The Healing Wisdom of Africa: Finding Life Purpose Through Nature, Ritual, and Community
by Malidoma Partice SoméJ P Tarcher: 1998.
(pp. 321)
Malidoma Partice Somé writes about the culture and traditional knowledge of his people, the Dagara, who are known as a people among the nations of Africa for their healing powers and spiritual knowledge. Somé provides insights into the cultural reality of a powerful African nation revealing the gifts and genius of ritual, community and the importance attached to these qualities for their healing power. He explores the living qualities of fire, water, earth, minerals and nature- paying homage to Earth as the life giver.
While Somé tends to romanticize some aspects of his own culture he reveals that this comes as a result of living in two worlds: the world of the Dagara and the world of industrial/technological peoples in Oakland, California and in Europe. We sometimes overlook the leveling qualities of our own culture or we ignore similar leveling qualities in other cultures when we live in many worlds. Given the name that means, "be friends with the stranger," Somé clear carries the duty of traveling and reaching out to the world even as he lives and learns in his birth culture. This is an important book for what it reveals about the power and depth of one of Africa’s great cultures. As the nations of Africa reclaim their place among the peoples of the world, sometimes throwing off the newly acquired identity of a Third World state, there will be more Somé’s sharing the gifts and genius of their people.