How Africans appeased the dying to avoid being haunted by spirits

An enactment of a Zulu death ritual, showing the Witchdoctor or Sangoma in the foregroung and behind, the Zulu warriors. [File, Standard]

The dead command respect among most African communities. The reverence is, however, borne out of fear of the dead person more than genuine respect inspired by good deeds.

Most African belief systems elevate the dead to spirits, with the power to protect, harm, hinder or intercede with gods on behalf of individuals or the whole community.

"A dead person is not your relative anymore, you must be careful how you handle anything to do with them," says Beatrice Vuhugwa.

The Iteso, who occupy parts of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania attach a lot of significance to rites that ensure the departed do not come back to haunt them, and so their journey to the hereafter is meticulously planned and executed. Like the Lembus, the 12th tribe of the Kalenjin nation, the Iteso confined terminally ill patients to bushy parts of their surroundings to await their death.

A long woven rope would then be tied around the dying person's feet and extended to the house where, from time to time, a member of the family would tag on it. If the tag got a response from the other end, they knew the person was still alive.

"When a terminally ill patient died, family members brought the body home and it would be wrapped in bark from a fig tree, traditionally known as ebongut or special spiked grass known as Esere, and buried.

"Family members were made to stay by the graveside for four days if the dead was a man and three days if it was a woman," says Fredrick Adungo, Deputy Prime Minister of the Iteso kingdom.

"On the third day following a man's burial, his wife would be taken to the river very early in the morning where she would take off her clothes, wash them and bathe in the river to cleanse herself.

"Having done so, she went back to the graveside for a hair-shaving ceremony after which one of her brothers-in-law would inherit her to continue the departed man's lineage. If it was a man who lost his wife, the family of the dead woman was taxed with getting him another wife to take care of the children," he adds.

Ten years after burial, Adungo explains, Ekutet (exhumation) was performed by elderly men past the age of siring more children. Ekutet was meant to appease the spirit of the dead and it was usually done at midnight amid intonations.

In the process of exhuming the bones, no one was permitted to speak because it would invite evil spirits. The bones would then be taken to an Ekayereret tree (Sycamore fig) and deposited there.

During the ceremony, chicken and sheep were slaughtered and eaten. Beer would be taken and the ceremony had to end before sunrise.

Dr. David Tanui from Eldoret says the Lembus, a sub-tribe of the Kalenjin, differed slightly from the Iteso because they did not eventually bury their dead. They were left to wild animals to be devoured once they turned their toes upwards. Tanui's observation is corroborated by a 95-year-old grandma who we shall call Gogo.

"In cases and situations where a patient's condition deteriorated, family members sought help and advice from herbalists. A patient would be cared for and cajoled into revealing their innermost secrets, including their wishes in the event of death," says Gogo.

"The moment the patient showed signs of imminent death, he or she would be taken to the nearest bush with a rope tied to the body and would be pulled periodically to confirm if he or she was still alive or dead. If the patient responded, they would take food to him or her. Upon confirmation of the patient's death, the immediate family would go into mourning and relocate to avoid attacks by the departed person's spirits," she adds.

There were no burial rites for the Lembus as late as the 18th and 19th centuries. However, a memorial service was usually done to appease the spirits. The Tiriki of Vihiga county had a deep fear of being haunted and therefore treated a person at the point of death with utmost respect.

"Terminally ill people were made as comfortable as possible because any form of mistreatment of a sick person would cause evil spirits to come back and get their revenge when the person died," says 80-year-old Joseph Amuhonda.

"When a patient was too sick to even take medicine, two lower teeth were removed and through that gap, the patient was forced to drink herbal concoctions. "The only time terminally ill patients were secluded was when they had infectious diseases like chronic tuberculosis or leprosy," Amuhonda notes.

Before the advent of morgues, the Bakhayo of Busia county had a unique way of preserving their dead immediately after death. A very sick person, if he or she was elderly, would be confined to their own huts where their first born or grandchildren would attend to them.

"When a patient died, a shallow hole would be dug and the body lowered into it before being treated with ash and salt to preserve it. They covered it with special leaves. Later, a grave would be dug and proper burial conducted," says Victor Odinga, a businessman in Busia.

Grandchildren who attended to the elderly who later died had to undergo mandatory cleansing. They were made to sit on the ground where a live chicken would be moved in circular motions over each one's head amid intonations. Thereafter, the chicken was slaughtered and cooked for the grandchildren to eat.

"Only the grandchildren who nursed the departed partook of it to free them from any evil spirits because during nursing, there are those who could have shouted at the patient in exasperation or neglected him. To ward off curses and stop bad dreams, the rite had to be performed," adds Odinga.