E-Village News
Responding to the Call of the Ancestors
November/December 2012
Teachings of Healing & Connection
with Malidoma Som�
Interview with Malidoma in
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, February 2010

Malidoma will again, travel to Halifax to conduct ritual and divinations in 
January 2013.  See the "Upcoming Events" section in this newsletter for details!
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Can you give us a sense of your background?  Why do you feel called to bring indigenous teachings to a Western audience?

My name, Malidoma, means "he who makes friends with the stranger/enemy."  My early years were spent in Dano, located in the country of Burkina Faso in West Africa.  I belong to a group of people called the Dagara, who trace their origins to the region once known as the Gold Coast, now called Ghana.  The story of my youth and education, described in my book, Of Water and the Spirit, is one of life on the edge, trapped between two cultures, one indigenous and the other modern; it is a tempestuous story.  Taken from my home by the Jesuit priests, I spent some sixteen years at the mission school in a very similar environment to the Residential Schools in Canada.  Circumstances propelled me to return to my village where I began my education in another culture---my own.  Following my initiation I write, extensively, about this transformative experience in Of Water and the Spirit.  At the insistence of the elders, I returned to study in the West after completing my degree at the University in Ouagadougou, the capital city of my country.  Further studies in France and the USA gave me the opportunity to begin the path of teaching the ancient wisdom of the Dagara to the peoples of the West, bridging the gap and ensuring that the message of the Dagara Tribe will not be lost forever.

What can people who don't share your cultural background learn from the Dagara's traditional ways?  Is this tradition accessible to anyone or do you feel that there is much common ground in the wisdom teachings of various peoples and that we need to reconnect with our own spiritual backgrounds?

The spiritualities of the world do not antagonize or cancel each other out.  On the contrary, they reaffirm the same wisdom from various angles.  At the core of this wisdom is the sanctity of human life and the environment we live in, the purposefulness of every living being, the beauty of community and the grounding force of the ancestors.  These values are universal and must be rekindled in the spirit of those who were raised away from them so that new hope and motivation to do well can be reborn in them.  The Dagara tradition which is structured around five elements, Fire, Water, Earth, Nature and Mineral, is not alienating, instead it is eye opening because it reaffirms what people already know deep inside of them.

What are some of the traditions central to the Dagara that you teach?

Ritual and community are the two core components of indigenous cultures.  Ritual is the language that allows the spirit world and the human soul to communicate in the most clear and powerful way.  It creates a container into which the frustrations of everyday life and pressure can be poured so that, by some other-worldly alchemy, the unleashed energy is transformed into something healing and empowering.  And, since ritual is most often a group experience, my work calls people back into the truest sense of community, that which holds the individual in such a way that that person can be transformed into a vital part of the very community that cradled the wounded person.  People are fascinated by the "tools" of African medicine---the art and skills of divination, talismanic medicine, and healing prescription are explored in my teachings.  Learning these skills is not an exact science and some people seem to take to it more easily than others.  It is interesting to watch modern people respond to the attraction of these ancient tools.  The isolation that is a direct result of the consumer driven, mobile modern society causes the psyche to cry out for the basic "building blocks" of human experience, first and foremost being village/community. When speaking to groups, my primary intent is to offer words that will awaken and stir some deep knowing that has always been with them---that deep knowing of belonging to a village/community, which can still emerge through the demands of a technological and competitive society.

What is your focus of teaching here in Halifax?

My focus in Halifax is on community and ritual. The power of ritual and community is such that it contributes to the restoration of a clear sense of belonging, a love of the self and the other, a closer feeling toward ancestors and an awareness of the mother Earth who holds us.  I am honored to meet the many and varied peoples of the region---and also those coming from elsewhere in Canada.  I look forward to being welcomed to the Chebucto/Halifax lands of the Mi'Kmaq native peoples.  As we all come together to share the stories of the ancestors, whether from the native peoples, those of African decent and the others who came as pioneers to the West, whether today or centuries ago, a community will be created in this precise capsule of time!


Malidoma was interviewed by Sherry Borden Colley for The Chronicle Herald newspaper.

Upcoming Events

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One-Day Mineral Ritual with Malidoma in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, Sunday, January 6th, 10 am to 7 pm

Use the wisdom of the Dagara Tribe of Burkina Faso, West Africa to:

Find your life purpose
Identify your work and gifts
Tell the stories and connect deeply with your Ancestors

$275 plus potluck dish

For more information visit awbac.chebucto.org/

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Private Divinations in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, January 7-8

Schedule an appointment to visit Malidoma for a private and personal divination.

Malidoma utilizes cowrie shell divination for his sessions. You will be asked to spread a pile of shells, bones, stones, and other implements on a special "divination cloth."  This spread, infused with your energy, is what Malidoma will read and interpret to bring a message about your life and purpose for being on the planet at this time. The message will also address how to find balance with the elemental spirits of earth, water, fire, nature and mineral.

