Anthropos: Anthropos, 93.1998

Anthropos, 93.1998

Bibliographische Daten

Zeitschrift

Strukturtyp:: Zeitschrift

Werks-URN (URL):: https://digi.evifa.de/viewer/resolver?urn=urn:nbn:de:kobv:11-714820

URN:: urn:nbn:de:kobv:11-714820

Persistenter Identifier:: BV043334262

Titel:: Anthropos

Untertitel:: internationale Zeitschrift für Völker- u. Sprachenkunde

Erscheinungsort:: Fribourg

Verlag:: Ed. St. Paul

Erscheinungsjahr:: 1906

Sammlung:: Zeitschriften und Zeitungen > Zeitschriften zur Ethnologie

Wissensgebiet:: Sozial- und Kulturanthropologie > Allgemeines

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Strukturtyp:: Zeitschriftenband

Werks-URN (URL):: https://digi.evifa.de/viewer/resolver?urn=urn:nbn:de:kobv:11-711897

URN:: urn:nbn:de:kobv:11-711897

Persistenter Identifier:: 1515154324621

Titel:: Anthropos, 93.1998

Erscheinungsjahr:: 1998

Signatur:: LA 1118

Sammlung:: Zeitschriften und Zeitungen > Zeitschriften zur Ethnologie

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Strukturtyp:: Zeitschriftenheft

Titel:: Bd. 93, 1998, Heft 1-3

Sammlung:: Zeitschriften und Zeitungen > Zeitschriften zur Ethnologie

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Strukturtyp:: Zeitschriftenartikel

Titel:: Some Sociopolitical Aspects of Luo Funerals

Sonstige Person:: Kisiara, Richard

Sammlung:: Zeitschriften und Zeitungen > Zeitschriften zur Ethnologie

Anthropos 93.1998: 127-136 Some Sociopolitical Aspects of Luo Funerals Richard Kisiara Abstract. - This paper examines some social and political as Pects of funerals among the Luo people of Kenya. Using ne concepts of liminality and communitas as developed by 'ynold Van Gennep and Victor Turner respectively, I argue nat funerals among the Luo enable examination of the conduct kin and non-kin participating in the funeral, expression of celings and exchange of information among those attending ^ funeral, a reminder to everyone of the inevitability of e ath and the need to prepare oneself in life, and affirmation ar, d reaffirmation of the relationship between mourners, the ec eased, and the bereaved family. [Kenya, Luo, funerals, duality, communitas] Richard Kisiara, M. A. (1992), is doctoral candidate in an- r °pology at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, ^A, where he also teaches Kiswahili language, sociocultural dnt hropology, and African studies. He has done research in Astern Kenya. ^troduction ^ e ath and funeral rites have been examined from jffany viewpoints. Metcalf and Huntington (1991) ^ghlight and review some of these viewpoints. er haps the most conventional way, following Van e nnep’s rites of passage (1960), is to view death ^ a separation from physical life prior to integra- *° n into the afterlife. Rites, rituals, and activities at follow after death have many implications as j^ u dies have shown. Funeral rites, for example, ave been shown to generate economic or material ^ Xc hanges. In his study of the Akan funeral rites, r hin ( 1994) shows how that community in Ghana n gage in economic and material exchanges which ’nforce the sense of community in general, and ^longing to the family, lineage, or clan of the f ceased in particular. Funerary rites, especially r kings and other prominent personalities also , rve to or are occasions in which political soli- 1 Qo^ * s s k° wn i n a group (Metcalf and Huntington t k 135). Funerals also have social components them - singing, dancing, playing musical in fluents, eating, and so on. All of these social herings and exchanges derive from the bond that results from people undergoing the same ritual transition that Victor Turner (1969) has referred to as “communitas.” The behavioral permissiveness that occasions funerals, as Middleton (1982) ob served, is occasioned by the concept of liminality as argued by Arnold Van Gennep (1960). These are just a few examples of the ways death and funeral rites have been interpreted. In this paper, I discuss some of the sociopolitical aspects of funerals among the Luo of Kenya. In doing this, I draw from Van Gennep’s concept of liminality, and I show how the concept of liminality in death provides occasions for expression of views that would ordinarily not be easily expressed. I also draw on Turner’s concept of communitas to ex plain the sociality and cooperation in Luo funerals. The data on which this essay is based come from my own experience, being a member of the Luo ethnic group, and having attended and actively participated in several funerals between 1983 and 1996. The Concepts of Liminality and Communitas The concept of liminality is taken from Arnold Van Gennep (1960), and derives from his examination of rites of passage. Van Gennep defined rites of passage as the rites which accompany every change of place, state, or social position, and some age categories. Van Gennep (1960: 21) identi fied three phases that mark these rites: separation (preliminal), margin (limen), and reaggregation (postliminal). The act of separation is where the subjects move or are moved from their former places in society, through some prescribed form of ritual(s). In the case of death, taking the corpse outside from the house or place of death, burning tools, houses, and other property of the deceased, and also killing the deceased’s wives, slaves, and animals constitute acts of separation. Acts of washing, anointing, and cutting hair are also included in separation (Van Gennep 1960: 164 ff.).

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