Ancestors Babies As Spirits Analysis

Is a patient lying in a hospital bed on a ventilator, brain dead to the world but the lungs still breathing and heart still pumping, alive or dead? Or neither? If neither, what are they? Is there a label to give them or are they just unlabeled? Do they exist if you can’t give them a label? This is an idea that could keep many thinking for hours on what it really means. This is the idea of liminality. Someone is neither one thing or another and not both. They lie in between, polluting and dangerous to structure of life (Victor Turner 1967: 95).

To further explore liminality, the article “Babies as Ancestors Babies as Spirits” by Alma Gottlieb addresses the belief of the Beng people that babies are in the state of wrugbe “a not yet ‘person’”

Sworn Virgins are biologically born as female but dress as male and are socially accepted as male. They are neither female or male. They take on male roles of manual labor such as “all heavy manual work (chopping wood, sything, mowing, harvesting, protecting animals and property); talking to visitors, drinking and smoking with visitors, avenging family honor... Female duties include “bearing and rearing children; cooking and cleaning house; serving men and guests (including washing their feet); carrying water and firewood; seeing to dairy production and taking it to market; storing and processing food; processing and weaving wool; washing and mending clothes; manufacturing garments for the family, for trousseaux and for sale; embroidering garments and linen. Additionally they must do men's work at times of feuds or particular harvests, and they may also be seen spinning or knitting at the same time as performing several of the above tasks.” (Sworn Virgins, Young). The Sworn virgins are neither male nor female. They perform male duties but are biologically female and socially accepted as male. They don’t fit into any category but there is no harm in this case of not fitting into a category. It is seen as socially acceptable in their