Paper short abstract:

Decolonisation of grief counselling is needed. Western counselling theories pose challenges for special deaths in Africa. This study explores cultural understanding of twin burial rituals. Twins who have undergone twin death rituals report better grief coping. Culturally sensitive counselling needed

Paper long abstract:

Contemporary African society is characterised by indigenous and imported religions. In response to the need for decolonisation of African indigenous religions and inclusion of African concepts and discourses, this paper argues for decolonisation of grief counselling. While decolonisation of counselling has been a subject of academic discussion, the specific area of counselling in the context of twin deaths has received limited attention. Counselling theories, methods, and models commonly employed for training and providing counselling services in Africa are often derived from the west, posing challenges of appropriateness within an African framework. In Africa, particular attention must be given to what are known as "special deaths," including deaths of twins, traditional doctors, and individuals with albinism. These special deaths often involve unique rituals and cultural beliefs therefore a comprehensive understanding of such is significant for Counselling. This two-year qualitative-auto-ethnographic study examines the cultural understanding of twin grief, the available psycho-social support systems for the bereaved, and the experiences of twin-less twins in Kweneng and North East Districts of Botswana, which are geographically and ethnically distinct. Purposive sampling of twin-less twins, their parents and local counsellors were selected for in-depth interviews. An important finding is that twins who have undergone the twin death rituals report better coping with the loss compared to those who sought professional counselling. This paper argues that, given the dynamic nature of society, a cross-pollination of Western and local grief counselling practices is essential when addressing twin grief counselling in a more inclusive and culturally sensitive manner.