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Burials of the weird kind

[ Posted On: 2007-01-30 ]

The Iteso of western Kenya have a way of handling their dead that would horrify many other people in the world.

About five years after burial, they exhume the skulls and skeletons and leave them exposed to the elements.

The result is that if you travel through Teso country, you will get the impression that a major archeological undertaking is underway.

In homesteads and in thickets, the skulls lie exposed in a custom the community believes allows the dead to rest better than if they were six feet underground.

Apart from allowing the dead a good rest, the custom is also intended to keep them from coming back to torment the living.

The Iteso believe that once human remains are exhumed and exposed, the dead will no longer be able to haunt the living through nightmares, sickness, or other afflictions. The remains are placed on raised ground covered by shrubbery within the compound or at the base of a tree, where there is little interference.

Millet beer, locally known as Ajono, is regularly sprinkled over the site to appease the dead. What remain is ceremonially consumed by elders. The custom is slightly different among their cousins across the border in Uganda.

Among the Soroti, who are closely related to the Iteso, the bones of the dead, the arm to be exact, are used to stir the brew, which is then consumed.

According to Iteso customs, the exhumed remains must be placed within the farm of the deceased, because the dead are bound to resist and cause difficulties if they are taken away.

Children are warned not to touch or even go near the place where the bones have been put to rest. Children who play with these skulls risk falling very ill, and can only be healed if elders intervene and perform a specific ritual.

This involves slaughtering a sheep for the dead and serving them a traditional brew to beg for forgiveness on behalf of the ailing child. Okisai Okiring of Chakol Division in Teso District says the exhumation rite, known as epunyas, is conducted to stop the dead from tormenting the living.

"It’s a belief among the Iteso that the dead are full of evil spirits. They strongly affect the lives of the living through diseases and other calamities," he says.

Okiring says if the dead are not appeased by bringing them back to earth’s surface, they are capable of wiping out the entire community.

"This rite is done to please the dead. If not done, a series of tragedies could strike and wipe out the whole community," he says.

He says exhuming makes the dead more friendly to the living, and in this way killer diseases and other misfortunes are avoided. The elder observes that epunyas also gives the dead an opportunity to oversee the daily activities of the living.

Laurence Ochodi of Amagoro village in Teso says epunyas is usually done five or 10 years after burial.

"We believe that after being in the grave for five to 10 years, the dead get tired and so we remove them from the choking grave and leave them in open air to rest," says Ochodi.

He adds: "When we bring the dead on the surface, they literally exist among us, they see what we do because they are part us and therefore have no reason to torment us."

The ceremony is conducted across the board for the young and old, men and women. It is done in December after millet has been harvested. A lot of millet beer is brewed and animals slaughtered to celebrate this important Iteso cultural activity.

Only elderly people are allowed at the graveside during the exhumation, which takes place at night. The Iteso are not the only community in Western Kenya with unusual customs regarding the dead.

Last year, many mourners were surprised when Cabinet minister Musikari Kombo’s brother was buried seated in a coffin designed like a cupboard.

Dignitaries, including President Mwai Kibaki, watched in disbelief as the coffin was lowered in an upright position into a specially designed grave.

That is how the Balunda clan of the Bukusu community bury their dead, adding an entirely new dimension to the concept of burial.

They believe death is not a sign of defeat or conquest, but is a form of relaxation. To them, the dead are simply taking a rest from physical activities but continue to oversee the activities of their families and the community at large.

There is therefore need for them to remain vigilant in a sitting position. Members of the community are buried in this manner regardless of the sex, age or status to enable them continue directing the activities of the living.

The Balunda people believe that this is the only way to ensure that the elders continue occupying their revered positions from where they can direct and counsel the living. Respected elders are given the responsibility of supervising the burial rites and to ensure that all the required rites are observed.

During burial, a number of carefully selected people enter the grave first to receive the body when it is lowered in. They then carefully place the body in a specially hallowed out niche in the grave. The rest of the grave is filled up.

Burying one in a sitting position requires that a small extension be dug into the grave’s longitudinal side to accommodate the deceased.

Respected elders from the community chant incantations as they place the deceased in a sitting position in preparation for burial.

Peter Makokha, a respected clan elder, says such incantations are only said for members of the Balunda clan.

"There are specialists in the community who know how to prepare the graves and their services are always always sought. Some traditional rites are observed prior to the digging," says Makokha.

The custom, Makokha says, does not discriminate against gender or age and the rite is performed for every clan member. Makokha explains that the only difference occurs when elderly men with grown up grandchildren die. They are wrapped in a cow’s hide before they are interred in a sitting position.

"When an elder who has grandchildren who have undergone the second rite of passage (circumcision) dies, it calls for more elaborate rites like wrapping him in a skin before burial," says Makokha.

This is to signify that the person being buried commands a lot of respect in the community and has left a rich legacy for the younger generation to emulate.

"The skin wrapped around the deceased is a sign of authority and also serves to give him a dignified resting place," says Makokha.

"Even women from other communities or Bukusu clans who get married here go through the same system during their burial."

This, however, does not apply to women who get married outside the clan for they are handled according to the customs of the communities they marry into.

"We bury our dead in a sitting position because we believe sitting is a sign of life," Makokha says.

The community has been practising this custom for more than a century, anchored in the belief that it reduces the number of deaths in their community.

Elders say that before that, the clan used to bury their dead like other people but the death rate was so high they were forced them to seek guidance from the spirits of their departed forefathers.

"Our forefathers offered sacrifices to the spirits of the departed and were advised on how to inter the departed," says an elder, William Wanyama.

Another elder, Moses Wakoli, says the Vamusomi, Valugulu, Varutu and Vawambwa clans place their dead the right hand side when burying them. Wakoli says the people of these clans place their dead this way to enable them to continue monitoring the activities of the living.

They are buried without metallic objects such as rings, watches or belts as these might put them in bondage and make it impossible for them to oversee their communities’ day-to-day activities.

"Being buried with some objects can also lead to bad luck and result in the death of members of the community," said Wakoli.

Due to the large number of such burials, Makokha says coffin makers in Bungoma have modified them to suit the clan’s needs. He says the coffins are built to resemble a cupboard. The prices, however, remain the same as for conventional coffins.

Article Source: http://www.afroarticles.com/article-dashboard

About The Author: Isaiah Lucheli -- is a freelance journalist based in Nairobi. Many of his articles can be found in the major periodicals published in East Africa such as: The East African Standard Newspaper

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