HomeOld_PostsThe BaTonga and concept of death: Part Two ...burial and mourning customs

The BaTonga and concept of death: Part Two …burial and mourning customs

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LAST week we looked at death, although a dreaded event among the BaTonga, and how it is perceived as the beginning of a person’s deeper relationship with all of creation, the complementing of life and the beginning of the communication between the visible and the invisible worlds.
This week we look at the burial and mourning customs.
Death in the BaTonga culture is one of the last transitional stages of life requiring passage rites and this too takes a long time to complete.
The deceased must be ‘detached’ from the living and make a smooth transition to the next life.
Although it is impossible to generalise about concepts in the BaTonga culture, there are ethno-religions, being determined by each ethnic group in Zimbabwe.
The journey to the world of the dead for the BaTonga has many interruptions.
If the correct funeral rites are not observed, the deceased may come back to trouble the living relatives.
Usually an animal is killed in ritual, although this also serves the practical purpose of providing food for the many guests.
Elders say personal belongings are often buried with the deceased to assist in the journey.
Various other rituals follow the funeral itself.
Some kill an ox at the burial to accompany the deceased.
Others kill another animal some time after the funeral (three months to two years and even longer is the period observed).
The BaTonga call the slaying of the ox ‘the returning ox’, because the beast accompanies the deceased back home to his or her family and enables the deceased to act as a protecting ancestor.
The ‘home bringing’ rite is a common African ceremony.
Only when a deceased person’s surviving relatives have gone, and there is no one left to remember him or her, can the person be said to have really ‘died’.
At that point the deceased passes into the ‘graveyard’ of time, losing individuality and becoming one of the unknown multitudes of immortals.
Many BaTonga burial rites begin with the sending away of the departed with a request that they do not bring trouble to the living, and they end with a plea for the strengthening of life on the earth and all that favours it.
According to the Tanzanian theologian Laurenti Magesa, funeral rites simultaneously mourn for the dead and celebrate life in all its abundance.
Funerals are a time for the community to be in solidarity and to regain its identity. In some communities this may include dancing and merriment for all, but the immediate family, thus limiting or even denying the destructive powers of death and providing the deceased with ‘light feet’ for the journey to the other world.
Traditional customs are still adapted in many BaTonga urban funerals or those in other communities.
When a BaTonga has died in a house, all the windows are smeared with ash, all pictures in the house turned around and all mirrors and televisions and any other reflective objects covered.
The beds are removed from the deceased’s room, and the bereaved women sit on the floor, usually on a mattress.
During the time preceding the funeral—usually from seven to 13 days—visits are paid by people in the community to comfort the bereaved family.
In the case of Christians, consolatory services are held at the bereaved home.
The day before the funeral the corpse is brought home before sunset and placed in the bedroom.
A night vigil then takes place, often lasting until the morning.
The night vigil is a time for pastoral care, to comfort and encourage the bereaved.
A ritual killing is sometimes made for the ancestors, as it is believed that blood must be shed at this time to avoid further misfortune.
The BaTonga sometimes use the hide of the slaughtered beast to cover the corpse or place it on top of the coffin as a ‘blanket’ for the deceased.
Traditionally, the funeral takes place in the early morning (often before sunrise) and not late in the afternoon, as it is believed that sorcerers move around in the afternoon looking for corpses to use for their evil purposes.
Because sorcerers are asleep in the early morning, this is a good time to bury the dead.
In the BaTonga communities, children and unmarried adults are not allowed to attend the funeral.
During the burial itself the immediate family of the deceased is expected to stay together on one side of the grave at a designated place.
They are forbidden from speaking or taking any vocal part in the funeral.
It is customary to place the deceased’s personal property, including eating utensils, walking sticks, fishing rods and nets, blankets, and other useful items, in the grave.
After the funeral, the people are invited to the deceased’s home for the funeral meal.
Many people follow a cleansing ritual at the entrance of the homestead or gate, where everyone must wash off the dust of the graveyard before entering the house.
Sometimes pieces of cut aloe or other herbs are put in the water, and this water is believed to remove bad luck.
Churches use ‘holy water’ to sprinkle people and cleanse them from impurity at this time.
The period of strict mourning usually continues for at least a week after the funeral.
During this time the bereaved stay at home and do not socialise or have sexual contact.
Some wear black clothes or black cloths fastened to their clothes, and shave their hair (including facial hair) from the day after the funeral.
Life is concentrated in the hair, shaving the hair symbolises death, and its growing again indicates the strengthening of life.
People in physical contact with a corpse are often regarded as unclean.
The things belonging to the deceased should not be used at this time, such as the eating utensils or the chairs the deceased used.
Blankets and anything else in contact with the deceased are all washed.
The clothes of the deceased are wrapped up in a bundle and put away for a year or until the extended period of mourning has ended, after which they are distributed to family members or destroyed by burning.
After a certain period of time, the house and the family must be cleansed from bad luck, from uncleanliness and ‘darkness’.
The bereaved family members are washed and a ritual killing takes place.
The time of the cleansing is usually seven days after the funeral, but some observe a month or even longer.
Traditionally, a widow had to remain in mourning for a year after her husband’s death and the children of a deceased parent were in mourning for three months.
In the next part we look at the home-bringing rituals of the BaTonga.

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