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By Victoria Ngozi Ikeano
Anambra State governor Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo’s father passed on recently at the “ripe old age” of 92 years. Apparently, the family is preparing to give their patriarch a ‘befitting’ burial, which in this clime equates to a big funeral. For this writer though, the billion-naira question is: Will the Soludo family adhere to the Anambra State Burial Law, which is aimed at curbing ostentatious funeral obsequies? As the state’s first citizen, Governor Soludo should lead by example. Should he not?
The bill regulating burial ceremonies in Anambra State was passed by the state House of Assembly in 2019 and consequently signed into law by then Governor Willie Obiano. Advent of coronavirus in 2020 put further official restrictions on burial ceremonies, relating essentially to large gatherings, as number of attendees was curbed. However, in recent years the law has been observed more in the breach. That is, it is generally not observed, much less enforced.
The Burial Law stipulates that a corpse shall not be kept in the mortuary beyond two months; burials shall be for a day; and no relative of the deceased shall be subjected to a mourning period beyond one week from the interment date. In addition, destruction of property, firing of gunshots, blocking of roads are prohibited for a funeral ceremony.
The principal reason for regulating burial ceremonies in the state is to curtail excessive spending. Sponsor of the bill at the time, Hon. Francis Ezeani, had said that it was necessary to distinguish between “mourning the dead and a fiesta”. Indeed, such a law was overdue because, in recent years, we have been witnessing galloping inflation and low purchasing power; yet people are still mandated to keep up with traditional burial rites that leave many families (especially the average family) indebted, just so as to give their dead relatives a “befitting burial,” a so-called befitting burial that is absolutely of no benefit to the one who has passed on but only massages the ego of organisers, the surviving relatives. According to Ezeani, outrageous demands on the families of the deceased by traditions and customs enforced by elders without any consideration for financial capability had led to “unhealthy competition among families and friends, each trying by every means to outshine the other.”
You may have noticed that people from that part of the country generally do not undertake funeral rites of their departed ones soonest. Rather, the corpse is kept in a mortuary pending when they are ready for it. This may take as long as one year. Meanwhile relatives have to pay for every single day the corpse spends in the cold room. Private mortuaries thrive there. For the poor and even some others who cannot afford mortuary costs, the remains of their departed ones are ‘put underneath the earth’. As the phrase indicates, this is not recognised as a burial by the community.
In fact, the literary translation of that indigenous phrase is that the deceased is in the “underground refrigerator.” The deceased person is regarded as having been formally buried only when all funeral rites are completed. Until then, the wife of the departed one is forbidden from going to the market (buying and selling) and attending meetings.
Preparations for the funeral ceremonies begin with gathering enough money, which more often than not involves borrowing because of the huge amount to be expended. Among the things required are renovating the house or compound of the departed, giving it a new look or building a new house where there is no ‘befitting’ one; buying and sewing uniform dress material for the deceased’s family and extended family members (uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, children, etc.) that is, aso ebi; killing a cow ‘in honour of the dead’, hiring a live band to entertain guests, including traditional dancers and, of course, food for all and sundry.
The ceremony lasts for at least a week, beginning from a Thursday. Thursday is wake, Friday official requiem mass and ‘dust-to-dust’ ceremony by the church, after which the community’s folks commence their own ‘mourning’ rites, comprising women’s groups, age-grade groups and other community societies/associations. Saturday is for friends, associates, in-laws and other extended family members. Sunday is for church thanksgiving by the deceased’s family. As I indicated earlier the ceremony may last for a month as the family of the departed one continues to receive ‘mourners’ of all categories every other day –various groups, associations and personalities.
These sympathisers have to indicate in advance when they would come calling so the family can prepare adequately for them in terms of dances, food and meat. As a mark of a ‘befitting’ burial or, better said, to show off, the bereaved family usually kills cows for the many groups that come to sympathise with them. A portion of the cow meat is given to each group/association as a memento of sorts. Also, at the thanksgiving mass, the family often presents numerous commodity gifts and a cow to the church during offertory in order to be highly regarded.
The more the number of cows slaughtered for the burial obsequies, the more esteemed the bereaved family is in the eyes of the community. It is often bandied about that in that part of our country, it is more expensive to bury a departed one than to take care of him/her whilst alive. Although many of the sympathisers, groups and associations do give the bereaved some cash, it is often not enough to recoup money spent for the funeral ceremonies for the average family.
Most bereaved families would say they are not mourning the departed but celebrating his/her life while on earth. But the burial ceremonies are the same for the one who passed on at the “ripe” age of 80 with numerous children and one that departed at an ‘untimely’ age of 40 years, leaving behind one child and wife. Meanwhile, amidst the pervasive jubilation and jollification, the wife may be grieving inwardly with a passive countenance. The question is, to what benefit are these festivities to the departed. We are told that they are meant to bid the departed spirit bye-bye. These celebrations are of little or no value to the departed. Those of us left behind are simply having fun and enjoying ourselves with these celebrations. By the way professional criers are sometimes also hired, paid to cry upon the death of someone. Death is a solemn event and there should thus be quietness in the death chamber. What the departed needs from all ‘sympathisers’, ‘mourners’ or ‘celebrants’ is not loud lamentations or unending celebrations but heartfelt fervent payers to the Almighty Creator that he/she be guided by His servants step by step, in his/her journey to the luminous realm of joyful activity and eternal peace.
Thus the funeral rites can be classed into two, namely, the spiritual and social aspect. The spiritual aspect consisting mainly of prayers for the departed is what is of value to the one that has left us while the social side is mainly for those of us still living on earth. It is this aspect that the Anambra law on burials seeks to regulate. The church had introduced some reforms in its own funeral rites by for example, banning all-night wake-keeping. It also outlawed sumptuous entertainment of its officiating officials at funeral ceremonies, including the choir group, stating that they should only be given drinks (non-alcoholic). The Church can go further by disallowing presentation of cows and other expensive gifts at the thanksgiving services for its departed members.