Cost:  $250

For more information and to make an appointment, write to [email protected]

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Malidoma at Jackie's on the Reef, Negril, Jamaica, West Indies, January 14-18

Cost:  $1800.00 (does not include airfare)

Deposit:  $800 

(Check or Credit Card in NY) NO CREDIT CARD in Jamaica.
$1000 Bal.  Paid upon arrival in Jamaica

(Cash/Travelers Checks accepted)

 

For more information and to make reservations, contact:
 [email protected]  or   718-469-2785

 

Retreat Includes:

 

Breakfast, dinner and yoga (daily)
Himalayan singing bowls meditation (wear white)
Workshop w/Malidoma & Fire, Water & Ancestor Rituals
2 Spa Treatment, Airport Transfer
Fireside chats and star gazing

 

This retreat is for people who wish to reconnect with spirit, nature, wisdom, and increase understanding in their knowledge and power.

 

Malidoma is an initiated elder, gifted diviner, and medicine man of his tribe.  The old tradition and knowledge of the Dagara people, is known throughout West Africa for their healing abilities and spiritual practices.  It is time to embrace the wisdom of  indigenous Africa.  After centuries of silencing the powers and wisdom of the African ancestors, it is now time  to lead the world to the next level of consciousness.  Malidoma is the author of several books:  Ritual, Of Water and the Spirit and The Healing Wisdom of Africa.

 

For Private Divination Sessions on Saturday January 19 and Sunday, January 20, at the Retreat with Malidoma, write to [email protected] 

 

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Private Divinations in Negril, Jamaica, West Indies
January 19-20

Malidoma will be available for divinations at Jackie's on the Reef, in Negril, Jamaica on Saturday, January 19th and Sunday, January 20th.

 

For more information and to sign up, write to [email protected] 

 

Divinations typically last about 45 minutes, although this experience seems to unfold beyond linear time.  The time you spend in session will be the right amount of time.  Divinations have a life-span of their own; they seem to become "living entities" that move into your life, staying until their work is completed.

 

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Private Divinations in Minneapolis, Minnesota, February 1-4 
 
Experiencing a personal divination with Malidoma is a beautiful, empowering and healing manifestation of Spirit.  It is an opportunity to hear direction from the realm of the Ancestors and to connect, more deeply with what you know "in your bones."

For more information and to sign up, write to [email protected]

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Malidoma in Austria! 

 

February 14, 2013

Symposion D�rnstein: Risiko  Sicherheit
Stift D�rnstein, Pr�latensaal, �sterreich / Austria, Europe
14. bis 16. Februar 2013
u. a.: Herzensbildung, nicht Sicherheit, Ein Beitrag des afrikanischen Humanismus, von Malidoma P. Som�

 

For more information and to make reservations please contact:
Wachau Kultur Melk, +43 (0)27 52 / 540 60

 

 

 

February 18, 2013

Private Divinationen in Wien
Wien, �sterreich / Austria, Europe
18. bis 20. February 2013

 

For more information and to make reservations please contact: 
Adresse siehe:  www.christinefreiler.at

 

 

 

February 21, 2013

Vortrag zum Thema "Initiation" / Lecture
Stadtkeller Neulengbach, Egon-Schiele-Platz, A-3040 Neulengbach
�sterreich / Austria, Europe
21. Februar 2013
Kontakt:  Rainer Wisiak, [email protected]

 

 

 

February 22, 2013  
INTERKULTURELLER WORKSHOP
mit Malidoma Som�
Das traditionelle Wissen und die Weisheit Afrikas - ein afrikanisches Gemeinschaftsritual
FR, 22. Februar, 19 Uhr, bis SO, 24. Februar 2013, 13 Uhr
Schrems, Seminarzentrum Waldviertler Schuhwerkstatt, Umgebung
�sterreich / Austria, Europe

Jeder Mensch kommt mit einer Bestimmung und Lebensaufgabe auf die Welt, sagen die westafrikanischen Dagara. Malidoma Som� ist traditioneller Schamane und initiierter Stammes�ltester der Dagara. Sein Name bedeutet: "Sei Freund dem Fremden." Seine Bestimmung l�sst ihn ins Waldviertel kommen, um mit uns ein Wochenende lang ein Ritual zu gestalten, nach unserer Bestimmung zu suchen und heilige R�ume zu erschaffen. In diesem afrikanischen Ritual wird ein Weg aufgezeigt - von Malidoma Som� mit Weisheit und einf�hlsam vermittelt - in Kontakt zu kommen mit der anderen Welt und Heilung zu erlangen.

  

Malidoma schreibt:

"Ich denke, der gr��te Segen, der uns widerfahren kann, w�re die Erschaffung von heiligen R�umen. An jenen heiligen Orten k�nnen wir dem Bed�rfnis der Seele entsprechen, wieder aufgetankt, wirklich erf�llt zu werden. Es w�re immerhin ein Anfang, die Seele ann�hernd genauso zu n�hren wie den K�rper. Bis das geschieht, werden wir fortfahren, diese hungrige romantische Sehnsucht nach urspr�nglichen Kulturen zu entwickeln."

