This grief ritual is heavily influenced by the lineage of the Dagara people from Burkina Faso, Africa. The Dagara elders sent Malidoma Some and Sobonfu Some to the west as a survival strategy for their people and for the wellbeing of the planet. Their mission was to help Westerners remember how to grieve communally in order to mitigate the sickness of colonialism that they saw spreading across the planet.

Before birth Sobonfu was given her name which means “Keeper of the Ritual.” Malidoma Means” Make Friends with the Enemy/Stranger”. They had an arranged marriage and were asked to move to the States to spread their knowledge. Sobonfu didn’t want to leave her home and come to the West but the elders reminded her that it was her life purpose, her work. The Some’s taught the ancient wisdom of their tribe in workshops and trainings throughout the world and facilitated grief rituals.

We also want to acknowledge that our time together is heavily influenced by Francis Weller, a wise elder of European descent who spent time with Malidoma and Sobonfu, as well as the Dagara people, learning their ways. He wrote The Wild Edge of Sorrow which we highly recommend. He is a mentor for many grief ritual facilitators and has been a catalyst for spreading this work. We also have been influenced by Laurance Cole also of European decent. He is another wise elder, song leader & Pacific Northwest  grief ritual facilitator and mentor. Lastly, we want to give thanks to all the other grief tenders we have both learned from…Therez Chavet, Ahlay Blakely, Fernanda Samambaia, Chrisitine Cealila Kosonen…