ABSTRACT
In numerous African societies, life cycles – from birth, to death, to the afterlife – are all significant rites of passage. This chapter examines the courtship rituals of the Wodaabe, the masked funeral traditions of the Dogon and the Mossi, and Yoruba ancestor worship. The nomadic Wodaabe converge annually for the Geerewol Festival, a sort of beauty contest in which young male dancers are judged for their good looks and charm by young women. The first dance of the festival, the ruume, is a dance of welcome by day and ardor by night. The Dogon are an ancient people living in the Bandigiara Cliff region, located in the Republic of Mali. To insure balance in the community, Dogon funerals have three phases: the cliff burial; the nyû yana – a yearly rite honoring all who died; and the dama, a final send-off for important men in the community, which occurs in the village approximately every twelve years.
