NOTE: On February 23rd, 2005 there was a special two-hour presentation on Rites of Passage held at California State University Dominguez Hills' Lacorte Hall, room A-103. The following is an abbreviated set of notes from that program.

The program started off with a change: originally slated for a location all the way across campus, where the Oscar-nominated film Ray was being shown instead (a last minute decision by unknown powers-that-be at the university), the expectations for turnout were low. At its height, there was an audience of perhaps a dozen people.

Noted traveler and historian Mathu Ater started the evening off with a historical background of the mentoring relationships of ancient Kemet (Egypt). His website should be available soon with more information at NileKingdoms.com.

After furiously struggling with traffic on the 405, Hannibal Tabu began with the agenda proper, which he developed beforehand (and mostly stuck to ...), and the material will be explained below.

Part One: Rites of Passage in Traditional African Culture

1: Discussion of Jomo Kenyatta in Kenya (book: Facing Mt. Kenya)
2: Discussion of Malidoma Patrice Some in Burkina Faso (book: Of Water and The Spirit)
3: Talk with historian and lecturer Mathu Ater, to help translate things into modern terms

Part Two: The Trials, and What Can Happen

1: Talk with Sen Ur Inpu Ka Mut, Kemetic monk and mediator
2: Discussion of some of my rites of passage experience and its importance in my life
3: Explanation of what that loss of ritual and community means for young people finding their adulthood
4: four parts and trust building exercises
5: community work as building and proving themselves to the communiy, enticing younger ppl
6: j anthony story, first meeting

Part Three: Bringing the Ritual Home

1: Things parents can do to provide some of this experience for their children
2: Things individuals can do to bring some of this experience into their lives
3: Discussion of selected proverbs and passages, which will be available for distribution

The idea of rites of passage is something familiar to peoples of color from around the world. The concept is based in the idea that adulthood is something that is earned, and it conveys both great freedoms and privileges while also imparting important responsibilities. The community as a whole sets certain standards of behavior and knowledge that are neccessary for someone to be called a "woman" or a "man." In a traditional sense, people with overwhelming senses of individuality, who didn't work for a common good, could be ostracized and would be considered very unusual.

From the Kenyatta text, Hannibal discussed the idea of "age-set" groups, which is a concept central to the idea of rites of passage. By noting himself, Mathu and Inpu, he explained that they would all be considered part of the same relative "age-set" group, because they were all within a certain age range. The group older than them would have been charged with the responsibility of conveying the proper information to the group that follows then, and in turn Hannibal's group would be charged with delivering that information to the people younger than themselves. The reason that age-set groups were effective is that, in the words of Kenyatta, "The age-set system gives the Gikuyu a good grasp of the principles of democratic selection." It establishes a grouping of equals (which is at the center of the often-quoted proverb, "it takes a village to raise a child," because in an age-set group -- and to some extent, still in many traditional societies -- every man of age would be referred to as "father" and every woman of age would be referred to as "mother," with the responsibility of care and disciplining children available to all). From that grouping of equals, a desire for a common good is developed, which serves the needs of the culture as a whole by providing continuity from one generation to the next.

Hannibal then switched over to the Some text, which outlined some of the specifics of the Dagara rites of passage. The Dagara people have a close connection to what is considered a "supernatural" experience in the west ("We have a considerably smaller tolerance for weirdness than we used to have," Hannibal said). He read selections showing the isolation of the young people ("... because it's hard to learn and really be challenged if your mommy is there, and you can relax in your own room," Hannibal said) and then outlining Some's struggle to overcome his westernized education (he was kidnapped by Jesuits as a child and forced into a Catholic school until he escaped fifteen years later) and "see" beyond the material world.

At this point, Hannibal handed the floor over to his elder brother, Sen Ur Inpu Ka Mut, who'd been in the older age-set group during Hannibal's rites of passage (Mathu was not a part of that process, meeting them both years later). Inpu briefly outlined the history of the now-defunct rites of passage organization National Youth Network and its subsidiary arms the Brotherhood of African Men and the Sisterhood of African Women. The reasons for the creation of this organization were noted as "wanting to do the things we would ultimately do out of college while we were in college," and providing a supporting, non-judging environment for Black people at a less-than-accomodating campus environment (USC). Within three years, NYN activity helped create the election of six Black student senators (and a president) to a body that had never had a single African-American member previously (this was 1990) and established a successful comedy night (featuring the likes of Ricky Harris, Shang, The Parkers' Yvette Wilson and more) to offset the serious image the group held. All without a dollar of university support.

Inpu touched on the specifics of the organization's work, including trust-building exercises and the deep revelantions that could sometimes produces (necessitating a private membership). He also touched on some of the pressures that came to play, ultimately forcing the organization to close shop.

Like two old buddies, this conversation prompted some stories from these "glory days," where Inpu remembered Hannibal as "possibly the angriest person I've ever met ... at everybody, outwards, meaning it was really inwards." Hannibal then recounted two stories, one of his first impressions of the rites of passage organization (as an example of how to entice young people, by impressing them with a solid presentation) and of how the changes could be noticed by other people (with a story involving Maverick's Flat comedy club and J. Anthony Brown that's just not as funny if you read it). Inpu also hammered home the importance of a group of accomplished elders as a stabilizing force for any active age-set group.

Finally, they together discussed specific things people could do -- as parents or as individuals -- to bring these kinds of experiences into their own lives. This included quoting a number of proverbs ("Treat every woman you meet as if she were your sister, your mother, or your future wife," Hannibal quoted) and quotations from books (including a passage from The Teachings of Ptahhotep that has helped Hannibal avoid having any significant arguments since 1994). Inpu talked about the incorporation of Joseph Campbell-style myth knowledge into parenting, and outlining the relationship with children as a "covenant" that gives duties to both parent and child. As well, Hannibal discussed the idea of establishing a good example through living a life that's both profitable and happy.

There were a few closing questions before the lecture broke up around 9:15 PM with the following pledge:

"Before man and spirit, according to my own creed, I solemnly vow to find a way to work together, to stop finding problems more important than solutions, to inherit adulthood from those who worked so hard before me. I pledge to communicate these values to those who will follow me, to find common ground with those who stand with me, and to honor those who have gone before. I promise to seek more information, to work on my own as well as with others, to make a better life for us all."

Overall, the idea of embracing these kind of "essential" values of adulthood as conveyed to people in the past, and using that knowledge to deal with future situations and generations.