Death by suicide, lightening or mob justice were considered taboo among the Luhya. A synopsis of special Luhya burial rites that accompanied unnatural deaths
Few things matter to a Luhya than the send off they would receive once their time was up. Luhya death rituals such as khumina chimoni might suffer in the face of Westernization, but their importance should not be lost to us. This reasonable concern arises out of a communalism among the Luhya that demands inviolability of the human form; whether in flesh or spirit.
Moreover, as one by death transitions into the world of the living dead, the Luhya held careful consideration of their spirit. This is because ancestral spirits were custodians of community norms, values and morals. Therefore, it would have been a big disservice for the community to let it slide when a troubled spirit made the transition following an unnatural death.
Death by suicide, mob justice and lightening were considered unnatural. Context mattered in making this distinction. For example, a person who died via mob justice following mistaken identity, wouldn’t suffer the rigors of the special Luhya burial rites described below. In conclusion, one’s lived existence carried a duty for your family not to suffer the ignominy of a shameful death.
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DEATH BY LIGHTENING
Death of people by thunder and lighting was rare. So rare, that it was believed that sorcerers who possessed special powers to send thunder and lighting were responsible whenever it happened. That, and possibly some unexpected failure on Wele’s given lightening arrestor apparatus, the libono tree; like it being dried out.
Haha! All the same, when one was killed by lightning and thunder, the victim was not moved from the spot. Further, a black ram was slaughtered and its blood sprinkled on the victim’s head before burial to stop a similar occurrence in that family.
Beyond the macabre, other procedural special Luhya burial rites had to be performed. Here is a quick synopsis.
Special Luhya Burial Rites For Lightening Victims
Thunder and lighting victims bodies would be buried before 11:00am. This was to avoid many people “stepping in the way of the rain”. In Lubukusu, this act of not wanting to piss of the rains further was termed as “khusena khungila yefula”.
It was believed that if the body was left to stay for long, the rain would come to collect its “nails”. This act by the rain to collect “kamatere kefula” that was feared to cause more deaths.
As regards the funeral ceremony itself, only by the elderly in the deceased’s family were permitted to attend. Unlike your typical Luhya funeral today where politicians hawk around for “airtime” to spread their gospel in the never ending, amusing battle for Luhya votes; no speeches were given. Worse, possibly, no meals were served. It was a somber lonely ceremony whose goal was to be done as soon as possible.
In days of yore, days that weren’t written about but rather spoken onward one generation to the next, the family of the deceased would nominate a old man to drag the corpse into a nearby forest to be devoured by wild animals.
This old man, the pall bearer, would usually not be related to the victim. Moreover, not to take any chances, he would additionally be treated with some special herbs before and after the exercise. He was also given an animal as a token of appreciation for the service rendered.
DEATH BY MOB JUSTICE
Back then when I was growing up. This should be in early 90s to late 200s, there was a man called Waswa Omululu. Waswa lived in Makotelo. This guy was feared and revered in equal measure. He was believed to possess some special powers like sending lighting and thunder.
The Bukusu community was getting impatient with him. Any unexplained deaths were linked to him. Remember this was the same time of the advent of HIV. Many HIV related deaths were suspected to have been bewitched by Waswa.
The community believes when the sun rises, it comes with the days itinerary and sets with it. Nyanga ya mabasa translated as this fateful day the community decided enough was enough. Waswa was hunted down. His house raided.
It is reported that his house had lots of paraphernalia. All his pots “chiningilo”, baskets “chindubi” and fly-whisks “kimikhinga”and banana stalks “nga kamakhola”, money, pieces of deceased people’s clothes and a list of those he had killed were given to him to carry on his head.
Now I need to mention this, the Bukusu are naturally calm and gentle people. You can easily mistake them for being timid. When they get provoked, their demeanor changes to the very extreme. When they sing for you a special song commonly known as sioyayo they they are deeply provoked.
Read also: The justice and injustice of the lynching to death by mob of serial killer Masten Wanjala
Sioyayo is a war song. It is a kind of dirge. The song is routinely sung to initiates on their way from the river just before they face the knife. This song is meant to make the initiate- omusinde courageous. This song is only sung once in a mans life. If you are in Bukusu land and you get to hear this song, be sure, it will only be quenched with blood.
In the case of circumcision, omusinde’s blood quenches them. In the case of mob justice, the victims blood with the ultimate price. Waswa Omululu killed by mob justice on a busy market day alongside is paraphernalia. His body was burnt beyond recognition.
THE SHAME OF DEATH BY SUICIDE
Those who committed suicide, were considered to have been cursed. In addition, suicide was viewed as a sign of great cowardice. When one came across a corpse of a suicide victim dangling on a tree or by the roadside, they picked some leaves and threw them next to the body.
The leaves beside the body were to show that the deceased had already been “picked” i.e. “khukhwangala omufu”
If the person who picked the corpse “omwangali”, the spotter if you like, happened to know the victim, he would go to the victims home and get someone to come with him help positively identify the body.
When the family confirmed the body to be that of their kinsmen, they gave an animal to the person who picked the corpse as a token of appreciation. This had to be done before collecting the body “sie bubwangali”.
Elders from the suicide victim’s family would quarrel the corpse, abuse it, and spit on it. Some would even give the body a thorough beating to humiliate and deter others from walking the same path. Others would take a thorn and prick the body to inflict more pain to the deceased body.
Special Luhya Burial Rites For Suicide Victims
Suicide victims just like those eaten by lighting would be buried at night. This would be this time conducted by people from the victim’s mother’s clan. Once again, the funeral itself would be a lonely affair attended only by elders of the deceased family.
As we saw earlier, a black ram would be slaughtered and its blood sprinkled on the victim’s head. This was done to keep the evil spirit of suicide away from surviving family. This ritual was performed late in the night by a selected people from the victim’s mothers side: “ebukhochawe”.
Meaning, his or her maternal uncles. Among the Luhya, maternal uncles were sacred in a child’s life. From traditional circumcision to correcting a wayward child, maternal uncles were sacred figures among the Luhya.
Moreover, the family ensured no child would be named after the victim.