  

For more information and to make reservations please see:
 http://www.w4tler.at/geaneu/2474/akademie/interkultureller-workshop  



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New Indigenous Spirit Technologies (IAST), Two-Year Training Program, near San Francisco Bay Area, May 8-13

 

Designed for those who want to serve the purpose of this new era, this multi-part program is being created to lay the groundwork, deeply and personally, for a leap into the magical and spiritual technological legacies of our Ancestors.  Grounded in radical exploration of the elements of Fire, Water, Earth, Nature, and Mineral, this program aims to enrich our working relationships with them in order to anchor ourselves more fully in this world and to be of greater service to all living beings.  We will create, experience and learn to provide for others, ritual involving each element and its healing properties, thus fostering healing for ourselves, others, and our communities.

 

Cost begins at $975.

 

For more information and to register, click here.

 

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Malidoma in Germany!


May 31, 2013

Vom Geist Afrikas, Natur-Ritual - ein Ritual f�r Wandel und Transformation
Workshop mit Malidoma Som�, PhD

Caduceus Zentrum, Niendorfer Weg 5, 29549 Bad Bevensen, Nord-Deutschland / Germany, Europe

 

Frei 31.05.2013 19h bis So 02.06.2013 13h

 

Malidoma Patrice Som�, PhD ist ein wortgewandter Botschafter der indigenen Weisheit seines Stammes, dem Volk der Dagara aus Burkina Faso, Westafrika. Als ein eingeweihter Schamane und Stammes�ltester und durch seine akademische Ausbildung u.a. an der Pariser Sorbonne und der Bostoner Brandeis University formt er mit seinem Leben und seiner Lehre eine Br�cke zwischen der Tradition seines Volkes und der modernen Welt. Der Name Malidoma bedeutet: "Ein Freund dem Fremden und dem Feind."  Malidoma spricht englisch und wird �bersetzt.  

 

Das Jahr 2013 ist das Jahr der Natur, des Wandels und der Ver�nderung.

Es geht bei dem Element Natur um Ver�nderung, Transformation, Zyklus, Abstimmung, Flexibilit�t. Natur ist etwas Lebendiges, sie fordert uns auf, uns bewusst zu �ndern und jeden Wechsel willkommen zu hei�en.

  

Der gr��te Feind des Fortschritts scheint f�r den Westen die Natur zu sein. Jedes Mal, wenn ein Bulldozer eine Schneise durch den Wald schl�gt, wird eine Zaubergabe der Erde vernichtet. Wie soll sich Natur mit Modernit�t in Einklang bringen lassen, wenn sich die moderne Technik doch selbst als Gegensatz zur Natur versteht. Die Stammesv�lker wissen, dass die Natur keine Kompromisse macht. Sie zieht sich bei Angriffen nicht zur�ck. Denn ihre Vernichtung w�rde  

unsere Vernichtung bedeuten..." Malidoma Som�  

 

For more information and to make reservations please contact:
Telefon: 05821 -477 129, Fax: 05821 -477 130
website:  www.caduceus.de

 

June 3, 2013

Private Divinationen in Bad Bevensen
Caduceus Zentrum, Niendorfer Weg 5, 29549 Bad Bevensen, Nord-Deutschland / Germany, Europe

Mo 03.06. und Di 04.06.2013
For more information and to make reservations please contact:
Telefon: 05821 -477 129, Fax: 05821 -477 130



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9-Day Nature Encampment with Malidoma at East Coast Village (ECV), Cherry Plains, NY, June 21-30

 

The process of reinforcing the connection to the Spirit world, of engaging in rituals of Fire, Water, Earth, Mineral and Nature, in the heart of Nature herself, is the goal of the 9-Day Nature Encampment with Malidoma---a rite of remembering your indigenous mind---a mind that remembers the connection to Oneness.

 

Through radical rituals and the life-affirming ordeal of separation from the modern world, you will be guided to deepen your connection to spiritual realities long since forgotten in the throes of modernity.  This is not a "vision quest" or "wilderness camp."  During the nine days, you will be camping on the land in a temporary village-like environment and engaging in daily rituals, making sacred objects to guide you on your journey, receiving divinations to clarify your purpose, and deepening your connection with the Spirits of Nature.

 

No cell phones, no computers, no electricity!  Tents are a must!

 

Tuition:

Pay in full:  $1,620 + meals

Payment plan  $1,782 + meals---50% deposit and balance due on or before start of session

 

For more information and details, click here  

 
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"Ritual offers the opportunity to relieve a tension from which words can no longer release us.  Perhaps a great number of social issues can be resolved not by creating more institutions but by creating rituals tailored to suit them.  Complex problems plague and cripple entire communities; by actively involving the members of the community in seeking solutions based in ritual, a community can achieve a deeper solution than words and rhetoric alone can provide.  Breaking the spell of circular arguments through the power of ritual is an area where indigenous people can provide effective help to the West."

The Healing Wisdom of Africa, pg. 161





Watch for our January/February 2013 E-Village News on
The Nature Element in Dagara Cosmology!!