Igbo Funeral Rite

• The Igbo form 15 percent of Nigeria’s population.
• Has the largest population of Christians in Nigeria.
• The people believe the afterlife is filled with ancestors and that their loved one can only reincarnate if correct burial traditions are performed.
• It is traditionally a polytheistic religion with emphasis on reuniting with the community in the afterlife
• Traditional burial rites involve two funerals whose main intention is to safely escort the deceased from the realm of the living to the spirit world.
• Only after a second successful funeral can the deceased pass from the time of “ita okazi”— a period of torment— into a state of peace and contentment.

• In the igbo society one exists for the community and the igbo is immortal as long as they continue exist within the community.
• The dead must have lived faithfully and ethical lives after passing at a “ripe old age” as well as be given a befitting burial to be welcomed in the comity of ancestors

Notificatin of Death

• Laid-down procedure for breaking the news of death, especially that of a great man.
• The first group to be informed is the deceased's immediate family. Afterwards, the extended family is told.Then the entire community is summoned to an "ikpo oku".The final group to be informed is the deceased's mother's family.The news is broken while presenting them with alcohol and livestock.They are then given a date to visit the immediate family and learn exactly how the death occurred.
• Only after the "ikpo oku" are public displays of mourning permitted to commence. This is continued until the day of burial.
•  Lavish entertainment is provided at the occasion. The number of yams, goats and cows the mother's family demands to take home with them is dependent on the deceased's status in his community.
• This elaborate procedure for passing on the news of death helps prevent murder(ensures that no-one leaves this world without the exact circumstances being ascertained)

First Burial

• When an elderly Igbo man or woman dies, they have two burials. The purpose of theses burials are to prepare the body for the spirit world.
• A short service used primarily for short-term mourning. This is the ceremony where the physical body such as a lock of hair is physically buried in the hometown of the departerd
• it is also held primarliy for mourning and during this service, the departed is often buried with their personal effects that they can take with them in to the udnerworld and onwardin their reincarnated life. The bodies are buried in the ground with their most valuable possessions. Men are usually buried with tools, guns, and fishing gear. Women were usually buried with pots and dishes.

The Widow

• A widow is subjected to certain rituals upon the death of her husband. These rituals include drinking the water that was used to wash the husband's corpse, the shaving of the widow's hair, sleeping on the ground without a blanket for a month and a week, wearing the same garments for a year, sitting on the ground motionless for a specified period, eating only with the unwashed left hand, and fasting. The widow's drinking of the bathing-water of her husband's corpse is a ceremony of self-exculpation whereby it is believed the widow will die if she was blameworthy for her husband's death.
• She was also expected to only wear black or white attire throughout the duration of the mourning period and all her needs were provided by her neighbours.

Burial Ceremony of a cheif

• When a chief dies his family takes his body to a special funeral compound “ oto kwbu” to be washed— this involves a special pot of water an cloths that are forbidden to touch the ground. Then the chief’s sisters tie and Okuru around his waist and his legal wives dress him with special cloths
• Next the sons and brothers carry the corpse to a bed in a room containing the shrines of his ancestors called “ Wari Kubu “ . Friends and family of the chief show respect by wailing and playing drums to signal to the ancestors that he will soon join them.
• The legal wives then sit around the body, in order of rank, each holding a broken knife blade, and the legal daughters and sisters sit, in age order, in two columns on either side of him as other cheifs come down the aisle bearing gifts. The ceremony goes on thought the whole night. In the morning gunshots are fired to tell the village that someone has passed
• Each wife is confined to a small room to paint her face an body with black dye and camwood in her seclusion. She then wears a mourning dress for 10 months and are not allowed to cut or shave their heads during this time, although both men and women will shave their heads .

The mourning is followed by a pilgrimage to Aro Chuko where the chief is to be buried in fine clohtes, with ornaments, beads, plates, knives, tobacco, and gin. The women are forbidden to weep, so that they allow the spirit to leave thi s live peacefully— if a woman does cry she must sacrifice a goat or fwol at the feet of the corpse in order to purify the stain of her tears

As soon as the family can afford it they give a play for the chief and then a parade of war canoes lead by the oldest daugher. After this ritual come the sacrifices, which must be killed by gthe chief’s children.

Cat killed for its power of clairvoyance and ability to forsee danger and eveil

Cat is chosen because of its spectacular night fvision in order to bring the chief good eyesight in the underworld

Eagle is chosen to bring the chief good eyesing in the light

Parrot is chosen because of its clear voice so the chief will always be heard in his next life

Human sacrifices are carried out by the chief’s mother’s side of the family

The death chamber “obiri” is decorated wit the skuls of the victims and the family has a great feast of flesh of the animal and human sacrifices

"Bad Deaths"

People who had a "bad death" are considered shame ful and do not receive a burial or ceremony at all. The "bad deaths" are:

Women who died in confinement

Children who died before they grew their teeth

Suicides

Twins that died

People who died in the sacred month

Death by accident is frowned upon and is considered a bad omen requiring sacrifices to appease the gods— they do not qualify to enter the comity of ancestors. They just disappear as well as those who die of leprosy .

The people of a clan cannot touch the body of a man who killed himself because it is a sin against the earth.

Twins are seen as a bad omen sent by the Gods and are supernatural beings that could bring devastation upon a society— whenever twins were born their parents left them at the “Evil Forest” to die never receiving a proper burial or welcomed by the comity of ancestors in their afterlife.

Attire

• The funeral attire depends on the deceased’s age and the family’s preferences.
• All immediate relatives of the deceased are expected to dress in the same outfit at an Igbo funeral. This can add to the cost as the garment may not be worn again, Some families choose a color combination— usually two— for funeral guests to wear.
• However, when attending the burial ceremony, eveyone should wear dark colored clothing — especially if it’s a burial for somone young. Traditionally women wore cotton clothing that was locally tailored and dyed, while men wore wide-sleeved robes with elaboratley desinged embroidery. The family often wears red while other mourners wear black

Works Cited

Nwaubani, Adaobi Tricia. "Igbo Burials: How Nigeria Will Bid Farewell to Achebe." BBC News. BBC, 23 May 2013. Web. 09 Feb. 2014.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-22610497

https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad702c.html

https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/ajet/14-2_079.pdf

https://www.nircle.com/cdr/post/7338-what-does-the-funeral-rites-in-igboland-entail