Encyclopedia of African Religion

BURIAL OF THE DEAD

It is generally accepted in Africa that the dead will
be buried. There is no extensive tradition of crema-
tion of the dead. If a person who dies is not buried
in the Earth, he or she might be left in a tree or hid-
den in a cave, but burning a corpse is unheard of in
most societies. Those who have violated the values
and norms of society are often banished in death
away from the common burial area.
There is a communal attachment quality to
the idea of burial of the dead. The dead person
remains a member of the family and has force that
will be used in support of the living community.
Therefore, the death is not considered an individ-
ual experience, and the burial of the dead must be
in the community near the living so the ancestor
can influence life. In fact, once death has been
announced, the entire community is called into
action because the dead is not an individual iso-
lated from community, but a real part of other
people. In some traditions, if a man dies, his wives
are stripped of their clothes by their sisters, who
then cover the wives with ashes. The women are
instructed not to drink, eat, sleep, or speak until
their husband is buried.
One finds many styles of burial in African tra-
ditional religion, including lying on the back with
arms folded in the Ausar position, burying the
dead in crouching positions, lying down facing
west or east if female, and standing inside the
trunk of live trees, in holes in rocks, or in specially
constructed tombs. All of these forms of burial
have appeared in all regions of the continent.

Burial of the dead normally takes place at a

special time depending on the conditions of the

society. For example, if a person has great wealth,

then certain conditions must be met, including the

feeding of the living, and this might mean that the

burial will not take place as soon as it would have

otherwise. In most societies, the dead are buried

with many of their gifts and possessions. Since the

days of ancient Egypt, this has been the tradition

of most African burials. Usually, a procession to

the place of burial is led by the relatives of the

dead person, and when they get to the burial spot,

there is dancing and singing. The corpse follows

the relatives as women fan the body, still with face in

hands, and the name of the dead is said one final

time, never to be stated again. Among the Azande,

a member of the family recites the name and deeds

of the deceased one last time before the corpse is

entered into the grave.

The burial of a deceased seals the permanent

attachment of an individual to his or her ancestral

land. Expressions among Africans such as “she has

gone to her home,” “he has moved to his village,”

and so forth establish one’s place of birth as one’s

ancestral home to which the person returns. It

underscores the relationship among the individual,

the people, the land, and the reality of deathlessness.

Molefi Kete Asante

See alsoDeath; Funeral; Rites of Passage; Rituals

Further Readings

Jomo, K. (1962).Facing Mount Kenya. New York: Vintage.

148 Burial of the Dead