CHRISTIAN BURIAL: THE TWO CRIES IN ONE

Prompted by recent personal and related experiences in Umunumo Mbano Imo State, Nigeria, this writer sets out to look critically into the burial practices of the Catholic faithful in this and other areas. No doubt, African burials are generally marked by celebrations especially where the posters announcing such burials are headed with phrases as, “celebration of life,” “glorious home call,” “the exit of a legend,” and so on.  Usually, cows would be slaughtered. Different clothes (including t-shirts) sewn. Obituary announcements running into hundred thousands of naira will be made in national dailies. Food and drinks would be aturu-tawa(excessive). Above all, weeks or months of mortuary bills would be paid, et cetera, et cetera. Our concern will be to inquire into the propriety or otherwise of these practices. Are they tenable in present-day realities in Africa?

In attempting to find answers to the above question, I will be guided by the following:

What are the African beliefs in burying their dead? What or how are these beliefs informed? Can such burial practices be sustained in the present-day realities of Africa? Are there better alternatives than what obtains at present?

Generally speaking, Africans believe that life does not end with death, but continues in another realm (ancestral world, living dead). Many African authors including Mbiti J. S., Camara Laye, Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Michael Echeruo, Pantaleon Iroegbu, Chris Okigbo, Ben Okri, and many others share that basic view, albeit in their differing orientated worldviews. This living-after-death explains the many and varying burial rites accorded to dead people in Africa and elsewhere.

According to J. Ebeh’s article in The Kpim of Death (2007), “different ritual sacrifices are carried out in the process of burying the deceased person but the essential reason is to assist the deceased to achieve peace in the ancestral home.” This belief has been there from time immemorial and has been consistently passed on from one generation to another.

Scripturally also, numerous verses of the Holy Bible (as well as the Quran) appear to re-enforce this belief in life after death. Thus, Acts 24:15 talks about the resurrection of both the just and the unjust. Mtt. 25:41 is about ‘eternal fire’ for those on the left hand side of the Father. Dan. 12:1-13 is over eternal life and everlasting contempt. Jn. 5:28-29 is on resurrection of life and resurrection of judgment. See also the passage from death to life in Jn. 5:24. Transformation from mortality to immortality (1 Cor.15:51-57). Sheep and goats (Mtt. 25:32). Book of life and lake of fire (Rev. 20:11-15). Similarly, the Quran in Surah 23:99-100 clearly illustrates the belief in life after death. The Quran provides for 3 stages of physical development (dust-embryo-birth) and 3 stages of spiritual development (death-grave-resurrection).

It is clear from the above that the influences of culture and religion have greatly contributed to the funeral practices associated with death. The belief in life-death-life makes the bereaved African family to honour their dead extensively. They know fully well that the dead-person turned spirit-being is more powerful than they are and they (the dead) could revenge in the event of any dishonouring burial acts or rites. It is one of our preoccupations here to consider the sustainability or otherwise of certain of such burial practices today in Africa, especially in Mbano, Imo State, Nigeria. My personal and related experiences in burying the dead will be summarily recounted here for a clearer appreciation of the issues.

In 2004, I lost my father, Chief Titus Ononiwu Iroegbu at 76 years. After he was confirmed dead, I got his body registered and deposited in the mortuary. We held a family meeting wherein we decided on the burial date and were able to raise about half a million naira according to our varying financial capacities. Informing the members of my father’s age grade (age mates), chiefs, and other group members of the community and relations of my father’s death was as usual accompanied with specified (ritual) food and drinks. The different groups each also gave another much larger list of food and drinks for the burial day proper. It should be noted that this expensive entertainment given to the different groups is in return for their token financial contribution, which hardly covers half of the total expenses made for their listed compulsory food and drinks.

