In what ways do ceremonies conducted during death stress the importance of solidarity in traditional African communities?

      

Highlight ways in which ceremonies conducted during the death stress the importance of solidarity in traditional African communities.

  

Answers


Maurice
(i) In some communities, the wives and children of the departed are inherited by his close relatives so that they can raise more children for him.

(ii) Plans for the burial ceremony are executed by community members for example, where to dig the grave, who to dig it and how to bury the dead.

(iii) Contributions are made to help the wives and children of the dead.

(iv) Relatives and friends pay glowing tribute to the dead highlighting his/ her contributions to the community.

(v) Death disrupts communal life. It is viewed as an enemy and so people come together to face a common enemy.

(vi) Death is a destructive element which causes loss of life and sorrow, so people come together to express their grief and give each other moral support in a difficult time.

(vii) Relatives and friends come together to console each other.

(viii) The people help in sharing duties and meeting funeral expenses such as feeding of mourners who have come from far.

(ix) Prayers and sacrifices are made so as to protect the community and people ask the ancestors to accept the dead in the world of spirits.

(x) Specialists may be consulted to ward off danger and imminent death to the community.

(xi) The members of the bereaved family go through a shaving ceremony to signify new life in the community.

(xii) Relatives join in song and dance to depict anger towards death.

(xiii) Death brings the memory of the ancestors to the living thus bringing together the living, the dead and the unborn.

(xiv) Relatives gather together to attend the burial ceremony to bid farewell to the departed.

(xv) Death brings reconciliation to the community.

(xvi) The treatment of the body before burial such as washing, anointing and dressing shows that the living are ready to continue caring for the departed.

(xvii) In some communities, married relatives of the dead person are required to come together to "recreate" the dead person(returning the shadow).

(xviii) Funeral ceremonies are communal affairs where members of the community attend and participate in the ceremony to identify themselves with the bereaved family.
maurice.mutuku answered the question on June 20, 2017 at 06:30


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