West Kenya Funeral

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A few weeks ago, Mrs. Agesa (my hostess) lost her elderly sister, who had several serious illnesses. I accompanied the family to the funeral. Before any funeral here, there are at least three days of mourning by the close family, who gather at the deceased's house, where she is displayed in the coffin. Drums beat all night and they sing and remember the person who has died. On the day of the funeral, the family had rented huge canopies, plastic chairs, and a sound system. At least 500 people gathered in the family compound for the rites. I was the only non-Kenyan present. The service, in Swahili, lasted from 8 am until 6 pm, and proceeded according to a printed program. Family, pastors, relatives, and neighbors spoke in turn, interspersed with sermons, prayers and singing. Food was served late in the afternoon to some, but not all, I didn't understand why. The widower and his 8 children sat in the front row of course, and all spoke. The dead lady was present in her coffin under a nearby awning The coffin was laid on a bed which had been removed from the house.
Although it was one of the coldest and rainiest days here, no one left the funeral early! At the very end, there was a "harambee" or collection of donations to defray the costly funeral. Then singing began in earnest, and the coffin was carried out by pallbearers (not relatives) into the road, then back again into the compound. There was a grave previously dug ( almost right before the front door of the house). It was at least 8 feet deep. Finally the coffin was lowered into the grave with ropes and the dirt was shovelled on top by several men. During this time the relatives and church members cirlced the grave site singing and carrying roses and wreaths. I was startled when someone drove a car into the yard and began revving the engine so loudly that you could barely hear the singing. No one seemed to look askance! Later Mrs. Agesa told me it is the Luhya tradition that during the burial, the famiy vehicle must be revved continuously or they believe the car will never run again.
After the grave was completely mounded over with dirt to a height of about 3 feet, the funeral ended. Wreaths were placed on top. It is the Luhya custom to bury the dead in their own front yard...even family members who die while living in Nairobi or another country are brought home to buried on their own land. I explained about our customs of funerals and cemeteries and they seemed to think it strange that in USA the deceased is not returned to his house after death.
The Luhya have several beliefs about the deceased and their graves that I don't understand. Some of these harken back to times when witchcraft was more prevalent. For instance, there was a news article here about a man whose first wife died, then subsequent wives kept dying, so he dug up his first wife and found there were certain charms or objects buried under her head, which he thought a reason for the unexplainable subsequent deaths...cursed by his first wife's family! He was arrested for desecrating a grave and he had to sacrifice a goat and chicken over the grave to cleanse himself. He then commented that he didn't see how any girl would want to marry him in future.

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