Lecturer discusses tribal perspective of gays, lesbians as 'gatekeepers'

By LISA RIVERA-Staff Writer

In our society, gays and lesbians are called many things - most of which are labels that reflect either ignorance or disgust. But on Monday, author and tribal medicine man Malidoma Som* came to the Chico State University campus and spoke, calling homosexuals "gatekeepers" and telling of the "gift" they have to offer our modern world.

Before giving his lecture, "The Gift of Gatekeepers: The Role and Purpose of Gays and Lesbians in Today's Society," Som* participated in a Conversation on Diversity panel of gay and lesbian faculty, with students and community members in the University Center Lounge. As a scholar in Western tradition who holds two doctorate degrees in political science and world literature, Som* had much insight to share with panel participants and visitors.

At his evening lecture given in Wismer Theater, Som* shared how the indigenous Dagara culture of West Africa believes that "everybody comes into the world with a gift," he said.

Each gift, he said, is created with a purpose, and it is in the interest of the community that we cultivate each person's identity and appreciate each individual for his other innate gift.

The gift held by gays and lesbians, Som* said, is that they are each a gatekeeper - "a person who is half here and half there."

As individuals with one foot in both this world and another, they are necessary for the rest of us to explore what is beyond our own world.

"The role has a certain mystery to it and that mystery is generating a curiosity about the other world," Som* said.

What is troubling, Som* said, is that "in modern culture, there's great confusion of gays and lesbians."

Instead of appreciating and encouraging the role of gays and lesbians as gatekeepers, Som* said, our society is suffering from the "turmoil of self-definition" and we need to "discontinue the notion of defining the other."

Gays and lesbians risk losing their gift when society tries to fit them into a more accepted definition or role.

"To be molded to a certain definition is to forget certain things that are very important for sustenance," Som* said.

Through spirituality and the practice of "ritual," as done in the Dagara culture, Som* said our society can get past "the decision to marginalize certain people on the grounds that they participate in something that society considers contemptible."

Ritual is something everyone can chose to do, Som* said, and is a process of "going back to the spirit ... and speaking out loud your fears of the other, in a sacred place."

"Ask the spirit to heal that and to allow me to see a harmless or gifted person who might love me just the way I am," he said. "That's when you start chewing at this fear of the other."