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- Convenors:
-
Senzokuhle Doreen Setume
(University of Botswana)
Philipp Öhlmann (University of Botswana)
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- Chairs:
-
Philipp Öhlmann
(University of Botswana)
Senzokuhle Doreen Setume (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 short abstract:
The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic is responded with interventions, including public health and safety measures (PHSM) on transmission, morbidity and mortality. The success of such PHSM depends on communal participation in decision-making, acceptance, ownership and implementation.
Paper long abstract:
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, many countries and their health set-ups have responded with interventions, including public health and safety measures (PHSM) on transmission, morbidity and mortality. The success of such PHSM depends on communal participation in decision-making, acceptance, ownership and implementation. In Ghana, state confiscation and burial of certified COVID-19-related deaths and ban on funerals were planned and rolled-out. This was met with strong resistance, because of the inability for families to perform the affective and symbolic burial rites for loved ones. Littles is known about the extends of acceptability of sensitive PHSM to inform preparedness for future pandemics. It is therefore critical to understand the cultural sensitivity of the burial rites to generate information for communal engagement on the control of the current as well as future pandemics. Based on this, we set out to explore and understand the cultural burial rites and affect therein and how that influence engagement, acceptance and adherence to COVID-19 PHSM in the Central Regional Health Directorate operation area. The study is situated within a qualitative exploratory design, based on ethnography and within an ecological framework. About 20 to 30 participants will be sampled based on purposiveness and engaged in face-to-face in-depth interviews, with recourse to point of saturation. Preliminary information indicates that burial rites and their affect is important to individuals and families and that public engagement is important in pandemic control.
Paper short abstract:
The main objective is to explore how COVID-19 regulations affected cultural expressions of death and grief. On 2 April 2020 Botswana imposed a first lockdown. Covid-19 restrictions negatively impacted cultural-expression of grief
Paper long abstract:
The main objective of this paper is to explore how COVID-19 regulations affected the traditional/cultural expressions of death and funeral rites. On March 11 2020, the World Health Organisation declared COVID-19 a pandemic, this led to the placing of stringent measures on funereal rites to protect people against the pandemic. Botswana confirmed a first case of Covid-19 on 30 March, immediately the government declared a state of emergency and subsequently imposed an initial 28-day lockdown on 2 April 2020. Covid-19 management strategies included managing funerals. Funeral rites are important ways through which societies deal with grief effectively. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with five bereaved families, literature on Covid 19 and death (11 articles), newspapers and a series of Botswana Government Gazette Extraordinary and Public Notices Covid 19 Press Release. Admittedly all COVID-19 protocols were meant to effectively contain the spread of the disease; however cultural ways of dealing with death were negatively affected. The major findings are that the social distancing, cancellation of night vigil and body viewing; limiting of attendees at funeral to only 50 people; the introduction of zonal travel permits and the use of tractors to dig and cover negatively impacted on funereal rituals and cultural ways of effectively dealing with death. Therefore Covid-19 restrictions led to improper burials rites that affected on people’s social relations, their spiritual and mental well-being. One of the major recommendations is that the cooking of food at funeral is an unnecessarily cost that Batswana need to consider post Covid-19.