“Grandfather used to call the rain 'the erotic ritual between heaven and Earth.' The rain represented the seeds sown in the Earth’s womb by heaven, her roaring husband, to further life. Rainy encounters between heaven and Earth were sexual love… — Malidoma Patrice Somé Copy Share Image
It's true that tribal rivalries have something to do with political instability. It's also true that those rivalries were exaggerated by colonialism. Colonialism essentially insulted the tribal territories, and as a result, nations came to be composed of an agglomeration of many tribes - 65 in Burkina Faso alone. The Mossi majority sees itself as the owner of Africa; others… — Malidoma Patrice Some Copy Share
In Africa, you cannot come into a comfortable material lifestyle without going through Christ. So many Africans say, "I'll take the whole package. That way I'm sure I'll get what I want." This is the compromise the rising urban class of Africa makes. Christianity is not seen as a soul-transforming device capable of producing redemption, but as a source of… — Malidoma Patrice Some Copy Share
“Wealth (among the Dagara) is determined not by how many things you have, but by how many people you have around you.” — Malidoma Patrice Somé Copy Share Image
Spiritual methods are essential in Africa if you are going to survive politically. My cousin is the chief security officer for the president of Burkina Faso. He knows the key medicine man who works day and night to keep the president in power. These medicine men don't have offices downtown; they live in huts in remote areas, but that is… — Malidoma Patrice Some Copy Share
The spiritual thirst that is latent in everybody can never come to a place of fulfillment unless people begin to think of each other… — Malidoma Patrice Some Copy Share Image
Nakedness is very common in the tribe. It is not a shameful thing; it is an expression of one's relationship with the spirit of nature. To be naked is to be open-hearted. Normally kids stay naked until puberty and even beyond. It was only with the introduction of cheap cloth from the West, through Goodwill and other Christian organisations, that… — Malidoma Patrice Some Copy Share
Historically the customs and traditions of day-to-day life in Africa have been dismissed by Western cultural anthropologists as primitive, chaotic, pagan activities that should be replaced by Christianity, the only civilized religion. The West has also long assumed that it should convert tribal cultures to literacy, which is to say an entirely different way of looking at the world, of… — Malidoma Patrice Some Copy Share
Healing comes when the individual remembers his or her identity—the purpose chosen in the world of ancestral wisdom—and reconnects with that world of Spirit. — Malidoma Patrice Some Copy Share Image
I see too many people who jump into spirituality as a shelter to hide from reality. It doesn't work that way. The way it works is for the spirit behind you to follow you wherever you go, like a loyal soldier, and show you how to face up to adversity. If you can't face adversity, you will get locked into… — Malidoma Patrice Some Copy Share
The power of quiet is great. It generates the same feelings in everything one encounters. It vibrates with the cosmic rhythm of oneness. It… — Malidoma Patrice Some Copy Share Image
Whether they are raised in indigenous or modern culture, there are two things that people crave: the full realization of their innate gifts, and… — Malidoma Patrice Some Copy Share Image
The power of nature exists in its silence. Human words cannot encode the meaning because human language has access only to the shadow of… — Malidoma Patrice Some Copy Share Image