By the time the different groups had been duly informed of the death and burial, about 35% of the money raised for the burial had gone. It soon became glaring that our carefully made budget-sum could not take us far in the burial having regard to so many things that needed to be done – food, drinks, clothing, brochure, posters, banners, music, casket, mortuary bill (5weeks), ambulance, plates, spoons, coolers, digging of grave, renovations, hiring of chairs, tables, and canopies, hiring of buses and vans, thanksgiving items, etc. Consequently, we saw ourselves spending well over one million naira for the burial of my father in 2004. Food and drinks took the lion share of the total sum spent. It was indeed not easy at all.

In all, one thing worried me most: It was the fact that my father whilst alive would not have permitted such huge sum of money to be spent on anyone’s burial. My father was known for his astuteness and reserved spending habits. But much as we tried to curtail the expenses, the societal pressures constantly overwhelmed us. Finally, we saw ourselves coming out of the burial almost broken.

Recovering from that loss in every respect was never easy. But death never cares! So, barely two years after my father’s demise, another death much more painful occurred again in our family. It was the death of Father (Prof.) Pantaleon Osondu Iroegbu on the 24^th February, 2006. Fr Pantaleon’s death was sudden as it was shocking and dumbfounding. It occurred only few months after his priestly Silver Jubilee which was widely and exemplarily celebrated. In his God-given wisdom, Fr Pantaleon left us with these words,

“…at my death, I request more of praise-worship and masses of thanksgiving and less mourning and lamentations. My burial should be simple portraying that of a child of God. No pomposity! No misery...!”

These words, to say the least, were new and hard to accept in the African milieu. Therefore our resolve to maintain accordingly a simple and God-glorifying burial for our brother was once again subdued by the voracious demands of the society, especially during the Month’s Mind of Father Pantaleon. Details could not be discussed here but suffices it to say that the entire burial ceremonies of Fr Pantaleon could be anything else but ‘simple.’

Again and very recently, I lost my grand-stepmother, Mrs. Celine Iroegbu at 95 years on 7^th August 2010. The family met few days later to agree on burial date and funding. Mrs. Celine Iroegbu’s death was not altogether a sad one having died at a ripe age. Ordinarily, such death in Africa is a big celebration. But in the family meeting to discuss her burial, it was noticeable on our faces that we could simply not afford an expensive celebration. So without objections, we proceeded to plan for the burial.

I was taking the minutes of the meeting. Our painstakingly restrictive budget for the burial came to over N600, 000 (six hundred thousand naira). When I said restrictive, I mean that we made sure that we did not include anything we considered not so relevant. Yet, it almost came to a totally helpless situation but for the intervention of some good in-laws who contributed to the burial. I hardly could find any reason to justify the societal insistence on burial rites in the face of harsh economic conditions and with younger ones who need to go to school and get good education for themselves and society. This last family burial can be seen as the straw that broke the camel’s back, hence I picked up my pen for this write-up.

I have continually tried to imagine what bereaved families go through to have their dead buried. On 25^th September 2010, our family neighbor (also Catholic) buried mother and son on the same day. One could then imagine what they passed through. Sometimes before that burial, I tried to console one of the family members who was ‘crying.’ Her reaction only confirmed my imagination when she suddenly changed tune and cried, “How are we going to get the money for burial-o o!”—three times. That is the two cries in one burial: the loss of a dear one and the lack of burial capital. Later on, I also discovered that in the course of their mother’s illness, they had virtually sold every reasonable thing they possessed and had gone deeply into borrowing. What else!

The above case is just one out countless others. But how long can we go on with this unbridled hypocrisy? How long are we to resist the realities of the day in the name of burial rites? Granted, befitting burials for the dead were widely practiced from time immemorial. But in early times, burials were usually an occasional happening. Besides, it was usual to see people growing so old such that their death only brought joy for the living. Conversely, premature deaths in early times were not accorded with burial rites, except as far as to cut the link between such dead and the living. But over the years, conditions have changed, circumstances altered.

