Religion and Spirituality in Edgar’s “Damballah,” Kennedy’s “Funny House of a Negro,” and Walker’s “In Search of our Mother’s Garden”
Edgar’s collection of short stories starts with the popular “Damballah” which represents the unchanging life of the ancient past and the convictions of the future. “Damballah” incorporates the ideals of history and unity. Ryan’s incantation to this god shows how the slaves in general spread across the strange countries. Additionally, the reader sees the ways that the slaves became disconnected from their tribes, families, and culture. The physical displacement speaks to the way that the slaves’ view of their gods became inauthentic in European society. In fact, the gods of these “wild African” are different from the plantation blacks who were separated from the true powers of the African gods such as Damballah. Edgar suggests that the plantation-born slaves embrace the new culture of European Christianity and shy away from the real culture of the African race. Through the character of Aunt Lissy, Edgar reveals the typical belief that individuals who do not belief in Christianity is insane and hedonistic. This typical view comes from the earlier years of slavery, and even as Ryan shouts Damballah, and Aunt Lissy become upset, the reader sees that she is crazy for believing in Christianity that supports enslavement rather than condemns the harsh conditions of slavery. The Damballah is a powerful god in the African pantheon who is capable of intercession as Ryan shares the African culture with the child who is fascinated by the culture.
Walker use of commitment and love are clear indications of her religious beliefs. Nonetheless, the reader realizes that spirituality and true religion demands that one renounces the Judaeo-Christian traditions and adopts the pantheist religious beliefs. Still, there is some amount of connection remaining with Christ. Walker stories reflect the belief in Christ brings on a healthy perception of women, self, race and people in general. Therefore, one sees this as the element of the gospel that comes from Christian preaching. Similar to Edgar, Walker believes that there are protective spirits at work in the lives of individuals. While there is no hard and fast rule as the form of these spirits, Walker believes that the angels within the Judaeo-Christian faith and other similar forms serve to offer goodness and support the well-being of human survival. Walker writes: “Black women whose spirituality was so intense, so deep, so unconscious, that they were themselves unaware of the richness they held,” (Walker, par. 3). These prostitutes were victims of the men who used them, yet they became “saints” and “their bodies became shrines: what was thought to be their minds became temples suitable for worship,” (Walker, par. 3). Yet, she notes that their God was “as mute as a great stone,” (Walker, par. 3). Clearly Walker suggests that individuals should destabilize their moral and spiritual status based on the social injustice of the world.
Works Cited
Walker, Alice (2002, Spring) In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: The Creativity of Black Women in the South (1974)
