Death and Funeral Rites in Ovoko Akpuruokwe Igbo in Igbo-Eze South Local Government Area of Enugu State

– Death and Funeral Rites in Ovoko Akpuruokwe Igbo in Igbo-Eze South Local Government Area of Enugu State –

ABSTRACT

It was equally revealed on the mysteries of death in Ovoko Akpxrxokwe that death does not discriminate; death which is an enemy itself is described as something that does not have an enemy.

This is because it kills anyhow; it kills the rich and the poor, the old and young individuals, the sane and insane. Death equally does not listen to pleads, death is not respected of personality.

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Death which is said to be a transformation, which life undergoes to attain maturity when it occurs, shakes the life of the society, the normal social life is disorganized, the social equilibrium is disturbed for sometimes before things become normal again.

Death started from a time of which nobody knows. It is something handed over from generation to generation but whenever it occurs, people must always feel bad about the situation.

Something that started from time immemorial but people feel that death is awkward for people to discuss it regardless of their belief that the deceased had gone back to his ancestors.

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INTRODUCTION

Background of Study

Man’s greatest consolation about the inevitability of death is in the afterlife. 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 airwaves. 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 the 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 newborn child called which literally means a return to worldly existence. In this context, the performance of the funeral rites brings both sorrow and joy to the bereaved.

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REFERENCES

Abanuku, B. (2004). The Philosophy and the Igbo World. Enugu Snap Press (Nig.) Ltd.
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Adetunji, J.A., C.J. Murray and T. Evans (1996).Causes of Death in Africa. A Review “Paper Presented at a Meeting of the Population Association  of  America,  News  Orleans, May.
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Ainsworh, M., Semali, I. 1995.The Impact of Adult Deaths on Household Composition Mimeo.World Bank Washington D.C.
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