Igbo Funeral Rites In Nigeria
Igbo Funeral Rites
Kaila Jacobson
Among the people of the Igbo tribe in southeastern
Nigeria, death is usually a highly ritualized event filled with deep mourning. There are usually two funerals, whose intention is to safely escort the deceased from the realm of the living to the spirit world. Only after a successful second funeral can the deceased pass the line of “ita okazi”, a period of torment, into a state of peace.
Immediate Preparations
When an elderly man or woman dies, they are immediately sponged with camwood dye to mark them as sacred. Shortly after, they are then laid down in their living room with their feet facing the entryway. If it is a woman, though, they are usually seated upright. Women are also always carried to their
ancestral village for burial. The Wake
Once the body has been prepared for its passage into the spirit world, a “wake” is held. The eldest son of the person who is deceased welcomes the community into their home with kola nuts and palm wine. Prayers are spoken to awaken ancestral spirits to help escort the spirit of the deceased. The wake usually goes on all night, and gunshots are fired in the morning to signal to other tribes that there has been a death.
First Burial
After the wake, the deceased is immediately buried in the living room. Also enclosed in the grave are large amounts of cloth and some of the deceased’s most valued possessions. Men are often buried with their tools, gun, or fishing gear, while the women are usually buried with their pots and dishes.
Second Burial
Several months or even a year after the first funeral, a second is held, but it is accompanied by feasting and merrymaking rather than mourning. Visitors dress in their best attire and they sing & dance to alert the community of the event that will be held. After the second funeral, the deceased is said to have been sent off to take up a new place in the land of the dead.
Kaila Jacobson
Among the people of the Igbo tribe in southeastern
Nigeria, death is usually a highly ritualized event filled with deep mourning. There are usually two funerals, whose intention is to safely escort the deceased from the realm of the living to the spirit world. Only after a successful second funeral can the deceased pass the line of “ita okazi”, a period of torment, into a state of peace.
Immediate Preparations
When an elderly man or woman dies, they are immediately sponged with camwood dye to mark them as sacred. Shortly after, they are then laid down in their living room with their feet facing the entryway. If it is a woman, though, they are usually seated upright. Women are also always carried to their
ancestral village for burial. The Wake
Once the body has been prepared for its passage into the spirit world, a “wake” is held. The eldest son of the person who is deceased welcomes the community into their home with kola nuts and palm wine. Prayers are spoken to awaken ancestral spirits to help escort the spirit of the deceased. The wake usually goes on all night, and gunshots are fired in the morning to signal to other tribes that there has been a death.
First Burial
After the wake, the deceased is immediately buried in the living room. Also enclosed in the grave are large amounts of cloth and some of the deceased’s most valued possessions. Men are often buried with their tools, gun, or fishing gear, while the women are usually buried with their pots and dishes.
Second Burial
Several months or even a year after the first funeral, a second is held, but it is accompanied by feasting and merrymaking rather than mourning. Visitors dress in their best attire and they sing & dance to alert the community of the event that will be held. After the second funeral, the deceased is said to have been sent off to take up a new place in the land of the dead.