The Lugbara view of death

For the Lugbara of Uganda death is a frequent and important event. It is frequent in the sense that as the Lugbara live at a very high density of population the incidence of ordinary deaths within a small neighbourhood is high; they occur almost daily within a relatively small area and people are constantly aware of the deaths of kin, neighbours and friends. It is reported for many peoples living in small settlements at a low density that one is hardly aware of death, but in Lugbara it is an everyday occurrence. It is also normally an event that takes place publicly, in the sense that its occurrence is known, even if not actually witnessed, by all members of a local community; and the mortuary rites that follow it are attended by many people whether related to the deceased or not. The Lugbara have few rites to do with birth, puberty or marriage. But the rites of death are important, elaborate, and often longlasting, and lead to the reorganisation of local social relations of many kinds. A death is more than that of an individual family member: the dead person has also been a member of a lineage which is assumed to be perpetual and a constellation of ties of many kinds was centred upon him. A death disturbs the continuity of the lineage and mortuary rites are performed in order to restore this continuity.