and symbols associated with initiation are
shrouded in secrecy, aspects of the African world-
view are obvious in the public rituals, cere-
monies, signs, symbols, and objects displayed at
the conclusion of the initiation process. A public
display of a graduation ceremony, called
“the coming out” or “the pouring out” ceremony,
incorporates singing, instrumental music, cos-
tuming, lighting from natural sources, cosmetics,
and dance movement.
The graduation known as the “Pouring Out
Ceremony” lasts for 2 days. Rituals create a par-
ticular place in time and space for a specific pur-
pose. In the African context, rituals are usually
linked with cosmogony and are performed at the
community (village), family, and personal levels.
Some graduation rituals are performed by the ini-
tiates, whereas others include the community
where everyone participates. For example, the
Cleaning the Town ritual is performed by the ini-
tiates, while women, men, and children partici-
pate in the Transferring ritual. Uprooting by the
Serpent is another ritual in which the initiates par-
ticipate. In African iconography, the circled ser-
pent biting its tail represents the cycle of life, and
the elongated serpent represents longevity. The
python is the community totem of many West
African nations, and it plays a major role in the
initiation process.
In the Temne creation myth, when God created
the first man and woman, the first thing they did
was to sit down. The seating ceremony of the
female initiates is connected with this cosmologi-
cal idea, and it denotes the ontological concept of
becoming and being.
Within the African context, Bondo/Sande is
religious, philosophical, educational, and artistic.
The religious orientation follows an east–west
orientation, which has to do with primordial and
actual beginnings as explained in the African
worldview. Worldview is a culture’s orientation
toward God, humanity, birth, death, nature, ques-
tions of existence, the universe, and cosmos.
Aspects of the African worldview can be observed
in many rituals associated with initiation. The cre-
ation story of the Temne, for example, is that God
placed the new world on the head of a giant who
was then facing east. Perhaps to reenact the cre-
ation of the world, in the initiation ceremony, an
official dressed in white carriese-gbaka(the white
bundle) on her head. This bundle is equivalent to
thesande hale, the religio-legal institution of the
women’s society.The Mende say this bundle con-
tains a python.
After God created the new world on the giant’s
head, the giant began to turn slowly around to the
west. The Temne indeed associate the east with
the productive power of the sun and the rejuve-
nating freshness of the water from rivers as it
moves from the east to the west. The sun is born
in the east and dies in the west. In traditional West
African societies, women were sent to the east of
town, the “place of birth,” to give birth. In con-
trast, the west is the place of the dead; burial
grounds are in the west, as they were inKemet
(ancient Egypt).
The living and dead are linked. Ancestors—
those who once lived—caution and advise, they
mediate between the visible and invisible realms,
and they intervene in the lives of their descen-
dants to punish or reward. The relationship
between humans and ancestors is reciprocal. The
chief leaders in Bondo/Sande have access to
ancestors and the forces of nature; hence, these
leaders have access to sacred knowledge crucial
to the development, happiness, and success of the
individual and the well-being and prosperity of
the community. In return for help that ancestors
give to humans, humans must reciprocate by
making offerings to them.
One might conclude that initiation into
Sande/Bondo transforms a child into a beautiful
female human being. On the day of the coming-
out celebrations, when the young initiates are
presented to the community, it can be said that in
their finishing school they have learned music,
the rhythms of the ancestors, and the ways to
cook traditional foods, manners, style, and pro-
priety in the ways of the community. Thus, the
female becomes mature, confident, full of joy,
and conscious.Willie Cannon-BrownSee alsoInitiation; Rites of Passage; Societies of SecretsFurther Readings
Asante, M. K. (2000).The Egyptian Philosophers:
Ancient African Voices From Imhotep to Akhenaten.
Chicago: African American Images.
Diallo, Y., & Hall, M. (1989).The Healing Drum:African
Wisdom Teachings. Rochester, VT: Destiny Books.Bondo Society 135