely thrown around and applied to all sorts of people participating in various trance like religious acts. Traditional shamans treat a wide variety of spiritual misfortunes and operate on the temporal basis of part-time or “as needed,” also notable is that shamans are not always paid for their services. Also important is that each shaman’s method of practicing is idiosyncratic and independent. Shamans also do not operate within