DEATH AND FUNERAL RITES IN OVOKO AKPURUOKWE IGBO IN IGBO-EZE SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF ENUGU STATE (
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study
Man’s greatest consolation about the inevitability of death is on the after-life. Blackmore (1986:13) maintains that to “die is to live”. She contends that death is like shutting off the television signal working with the television that produces the television programme. Using this analogy one can see that shutting off the television does not affect the television signal in the air waves. For to die physical death does not imply that one is not spiritually alert. Physical death is a transformation to spiritual life. Physical death may also be described as a metamorphosis where one wears out the physical life to put on spiritual life. In Igbo Culture, they believe in two types of death- natural and premature death. Natural deaths are those who have achieved to a remarkable degree the aspiration and values of their communities. Those under this category are regarded as ancestors. Such individuals are given maximum burial rites. In the Igbo culture, their death is significant because it marks the entry into the abode of the ancestors. According to Abanuka (2003:57), the ancestors in this state, reincarnates.
The reincarnation-[lq-xwa of ancestors is usually in form of a new born child called which literally means a return worldly existence. In this context the performance of the funeral rites brings both sorrow and joy to the bereaved. . Sorrow in the sense that the departed cannot be seen physically again and Joy because the dead have been immortalized and have now become models who influence the living. This scenario is usually observed at the out-pouring of human emotions during burials of loved ones and other moments of grave stress.
Also we have second category of death regarded as premature death premature
This category of death includes those who did not make remarkable achievements in the world. They died young. They also include those who failed to discover their destiny and those who were unable to fulfill their destiny properly. Here, three categories of death come to mind;
(1) Accidents of all types qnwx aka gburu)
(2) Qnwx erugh[eru /mbxji (untimely death)
(3) Un-expected death (qnwx ntxmada )
The Igbo culture has its way of dealing with these groups .The rituals performed before burial are meant to differentiate them from the qgbanje children and evil spirits. It is believed that they bind themselves in a group and their departure is a result of the pact. They are to return to the group as soon as possible. In the case of qgbanje, sometimes a deep cut is given to the body and part of the flesh is entirely cut off. This mark is meant to identify the qgbanje in case it comes back to the parents. The cut is therefore not meant for punishment, but for identification.
