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Sunday March 29, 2009 I attended a death celebration. It's not a funeral, but a traditional death celebration. The grandparents of a friend's friend of mine, passed away five years ago. They were buried then, but celebrating now. It's a huge affair and costs a lot of mone
y, taking some families even 10 or 15 years just to prepare for it. Each family member had to invite a community group linked to the grandparents, through work, church, or whatever... so many friends, relatives, and acquaintances of not only the grandparents but of the family and community were there... we're talking hundreds, maybe even over a thousand! Each group would present a dance, called Juju dancing. We took up a whole section of a neighbourhood and all the different groups were spread around. People were sitting and talking and eating and would go back and forth from the main area, where the dances took place, as well as visit the grave site or admire photos of the deceased. It started in the afternoon and I'm sure it lasted all night. The men and women were all dressed in their colourful, traditional regalia and each group matched each other. They would sing songs in various dialects and, at the end of the song or really... just randomly, the men would shoot hunting rifles into the air (with live ammunition!!!!). I jumped every time one went off... the children would go running, but the adults seemed to not even notice a dozen shots in the air in ten seconds! I was wondering whether the combination of rifles and drinking, dancing, and celebrating was really the safest tradition... but anyway, people were joyous and welcoming. It was a very interesting, ethnological experience. Cheers! Bang! Bang!
y, taking some families even 10 or 15 years just to prepare for it. Each family member had to invite a community group linked to the grandparents, through work, church, or whatever... so many friends, relatives, and acquaintances of not only the grandparents but of the family and community were there... we're talking hundreds, maybe even over a thousand! Each group would present a dance, called Juju dancing. We took up a whole section of a neighbourhood and all the different groups were spread around. People were sitting and talking and eating and would go back and forth from the main area, where the dances took place, as well as visit the grave site or admire photos of the deceased. It started in the afternoon and I'm sure it lasted all night. The men and women were all dressed in their colourful, traditional regalia and each group matched each other. They would sing songs in various dialects and, at the end of the song or really... just randomly, the men would shoot hunting rifles into the air (with live ammunition!!!!). I jumped every time one went off... the children would go running, but the adults seemed to not even notice a dozen shots in the air in ten seconds! I was wondering whether the combination of rifles and drinking, dancing, and celebrating was really the safest tradition... but anyway, people were joyous and welcoming. It was a very interesting, ethnological experience. Cheers! Bang! Bang!
