Kenya Research Paper

Kenya is a country that is widely known for its rich tourism attraction sceneries. Among the tourism attraction is the cultural practices of the 42 tribes that make up Kenya. Each tribe has its rich cultural practices that make it unique. Among these tribes, we have the Luhya community that is made up of 18 dialects. Bukusu dialect is one of the Luhya tribe. This tribe's cultural practices are unique yet so rich. Here are 10 Bukusu burial rituals that are interesting and worthy knowing.

Burial of a father to twins: In this community, any man who has fathered twins is treated differently when he dies. There are rituals that are performed before he is buried. These rituals are taken so seriously by the clan of the man and so are carried out
with keenness. On the day of burial, the grave is dug as from 12am after slaughtering a chicken. The funeral service is then carried out during the day and the casket is placed in the grave at 3pm but is never covered with the soil. The grave is left open with the coffin inside until night fall. After night fall, the grave is then covered. It is a ritual to cover grave before night fall because they believe, the spirit of the dead man will come to haunt them.
Burial of a barren woman: To be a barren woman in this community is so unfortunate. This is because, once one dies is never buried with dignity as deserved. Usually the barren woman's body is buried at night. No funeral service is given to the dead woman. In fact, her body is usually passed through a small opening on the wall and not the door. The reason for this kind of cruelty is that if given proper burial, her spirit will cause their young women to be barren too.
Burying a twin: When one of the twins die, the other twin is hidden and not allowed to view the body of his/her twin. He is not allowed to attend the funeral service. The twin is buried and his grave is hidden in that no one can trace it. This is done so that the other twin does not die.
Burial of an elderly: When an elderly man dies in the community, there are usually rituals that accompany his burial. The family members and close relatives are not allowed to take a bath until burial is done. For instance, all the son-laws and daughter in-laws are not allowed to view his body or even the coffin. They are allowed to come after the burial but in this case, the grave is usually covered with blankets. It is believed to be a taboo to view the dead body. Three days after the burial, the family members take a bath and shave their heads clean and then the biography of the man is read. The cows are tied certain piece of cloth and made to go round the grave. This is done as a sign of respect to the elderly man or woman. This is known as kumusee in the local language.
Burial position: When burying their people, there are rules that are followed.
It depends on the sexuality of a person. If it is a man, he is buried facing the gate. This they believe he is watching on his family from being attacked by evil people and spirits. It is believed he sees everyone that comes into the home He is buried sideway, lying on his right hand. If it is a woman, she is buried lying on her left hand side. Some clans in bukusu dialect bury their dead while seated. It is believed; death is not a form of defeat but is a form of relaxation. They believe the death is resting from physical activities but continue to oversee activities of their families and
community.
Burial of a person who committed suicide: It is a taboo to mourn a person who took his life. This person is buried at night and nobody is allowed to mourn him. They are a bad omen to the family and community. His grave is hidden and no one can identify it. Their names are forgotten and removed from family history and are not named after no matter what. This is because they are seen as a curse to the family.
Going to the graveyard: If a married woman/man dies, the other party has to follow some rules. If it is a man who is dead, then his widow has to choose whether to re-marry or not. This choice she has to make before the burial of the husband. On the day of burial, the widow is not allowed to go to the graveside. She is not allowed to throw sand or ashes in the grave. It is believed that if she go to graveyard, the man she will re-marry will die mysteriously. Therefore, while taking the coffin to the grave, she is taken away and hidden in the house.
Rituals of the head of the family: After the death of a husband or father who has older children, the widow is expected on the night of burial to climb up her grass thatched house that is designed with a sharp stick at the top to remove it. The removal of the stick symbolizes that the head of the family is dead. She has to remove the stick when she is totally nude and at midnight when everybody is asleep. She also has to remove one of the three cooking stones and go throw them away in a river or stream the same night. No one should know where she threw it.
Burial of unmarried: When a young woman who is of age to marry dies, there are rituals that have to be done in order to appease the spirit of the dead. The woman is usually buried behind the house near the fence or in a banana plantation. This is because are considered to foreigners. The same goes to a woman who is divorced.
Burial of a pregnant woman: A pregnant woman who dies before giving birth has to be made to give birth before burial.
It is a taboo to bury a mother with a child in the womb. It is amazing how this is made possible without carrying out an operation to remove the foetus. The dead pregnant woman is made to sit or lie in a position of a mother giving birth and then spoken to and told to give birth. The surprising thing is how the dead body respond to this. The women who assist in this are paid off. The dead body, behave as though is alive and push out the baby who is already dead. The woman's body just sweat as a live woman when giving birth. It even cries in that those in the room can see the tears. It feels the pain just as alive woman in labor pain do. After giving birth, the dead body fall back and the women in the room clean the baby and the body of the mother and prepare them for burial. The umbilical cord of the baby is taken and buried in a banana plantation as per their traditions. On the day of burial, the mother has to be buried first then the baby is buried a day later. They believe they cannot bury two people on the same day. The mother and the baby are buried separately in different graves. To this community, it is a taboo to bury two or more people in one grave. In fact it is not allowed no matter what. After the burial, each is given forty days then people gather for their
commemoration.