“Because what will others inherit from me?”

As expressed by Bhanu Kapil, generational trauma is not about you. You are a conduit for your ancestors trying to enforce certain rules or values.

“If even one drop is spilled.
You will be punished so severely you will not be able to leave
your home for many days”

Your punishment will be given by both your family members and yourself. You have been conditioned to hold the trauma close and pass it on. It can be disguised as culture or tradition. You might not ever notice it or notice that others don’t have it. However, when confronted with the question of what will others inherit from me, you pause. Because you have been put in the unique position of deciding if you are going to pass it on.

When Kapils son asked her about colonization, she says to ask his grandmother and pauses. She was flooded with traumatic imagery of her mothers experiences. It was this imagery that lead to her casting her spell. The spell is not about forgetting what had happened. It’s about acknowledging and forgiving. We all want to remember our family’s histories. But we don’t have to live in fear or pretend that these wars are still going on. Kapil wants her son to know without experiencing the pain.