There has been population boom without corresponding economic boom especially in this part of the world. It brought with it lots of challenges appearing to be insurmountable by many. Hunger, starvation, diseases, discrimination, wars and, to cap it, deaths have become unusually common as a result. What two persons would have eaten in early times is now scrambled for by more than 10 persons who all want to feed as much as the two early men would have fed. Impossible! Good dancers change their dance steps with changing beats. In our world today, the beats have drastically changed and we must change our dance steps or else we’d be done!

Recommendations –

The Green Burial Council(GBC) is an American organization with the following vision statement –

                        “To make burial rituals become a viable option for honoring the dead,

                         Healing the living and inviting in the Divine”.     

I have purposefully chosen to start the recommendations with the above vision statement of the GBC, which seeks to make burials accord with changing times and circumstances. Honouring the dead in a meaningful way remains part of the reasons for burial rites. Above that, the living must not be allowed to suffer from uncontrolled burial spending. Lastly, we must seek to invite God to take His place in the given situation through the type of burial rites we conduct. From the last points, any burial which deprives innocent children of a meaningful future will be regarded as offending God and the living. For instance, burying with monies which could have been used to educate children through school.

Michael Jackson of America was regarded as well-to-do but his burial last year 2009 in a golden casket of more than $25,000 (≈N4,000,000) was perceived as share waste of resources. But Michael apart, most families in Africa do not have the resources so to say, yet they indulge in expensive burial practices made possible only by selling landed properties or by taking loans against all odds. That reminds us about one of Nollywood’s movies titled, “Died Wretched Buried in a 3 million Naira Casket.”

Talking about expensive burials, one Anglican faithful had this to say on 4^th March 2008,

 “I wonder why people spend fortunes on burials. And it’s unfortunate that majority of people even the enlightened and poor in the land indulge in it. But I am happy that Anglican Communion in my diocese has long banned expensive burials. They did it by making sure burials are done on Fridays instead of weekends so as to attract less people that will expect to eat and drink. Also dead bodies must be buried within 2 weeks else the church will not partake in the burial. As for me I hardly eat or drink at burials ceremonies. I regard it as another time of solemn reflection about life.”

I took time to reproduce the above statement so as to emphasize the significant role that could be played by the church in bringing about the needed change.

I am aware that the Catholic diocese of Okigwe in Imo state Nigeria has once directed that all Catholic burials should be done within two weeks, but it was not observed. There is no gainsaying the fact that rules or directives without the force of effective sanctions will not be obeyed. Similarly, in any group or society where there are sacred cows, there is hardly any rule of law. It needs no saying that the Catholic Church is rich with sacred cows for which the rules bow. Others will say that the Seat of Authority in the Catholic Church is too far from the followers in remote parts of the world. The rules from the Seat diffuse or, better still, change all contents before touching ground.

Consolidated burials: By this, it is recommended that where there are many deaths in the same area or community, it will not be out of place to order for consolidated burials in one day and with a common funeral mass or service as appropriate.

Pre-Planning burial rites: generally, people don’t like to discuss their own death and others don’t also love to listen to such discussion. It is an extremely uncomfortable topic. However, by pre-planning one’s funeral, one relieves other family members of having to make difficult financial decisions during a period of great stress and sorrowing. Pre-planned burial rites will leave little or no room for others’ wishes on how one is buried. The Plan which must be revealed to confidant(s) must contain essential information which will include personal data, preferred type of burial and rites, wishes on organ donation, mortuary, casket, funeral mass (service), food and drinks, clothing, funeral oration, and funding, etc. One can also simply place a limit on all expenses by stating that no more than a specified sum of money shall be spent on one’s burial.

Cremation: this is the process of reducing dead bodies to basic chemical compounds in the form of gases and bone fragments. In other words, it is the custom of burning the bodies of the dead which dates back to very early times. Rome was among the first to practice cremation. Today, in India, this is a common practice among the Hindu. By the 5^th Century of the Christian era, owing in great part to the rapid progress of Christianity, the practice of cremation had entirely ceased. Placing of dead bodies in the earth or tomb increasingly became the accepted mode for Christian burials.

