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- Convenors:
-
Senzokuhle Doreen Setume
(University of Botswana)
Philipp Öhlmann (University of Botswana)
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- Chairs:
-
Senzokuhle Doreen Setume
(University of Botswana)
Philipp Öhlmann (University of Botswana)
- Discussant:
-
Victor Kolo
(University of Medical Sciences, Ondo City, Ondo state, Nigeria)
- Format:
- Panel
- Stream:
- Images of the living and dead
- Location:
- Room 1221
- Sessions:
- Thursday 9 June, -
Time zone: Europe/Berlin
Short Abstract:
In March 2020, WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic, developed protocols to contain the virus. Funereal rites were significantly affected due to restrictions produced unprecedented social dynamics for Africa and Europe. The comparative niche allows for divergent narratives to emerge..
Long Abstract:
On the 11th of March 2020, the World health Organisation declared COVID-19 a pandemic, given its highly contagious nature from interfaces with infected animate and inanimate material. Consequently, protocols were developed to contain the spread of the virus through proper management of burial rituals. This led to more stringent burial rituals in the face of high mortality and morbidities emanating from COVID-19 infection. As a result, burial rituals and bereavement ceremonies were significantly affected by the pandemic. Arguably, funeral rites are important ways through which most societies deal with death and grief effectively. So, cultural prescriptions about the proper burial of the deceased are critical in helping people deal with bereavement. Any compromise on these important factors might have dire consequences for both the living and spirituality. Improper burial rites might have negative impact on people’s social relations, their spiritual and mental well-being. Limiting attendees at funerals gave rise to conflicts due to issues of inclusion and exclusion, and social distancing. Also, the inability to provide food at funerals and denying people the opportunity to view the body of the deceased complicated the process of grieving. These restrictions produced unprecedented social dynamics in funerals in Africa and Europe, as societies had to redefine the social constructs of death, dying and ways of dealing with grief. Therefore, effective counselling rooted on contextual knowledge, understanding and execution of the burial rituals among a people and culture is necessary. The comparative niche of narratives between Africa and Europe will allow for reciprocal, divergent and convergent narratives to play out in recreating notions of rituals and grief. This panel calls for papers that address the consequences of COVID-19 pandemic on burial rituals and grief. It will highlight the challenges to existing theories of ritual and grief as societies adjust in the new normal.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Thursday 9 June, 2022, -Paper long abstract:
Collective grieving and burial rituals form an integral part of the healing process for many sub-Saharan Africans during the death of their loved one(s). However, the covid-19 pandemic has created a rift in our human interconnectedness due to factors such as social distancing, restrictions on the number of people who can attend the funeral and the time allocated for conducting the funeral, as well as the restraint on viewing the corpse. More specifically, the pandemic has affected the relationship among people and their conception of empathy toward others especially during a bereavement. This rift has greatly affected the way many had to deal with grief. In this paper, we explore how the philosophy of Ubuntu can help us deal with grief amid challenges posed by the covid-19 pandemic. In order to achieve this, the paper considers various themes closely related to bereavement ceremonies including communal responsibility, spirituality, health and wellness among others. In what follows, the paper stipulates that these themes can be instrumental in providing effective counselling that can help people deal with grief. In the end, the paper emphasizes that despite the physical social disconnection brought about by the pandemic, Ubuntu remains a uniting principle that underscores the spirit of togetherness, the ability to work together towards a common goal and emphasizes the idea that the essence of being human rests largely on the recognition that we are all interconnected even when a pandemic disconnects us physically.
Paper short abstract:
This paper will investigate the impact of Covid-19 on Christians’ handling of death, burial rituals and the whole process of grieving among the Shona people of Zimbabwe.
Paper long abstract:
Every society has its own death related rituals. Focusing on the Karanga people of Nyajena in southern Zimbabwe. Chitakure (2021) identifies three death related rituals: pre-burial, burial and post-burial rituals. The advent of Christianity among the people of Zimbabwe saw certain changes in the way death-related rituals were practiced traditionally. Chitakure (2021) rightly observes that in Zimbabwe there are now two types of death-related rituals: traditional and Christian. The advent of Covid-19 beginning March 2020 saw the introduction of measures that seriously affected the practice of death-related rituals. The need for social distancing, the need to stay home, prohibition of huge gatherings, the use of masks to cover the nose and mouth had tremendous effects on people’s practice of death-related rituals, both traditional and Christian. This paper will investigate the impact of Covid-19 on Christians’ handling of death, burial rituals and the whole process of grieving among the Shona people of Zimbabwe. The paper is based on an ethnographic study of one family that I studied closely from the time of the death of their beloved one up to about a year later during which time most of the death-related rituals would ordinarily have been undertaken. This data is complemented by findings from literature and other observations and informal discussions I had with various people during the time of study. The paper also investigates how the Christians interpreted certain biblical texts as they either violated or came to terms with the dictates of Covid-19 protocols.
Paper short abstract:
This paper examines how the Covid restrictions interfered and created new dynamics in the Bukusu burial ritual. It also explores how technology was employed, to a limited level, to create virtual attendance and performance of the burial ritual.
Paper long abstract:
The mourning, burial, and transitional mechanisms among the Bukusu community of western Kenya are structured to allow for both the dead and the living to (re) integrate in the (new) world. Failure to adhere to any of the steps in the burial process is said to deny the dead from successful entry into the spiritual world and the living from pursuing a normal life after the departure of their loved ones. With a strong belief in life after death, the funeral ritual is both used as a means to help the family come to terms with the death and also help the dead to transit from the living to the living dead. The livings have to facilitate the dead in this liminal state and assign them a new identity to transit into the living dead. The mourning period is also transitional for the children of the deceased who become orphans, and the spouses who either become widows or widowers. The Covid 19 rules and restrictions limited the time and number of people who could attend a burial and eliminated physical interaction either among the mourners or with the deceased. This effectively curtailed the Bukusu burial ritual from taking place. This paper examines how the Covid restrictions interfered and created new dynamics in the Bukusu burial ritual. It also explores how technology was employed, to a limited level, to create virtual attendance and performance of the burial ritual.
Keyword: funeral rituals, death, liminality, performance, transition, Covid 19