Malidoma Patrice Somé was from the Dagara tribe of Burkina Faso, formerly Upper Volta, West Africa. "Malidoma," in his native language, means "be friend with the stranger." He was an initiated, gifted diviner and medicine man of his tribe. He held three master's degrees and two degrees from the Sorbonne and Brandeis University. His well-known book Of Water and the Spirit: Magic and Initiation in The Life of an African Shaman is treasured throughout the world. In the years preceding his death, Malidoma devoted part of his time to conducting intensive workshops with his wife Sobonfu.