Responses to death in Nigerian indigenous tribes

Lauren Hughes (WHS), Sophia Martin (WHS), Caitlin Tambini (OHS)

While looking through the Wellcome collection, we came across two Ibeji figures, made of carved wood, and intended to represent the souls of deceased twin children. They were from the Yoruba culture, in which twins are thought to share a soul. This is why, if one twin dies in infancy, the family will continue to care for their figure, by bathing and clothing it, as a way of caring for their soul. This sparked an interest in responses to death more generally in the three main indigenous tribes in Nigeria; Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa. The Yoruba tribe The Yoruba believe, similarly to the Igbo tribe, that death is an opportunity to change from one state of existence to another. The favoured funeral (given to everyone who dies of old age) is called Isinku. It involves seven days of rituals (etutu), to successfully deliver the spirit to the next realm; usually with the expectation that the spirit will return to the body of a newborn child. There are several death rituals observed by the Yoruba tribe in the past and present. They are pragmatic in understanding that some die young, but emphasis is placed on the quality of life and its impact; ‘if we die young, and a horse is killed in celebration of one’s life; it is better than dying old without people killing even a chicken in celebration’. One example of a Yoruba death ritual is one whereby a widow drinks the water used to clean her husband’s corpse, to prove that she had nothing to do with the death. Refusal to partake in this ritual is seen as an admission of guilt. Sociologist Obafemi Awolowo wrote that widowhood practices among the Yoruba people differ; the higher the status of the woman, the less intense the ritual. This tradition was recorded among the Yoruba tribe in 2010. It is the wish of Olodumare, the Supreme Creator, that human beings should promote good as much as possible, and those who do this are rewarded with immortality through access to the afterlife. Therefore, human beings’ vast capability for moral uprightness is engrained in their culture. A saying from the Yoruba people perfectly sums this up ‘Let one conduct one’s life gently; that one may die a good death; that one’s children may stretch their hands over one’s body in burial’.

The Igbo Tribe

The Igbo tribe believe that death is not an end to life, but simply a transition to a new world. Traditional burials include two funerals and a wake. Only after this can the deceased pass from the period of torment “ita okazi” into a state of peace and contentment. At the wake, the bereaved family welcome the community with kola nuts and palm wine. Prayers are spoken to beckon ancestral spirits to escort the deceased. Gunshots early the next morning alert the village of the death, and end the wake. The Igbo usually bury their dead in the living room of the deceased’s home along with cloth and the deceased’s most valued possessions.

The final funeral often occurs months or even years after the first, due to expense, and is more lavish and optimistic than previous events. It is known as ‘Ikwa Ozu’, ‘celebrating the dead’, and without it, the deceased cannot take up their proper place among their ancestors. One of the rites of the ‘Ikwa Ozu’ is the ‘Ino uno akwa’, when someone known as an ‘ada’ silently eats the deceased’s favourite foods all day to ensure they have food in their new world. Typically all immediate relatives of the deceased dress the same at an Igbo funeral, and each group brings dancers to entertain the crowds. Family and friends join in dancing.

Christianity is changing how the Igbo commemorate death. Usually, a church service is held before the first funeral, and churches frown upon ‘Ikwa Ozu’, so some become memorial services. Churches place a three week limit on how long relatives can preserve their deceased in the mortuary, which aims to prevent elaborate and expensive second burials. The more committed a family is to their Christian faith, the less likely they are to have any Igbo ceremony, and some Christians state that no traditional rituals should be conducted for them. However, without organising an “ikwa ozu” for the deceased, family members cannot receive titles or hold key positions within the community, as Igbo tradition stipulates woeful consequences for those who don’t ensure their loved ones’ place in the next world. Many church-goers attempt to mitigate this risk by masking ancient traditions with Christian themes.

The Hausa Tribe - Lauren Hughes

The Hausa tribe’s views regarding death have changed over time. Whilst they predominantly follow Islam, and therefore the same rights of passage following death, a smaller proportion of the population, known as Maguzawa, still follow the tribe’s original religion. This religion worships spirits known as Bori or Isoki, which inhabit all objects, including trees, rocks and bushes. When angered, it is believed that the spirits gradually suck away a person’s life force until they are either dead, or able to appease the spirit. The Maguzawa believe that the spirits of ancestors continue to live on around them, and so when praying for protection and fruitful harvests they will invoke both the Bori spirits and their own ancestors. However, as the majority of the Hausa people are Muslim, their beliefs surrounding death are quite different. Death is seen as a separation of the body and the soul, and funeral rites are followed carefully. The body is washed within 24 hours of its death, and is shrouded

in a white cloth known as a kafan. A three day mourning period of praying follows. Wives who lose their husbands are expected to mourn for 4 months and 10 days. The Hausa tribe previously followed very different beliefs, as can be seen in the Maguzawa religion, but the progression to Islam as the predominant religion has significantly impacted their beliefs and practices surrounding death.

The key responses to death in the Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa tribes were not massively different in the past, however more modern influences from religions such as Christianity and Islam mean that they are changing. The Yoruba and Igbo tribes have the most similarities, such as how they view death as simply a transition from one state of being to another, but even they are growing to have less in common, due to Christianity’s effect on the Igbo tribe in particular.

Bibliography

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22610497

https://classroom.synonym.com/burial-rites-igboculture-2377.html

http://academics.smcvt.edu/africanart/kristen/ yoruba.htm

https://www.refworld.org/docid/50b4aa8c2.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoruba_culture