Some call it “explosive crying.” I call it a cathartic release of pent up grief. When you pack all of your skeletons in the closet it comes to a point when you’re just waiting for the door to give way. Every suppressed feeling and thought is now sitting at the forefront of your mind, impressing upon an already confused emotional state.
The neighbor just died. The sound of loss is very distinctive. Blood curdling screams are now added to the soundtrack of loud operatic church music. Family members and neighbors come and go; some staying for hours and others for minutes. I'm sure they're not keeping track of time. Time seems to slow down out of respect for the dead...
Zambia has a pretty open culture when it comes to funeral processions. When someone dies, almost anyone can attend any part of the wake period (which spans several days) or funeral. Mourners sing staggered hymns while others wail over the loss of their loved one. Groups of women form loose committees for cooking, cleaning and the general maintenance of the funeral house. These women usually stay a few days before and few days after the funeral procession.
On the day of the funeral, people gather around the house. Some enter the house to pay their respects to the mourning kin while others straggle outside catching up with people they haven't seen in a while. Most men sit outside of the house, talking while waiting to be served refreshments. The actual funeral procession begins in the late morning or early afternoon. I can't speak for funerals in the urban parts of Zambia, but in rural Zambia, the casket is put on display for the body viewing to commence. People form a queue to pay their last respects to the deceased. Once the line has finished, the casket is taken to the burial site. If a main road needs to be accessed, people lay branches on the road to block part of the road for the procession of people going to the burial site.
In the village I used to reside, the grave site for children was separate from the grave site for adults. The traditional leaders have family burial plots separate from the rest of the community members. After the casket is taken to the site, the pastor or esteemed elder delivers the eulogy and the body is laid to rest. Then the crowd disperses. Most return to the funeral home for food and socialization.
Although the crowd goes on with it's business, the family takes more time to come to terms with the loss of their loved one.
The neighbor just died. The sound of loss is very distinctive. Blood curdling screams are now added to the soundtrack of loud operatic church music. Family members and neighbors come and go; some staying for hours and others for minutes. I'm sure they're not keeping track of time. Time seems to slow down out of respect for the dead...
Zambia has a pretty open culture when it comes to funeral processions. When someone dies, almost anyone can attend any part of the wake period (which spans several days) or funeral. Mourners sing staggered hymns while others wail over the loss of their loved one. Groups of women form loose committees for cooking, cleaning and the general maintenance of the funeral house. These women usually stay a few days before and few days after the funeral procession.
On the day of the funeral, people gather around the house. Some enter the house to pay their respects to the mourning kin while others straggle outside catching up with people they haven't seen in a while. Most men sit outside of the house, talking while waiting to be served refreshments. The actual funeral procession begins in the late morning or early afternoon. I can't speak for funerals in the urban parts of Zambia, but in rural Zambia, the casket is put on display for the body viewing to commence. People form a queue to pay their last respects to the deceased. Once the line has finished, the casket is taken to the burial site. If a main road needs to be accessed, people lay branches on the road to block part of the road for the procession of people going to the burial site.
In the village I used to reside, the grave site for children was separate from the grave site for adults. The traditional leaders have family burial plots separate from the rest of the community members. After the casket is taken to the site, the pastor or esteemed elder delivers the eulogy and the body is laid to rest. Then the crowd disperses. Most return to the funeral home for food and socialization.
Although the crowd goes on with it's business, the family takes more time to come to terms with the loss of their loved one.
