Maangamizi Questions to Consider

1 What was your initial impression of the Title, and did you understand it?

Did not understand it at first. Was more interested in seeing the film having heard about it. Curious and figured I would discover its meaning along the way.

2 What was your initial impression of the Asylum/Institution?

Initially did not have an impression.

Considered the non-Afrikan presense of this institution in this culture: separated from community—it does not reach out to community for healing, and the community does not visit or reach to it for sustenance or relationship. It is a very isolated presence in a rich, relational and communal culture. The Asyslum is a symbol of European/white domination, separation and control as the model for health and wholeness.

3 How did you understand Samehe, the real sick one, to be the only one who communicated with comfort with the ancestors?

To be whole in self might require one being sick in this oppressors’ culture/perspective. Oftentimes, it’s our relatives and coummnity persons who have checked-out of society who articulated clearer sanity. And the culture calls them "crazy". To hold onto her maternal teaching and connection with spirit and ancestor world, Samehe has to lock herself inside having no supportive community to help process her emotional crisis/shock. She locks out of the oppressor’s world to stay connected with her liberating world, her ancestors and spirit. Perhaps, as we move toward our healing and wholeness, we, too, will have to close out this world and become "insane" to maintain our sanity for liberation.

First, I practice being aware of them, learning to know their voice and presence at any moment or time in my life that I don’t waist a lot of time questioning my "sanity" against the culture’s definition.

Next, I practice stopping, listening and taking in all of the experience.

Then, I seek their counsel on the appropriate action or response

I ask their spirit and presence to guide and accompany me on the journey

And I move with haste to fill-full the response. I check-in along the way to assure that I am on task, ask guidance when I lack clarity or direction, give thanks for successful outcome, and receive assurance from the ancestors that I have responded and acted fully and appropriately. I then assess my learning and growth-to grieve and let go the losses and celebrate the victories.

1.1.1 Subtopic

How do you experience your ancestors?

Many different ways: clearly, confusing, scary, peaceful, joyful, powerful, always caring, gracious, and non-anxious and self-assured

2 How do you understand the oppression that separates and disconnects us from our ancestors?

The white invaders (European and greek} quickly recognized the power of ancestor connected and quikly worked to dismantle it. Their concluded goal was to take away language and spiritual deity to create the disconnect, and to make evil Afrikan ancestors while elevating to sainthood European/greek ancestors. So cutting off communication (language), declaring evil spiritual deity and Afrikan ancestors, the Afrikan is separated from self and really "insane."

3 What possible and realistic things can you do to re-connect with your ancestors?

Learn them: their names, their stories, their power, their presence.

Like many of our homes and coffee tables (shrines), place pictures of them there, or momentos when pictures are not available

Learn their favorite food and life event and represent it on the altar

Set aside a place for them to be honored in the home.

4 Maangamizi requires a "past" focus for present healing and future living--How do you understand past-focus for healing?

It is the Sankofa! We have to go back heal wounds and fetch our losses to move forward with clarity and wholeness. She went back and looked through her child eyes to see the situation using her present intellect to help with interpretation. Once she stopped trying to give an adult answer to a childhood experience, her healing could begin and the injury was put into perspective. Sometimes we will have look through eyes of reality of the situation with all of its oppression influences to accept that we did the best we could do in the circumstance, forgive ourselves and make decisions about the present/future as result of our learning.

5 What was your reaction to the presenct of spirituality and religion in the film? at asylum? with father? with mother? at orphanage?

6 How did you experience the male/female energy in the film?

7 What were your impressions of the characters: Samehe, Asira, Dr. Moshi, Odambo, the female nurses, the nun from the orphanage, Samehe's mother, Samehe's father, Maangamizi