A brief consideration of some of the advantages of cremation over burial may help to inform one’s choice. Cremations are typically much less expensive than ground burials. That is because in cremation, there is normally no need for embalmment, caskets, and burial grounds. Cremation option is simpler and they do not necessarily require an elaborate funeral, if any. Perhaps, those who enjoyed a simple life on earth are best remembered in a simpler way by cremation. Cremated bodies are much easier to transport to and from any part of the globe. The remains can be scattered or collected in an urn for burial at a later date. Cremation is quick and makes a clean disposal of a dead body. Cremation can be opted for regardless what religious conviction is involved. In addition, it can be an excellent option for those who are apprehensive about environmental factors. On the other hand, the only known disadvantage of cremation is the fact that it leaves survivors with fewer ways to mourn their dead, unlike burial.

Some people will argue against cremation as unchristian (Amos 2:1). For example, an Indian pastor whose view was sought about cremation had this to say, “cremation is not Christian. The Christians in India bury their dead, because burial is Christian. There is nothing Christian about cremation. It is an ancient practice of heathen origins.” Obviously, this pastor will not opt for cremation. But a question for him would be whether it is Christian to indulge in expensive Christian burials to the detriment of the living? It is there that our concern lies. We should seek to honour the dead indeed but not to the detriment of our obligations to God and to the living! The advantages of cremation certainly outweigh that of burial regardless of one’s religious inclinations. Disagreements likely to follow one’s preference to cremation can be avoided by providing for same in a pre-planned funeral statement.

Re-orientation sermons and teachings: These sermons and teachings will be aimed at discouraging people from the idea or culture of attending burials with the expectation of eating and drinking. In like manner, the demand for food and drinks for the purpose of accepting the news or information of someone’s death should be condemned. General serving of food and drinks where possible should be preferred. Families and Christian groups should be encouraged to resist unhealthy societal cum cultural burial bans in certain days and months. For instance, in Umunumo areas of Mbano, Imo State, Nigeria, no burial takes place in the month of October being the month for our annual festival called Mbomama. The festival is preceded by the clearing of our environment and all roads leading to our streams and markets. There are lots of eating and drinking. Any dead within or around this period must wait in the mortuary until after the feasts. Other neighbouring communities also have their own sacred months and days. Catholics appear to observe these practices the most.

Immediate burial pending rites: It is recommended that the dead body should be buried as soon as death is confirmed. Thereafter, the burial rites (ceremonies) will follow as and when convenient. Already this burial system is somehow practiced among the Igala people of Kogi State of Nigeria, where a distinction is drawn between ‘interment’ and ‘second burial ceremonies.’ Besides, every responsible Igala elder is expected to provide for his or her own final wears (called “okpe”) kept in his or her box, for lying in state and interment. The idea and insistence on waiting for the children or relations of the deceased in the Diaspora to return home before burial should be discouraged too. It is totally irrational to insist on delaying corpse for weeks or months just because one wants to see, touch, or talk to a lifeless body. Children and relations should cultivate the habit of maintaining regular contacts with their loved ones whilst alive and not after death. The church could form own Christian group undertakers or funeral attendants to facilitate and ensure Christian burials devoid of excesses.

Conclusion: In all, we must constantly have our focus on three basic things in any particular Christian burial, viz.

1.      Honouring the dead.

2.      Inviting the Lord, and

3.      Healing the living (i.e. better or improved life after the burial)

I am of the view that any burial that fails to achieve these three important objectives falls short of a Christian burial!

Iroegbu M.Charles, esq. LLM (UNN),

15^th October 2010.

PS: If this article interests you and you share our views therein, then do not hesitate to join us in our campaign for the desired change. The theme of our campaign is: The Campaign Against Two Cries in One Burial (CATCOB). Our Contact is: ablechiro@yahoo.com. Your views are welcome. Thank you and God bless.