Rytuały pochówkowe starszych mężczyzn u ludu Konkomba z północnej Ghany

Abstract

Among the African peoples an imporiant social and religious role is played by funeral rituals, which belong to so-called rites of passage associated with the change of status and social position of man. In the Konkomba people from northern Ghana the rites of first funeral and final (second) funeral are the most extensive of all the rites of passage. The present article describes and analyses the rites of burial (likpuul), which arc burial rituals of elderly men. These rituals differ in the richness of the rites and in their social significance from the simple burials of adults, children or infants. The first funeral of elderly men consits of burial, mourning period, purifying rites and farewell rites. The Konkomba perform burial rites of elderly men in a very ceremonial manner. 200 to 500 people participate in them. A lot of people are obliged to take an active part in particular rites. An obligation to participate binds all close relatives, members of minor lineage and other lineages of the same clan as well as representatives of definite lineages and clans who are connected with each other by means of a ritual partnership relation. Besides, members of related clans, of the clan of the dead man’s mother and of affinal clans, married daughters and sons-in-law as well as the inhabitants of the neighbouring villages take part. The way that particular rituals are performed, their abundance and the number of participants depend on the dead man’s status in the commmunity. An expression of regret and uneasiness after the death of important members of the community as well as the prestige and the social standing of elderly people (both men and women) in the patrilineal and gerontocratic community of the Konkomba people are the dances and songs which are accompanied by big drums and which are supposed to farewell those dead people. Young, unmarried men, girls and younger adult people of both sexes participate in the dances. The number of the dancing groups testifies to the prestige that the dead old man had. A lot of time is devoted to the preparation of the dead body for the burial. Colourful materials with which the dead body is covered show the respect towards the dead man. For a moment a special belt is put around the body of the dead man which is a symbol of the major lineage and the clan. Three men, using water, say goodbye to the dead man and apologise to him for all the troubles and problems which were caused to him by the living. The farewell words say about divination, which takes place during the second funeral. After the grave is covered with earth, a calabash symbolising the dead man’s soul is broken in thé place where the head lies and it is covered with earth. In the case of a man’s death the mourning period of the first funeral principally lasts for three days. For some reasons it can be extended by a few days. Until the mourning is finished the widows are not engaged in cooking or any other work in the homestead. On the third day, the house where the dead man’s body lay is ritually purified. Also, ritual washing of the dead man’s clothes and materials brought by the ritual partners or relatives is performed. Among the tribes of Bimonkpom, Binalob, Bigbem and Nakpantiib another ritual is practised when the dead old man’ s farm is visited by the widows and children of the dead and other accompanying people. The first funderal is finished in the evening of the third day or, exceptionally, a few days later, with a ritual of farewell to the dead man (lisaachong). It consists of killing a rooster in front of the exit hut of a homestead, sacrificing a cooked meal of yam and cereals to the dead old man, which takes place within a homestead, and to the ancestors, which is done in front of the exit hut. According to the beliefs of the Konkomba the sacrifice of food on the last evening means the closing of the mourning and farewell to the spirit of the dead man who, from that moment, ceases to threaten the community. Burial rituals emphasize a change of the status of the dead man who, through his death, was temporarily excluded from the society. Particular rites do away with the negative consequences following death and they make it possible for the dead man to pass over from the visible community of the living to the invisible community of the dead. Besides, they help an individual and a community to accept the new stale; they reorganize and integrate the family, lineage, clan and supraclan group. The rites express belief in life after death and in this way they lead the community through the hard time and crisis caused by the death of one of its important members. These rites give consolation and solution of existential problems to indi vidual people and to the whole community. It is only the old people (male and female) who in view of their age, social status and children can reach the status of ancestors after they die. A necessary condition for the change of their status is the performance of rituals of the first and second funerals.