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Women’s Wisdom from the Heart of Africa Audio CD – Unabridged, April 1, 2004
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In the Dagara tribe of West Africa, women are valued as the source of the world's wisdom. They are valued as dreamers, as diviners, as the backbone of the community; the core of human survival. But what can the teachings of this indigenous culture show us that will transform the way we live?
On Women's Wisdom from the Heart of Africa, Sobonfu Somé, author, teacher, and the first woman empowered by the Dagara elders to impart their teachings to the West, invites you to peer into a world where people remain closely connected to nature, their ancestors, and spirit, and to learn how to use powerful rituals to restore balance within yourself and with those around you.
Secrets of the Dagara Storytellers
Sobonfu Somé, whose name means "keeper of the rituals," was raised in her small village and sent by her elders to continue her education in the United States. With Women's Wisdom from the Heart of Africa, Somé shares authentic spiritual teachings of her tribe that were formerly handed down only within the circle of Dagara village life.
These teachings are founded on a worldview that honors animals, plants, and trees as our elders, and human beings as the newcomers. From this revered relationship with the natural world, we learn how to live in unity with our environment, and create a deeper connection with spirit.
Discover Your True Gifts and Offer Them to the World Through Ritual and Celebration
How do we find this connection to spirit? For the Dagara, ritual is the gateway. Distilling the essential practices of her people, Sobonfu Somé shows you how to check in with spirit to receive guidance, observe the sacred spaces of your home, harness the energy of the elements, strengthen your relationships, create balance in your professional life, and much more.
What are your unique gifts? What were you born to contribute? What can your community do to assist you? These questions are asked of every unborn Dagara child while still in the womb. Now, you have the chance to explore these and other questions, and to discover your inimitable gift as a woman with Women's Wisdom from the Heart of Africa.
Highlights:
- Use ritual to discover power places in nature and in your body
- Form a council of women to initiate growth and change in your community
- How to relate to your life cycles and honor them as times of grace, beauty, and immense energy
- Leadership as seen through the eyes of Dagara women—a different way of using your power
- How to create a shrine in your home to call in the divine
- Your unfiltered intuition—a guide you can always trust
- Call in the spirits of the elements to create balance and harmony
- Reclaim your ancestral lineage to learn who you are and what are your greatest strengths
- Visible and invisible power—tapping into your own sacred energy
- How to use grief and mourning to restore, renew, and regenerate your spirit
- Draw upon your dreams to guide, support, and encourage yourself and others
- Ritual—the key to connecting with spirit and with the people you care about
- Seven hours of rituals, reflection, and stories to immerse yourself in the traditions of the Dagara tribe and expand any spiritual practice
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherSounds True
- Publication dateApril 1, 2004
- Dimensions1 x 1 x 1 inches
- ISBN-101591791618
- ISBN-13978-1591791614
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Product details
- Publisher : Sounds True; Unabridged edition (April 1, 2004)
- Language : English
- ISBN-10 : 1591791618
- ISBN-13 : 978-1591791614
- Item Weight : 1.02 pounds
- Dimensions : 1 x 1 x 1 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #3,080,079 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,105 in Tribal & Ethnic Religious Practices
- #13,850 in Books on CD
- #23,261 in Women's Studies (Books)
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Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2022
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I'm sure there are much better books out there about African wisdom/philosophy (which I have yet to find) - but alas, this isn't one of them. Disc Contents:
DISC 1: OFFERING YOUR GIFT TO THE WORLD
- remembering the wisdom of your ancestors
- discovering your gift for the world
- the energetic code of your name
- the Dagara worldview of spirit
- women as weavers of community
- cultivating your relationship to the dream world
- women as the true leaders of the community
- reclaiming your ancestral roots
- a view of the Dagara culture
DISC 2: WOMEN'S MYSTERIES - HONOURING THE FEMALE LIFE CYCLE
- celebrating a woman's menses
- initiation into womanhood
- the danger of journeying into other dimensions
- the mentoring process
- the red-haired baby of wisdom
- menopause: stepping into elderhood
- becoming a mentor
DISC 3: RELATIONSHIP: THE BREATH OF LIFE
- the complexity of women's relationships
- women as the conduit to spirit
- expanding your community
- motherhood: surrendering to spirit
- woman the woman: the intimate connection
- creating sacred space for intimacy
- changing destructive patterns
- obstacles to s*xual intimacy
- the journey of healing
DISC 4: RECLAIMING YOUR FEMININE POWER
- what is the role of power in our lives?
- the first three gateways of power: the V*gina, the Womb and the breasts
- the fourth gateway of power: the Voice
- the last four gateways of power: the Eyes, the Ears, the Heart and the Hair
- how we hold our power in the world
- invisible power: the sustaining force
- the right use of power
- harnessing your power
DISC 5: RITUAL - THE GATEWAY TO SPIRIT
- personal rituals: keeping the spirit attuned
- weaving community with communal rituals
- radical and maintenance rituals
- universal rituals for everyday use
- elements of a ritual
- the five elements of Dagara Cosmology
- how to create a shrine
- setting the purpose and sacred space for your shrine
- invocation: clarifying your intention to spirit
- interacting with your shrine
DISC 6: FINDING INTIMACY WITH DEATH
- death as a part of everyday life
- forgiving, grieving, and letting go
- grief: the doorway to healing
- the ladder of grief
- creating a grief shrine
While there are lots of books on Female Wisdom (including much recycled knowledge), what Sobonfu Some reveals about women in her culture is more specific and rather unique. Hardly any indigenous women have revealed the secrets and understandings of their culture to the Western world. (Men like Malidoma Some and Martin Prechtel have made some inroads from the male perspective.) I found her views helpful in bringing a richer dimension to being a woman in our culture that expects women (and their concomitant biology) to conform to expectations set by spiritual amnesiacs.
Don't expect her to sound like a scholar or a deep-throated wise woman. Her voice has the casual ease of a spunky girlfriend who tells it like it is.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 24, 2022

I have the audiobook read by Sobonfu herself. I never had the opportunity to meet her in person, so i am especially grateful for this body of work she left for us.