This author explores profound philosophical questions through his writing. His works are recognized for their intellectual depth and insightful commentary on the human condition. Readers discover thought-provoking ideas and fresh perspectives within his texts. Through his literary style, he invites contemplation and offers a rich intellectual experience.
Through The Healing Wisdom of Africa , readers can come to understand that the life of indigenous and traditional people is a paradigm for an intimate relationship with the natural world that both surrounds us and is within us. The book is the most complete study of the role ritual plays in the lives of African people--and the role it can play for seekers in the West.
Maliodoma Patrice Some was born in a Dagara Village, however he was soon to be abducted to a Jesuit school, being harshly indoctrinated into European ways of thought and worship. This title tells the story of his return to his people, his hard initiation back into those people, which lead to his desire to convey their knowledge to the world.
In this remarkable book, Malidoma Somé explores the essential role ritual plays in maintaining community and examines the structure common to all ritual. By telling stories of the rituals of his native West African Dagara culture, and of his own experiences in the tribal community, he makes a convincing case that the lack of ritual in the Western world is a fundamental reason that the fabric of society is unraveling. "The hurt that a person feels in the midst of this modern culture should be taken as a language spoken by the body," writes Somé. "Our soul communicates things to us that the body translates as need, or want, or absence. So we enter into ritual in order to respond to the call of the soul." The name Malidoma means "he who is to be friends with the stranger/enemy," and Somé, who has doctorates from the Sorbonne and Brandeis, abandoned his teaching career at Brandeis at the instruction of village elders to devote himself completely to speaking and, with his wife Sobonfu, conducting workshops on ritual."The question is, can the modern world find ways to perceive the subtle knowledge and imagery of the tribal world? Can Western understanding open a place for tribal visions of spiritual life and community rituals to enter? Malidoma Somé is uniquely qualified to find the thresholds between the worlds and hold the gates open." —Michael Meade