Kamba Tradition and deep undertanding of death "KIKWU" - Thuva Witu na Katsavo MUMO TV KENYA LIIVE скачать в хорошем качестве

Kamba Tradition and deep undertanding of death "KIKWU" - Thuva Witu na Katsavo MUMO TV KENYA LIIVE

Kamba traditions associated with death Meaning of death Death is an inevitable eventuality for all living persons and though dreaded, it was considered by the Akamba as transitioning to a spirit dimension where they continued existence as spirits. The spirit world was the domain of Mulungu who according to the Akamba was the Supreme God, the Creator (Mumbi) and Giver of life (Mwatuangi). Thus, when reporting death of a familiar person, the Akamba would say “ngania niwetwa” or someone has been called (by Mulungu). A special class of spirit that Mbiti (1991) referred to as the living dead was the ‘aimu’ ancestor. Becoming an aimu was a high calling sought in one’s life through sobriety, generosity, wisdom and fulfilling cultural virtues that the Kamba community upheld. Conversely, those cursed during their lifetime, evil people such as sorcerers and criminals could never attain this high spiritual position and their afterlife was often linked to wandering ghosts, wicked spirits (mbevo) and oblivion. The spirit realm existed parallel to that of the living, and often the aimu were believed to haunt secluded places not far from their families. This belief was key to environmental conservation because those places could not be farmed or hunted in by the living, and very often included water springs that replenished local rivers. The aimu were however not confined to their haunts and it was believed that they would occasionally make brief Death was not a one-way journey for all. Some ancestors, still-borns and departed infants were believed to return to the land of the living to the same family they had previously belonged to via reincarnation. Children believed to be reincarnated would be given appropriate names such as, for boys; Nzioki, Nzioka, Musyoki, Musyoka, Kasyoki, Kasyoka, and for girls; Kasyoka (eastern ukambani), Nthoki, Muthoki, and so on. Mourning The foregoing underlines the belief that the body is just a vessel to be disposed after the spirit has departed. The disposal was done in according to mourning and funeral rites. Mourning was referred to as ‘kiiyo’, ‘maiyo’, ‘kyeva’ or ‘kimeto’ and women wailed during this time as an outpouring of emotion. Men were not allowed to show such emotion and they spent such a time brooding over communal beer-drinking. During mourning, there was cessation of marital relations, cultivation and other ordinary activities. Children were shielded from bereavement and were not allowed to play any part unlike the present were they normally form part of funeral processions. A normal mourning period was one week, but could go on for a month. Funerals were however required to take place over a much shorter period, in maybe a day or two after death. It had to be done before the body started decomposing. Where there was need to delay the funeral so as to allow more people to gather, as in the case of elders, the corpse could be preserved under guard at a shaded river bed where it was kept cool using wet sand. This method of preservation could be effective for up to one week. Age and standing in society dictated the complexity of the funeral rites. Only initiated elders played the role of undertakers. Male elders ‘atumia’ coordinated most funerals while those of children were only handled by old initiated women ‘iveti sya nzama’. For children and unmarried people, the rites were mainly confined to the family while bereavement for initiated elders was a clan affair. Some elders, knowing the inevitability of their passing on, would make wishes of how they should be treated after death, and such wishes were strictly adhered to. Like other traditional societies in Africa, the Akamba were patriarchal and being male carried more weight in most social transactions. However in death all were treated equally, gender alone did not account for variations in mourning activities. Manner of disposal of corpses depended on the environment. In places with dense population and sparse vegetation the Akamba practiced burial of the dead. The grave used for this purpose was usually a round hole about a metre deep. Corpses would be buried naked, though sometimes could be wrapped in a single cloth or covered with a cow-skin and usually without any ornaments. The corpse’s knees were drawn towards the chest, with the male laid on their right side and the female laid on their left side. Sometimes a treasured possession such as a stool or a snuff box could be placed in the grave alongside the body. A witchdoctor whose craft had no inheritor would inevitably be buried with the tools of trade. After covering the corpse with earth, the grave mound would be covered with thorns and stones (to keep off scavengers) as well as with broken pottery as grave markers.