Kisumu: Funerals festivities in Luo Land may take a noticeable turn in the near future owing to the lesson learnt from the late Raila Odinga’s funeral arrangements and the final burial at his father’s home in Kang’o Kajaramogi in Bondo recently. The 72-hour burial accorded to the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Party leader by the State as per his will has enticed many of the members of the Luo community who now mull at copying the short funeral time-frame in a bid to save resources, many a time wasted in feeding mourners.
According to Kenya News Agency, if adopted by the community, the agreed limited period within which bodies are supposed to be interred means that bereaved families will only worry about putting in place the necessary burial kits such as coffins, transport, and clearing the mortuary bills and ignore raising funds for feeding mourners. The urge for scheduling more time in order to craft weeks or months of preparing well for throwing good parties for mourners and guests will automatically wane hence many people will never again have the urge to attend funerals unnecessarily, according to Mr. Tobias Okenge, a retired teacher in Migori County.
Mr. Okenge explains that it is a tradition to prepare too much food in Luo funerals, which often prompts many members of the community to attend funerals that are not of their relatives or people they know, or of those with whom they have no attachment in life. Mr. Collins Oloo, a cattle trader from Awendo sub-county, supports the short period burials, which he says will greatly alleviate unnecessary spending among the Luos. Citing the Coronavirus period in Kenya, Mr. Oloo notes the time presented an opportunity when burials of Luo community members became very cheap, as both the National and County governments pooled their muscles against any move by the local people to slaughter animals and throw parties to guests during funerals.
The two levels of governments came out against the age-old tradition of mass feasting at funerals among the Luo people, partly blaming the whole treat for the huge surge of coronavirus rate in the region during the period. Discipline in resource spending was earned during this period when huge gatherings were banned, and families prevented from slaughtering animals to feed mourners and entertain guests during burials of their loved ones. The other things the administration enforced in the area regarding funerals were banning disco matanga, shutting all mortuaries in the region, and ensuring that bodies were buried within three days after death.
The National Government administration officers, that is, Chiefs and their assistants, were assigned to attend all funerals in their respective areas to ensure that only 100 persons attended and bodies were lowered to the grave as fast as possible. However, calls to limit burial time in this region have elicited diverse opinions from the local people. According to Mr. Bernard Okello, a resident of Uriri village, the 72-hour time would interfere with the Luo community’s tradition of giving the dead a good send-off. He emphasized that his relatives and friends traveling from different regions should not leave without eating something.
His line of argument is supported by Mrs. Lorna Anyango, who runs a catering business in Awendo. Anyango says that the Luos have been known for giving the best treat to their guests who visit their homes, and in that regard, cannot leave them go back empty stomach. But Mrs. Pascal Auma Ondoro supports the 72-hour funerals, saying besides attracting huge crowds, delayed funerals have become so expensive with extra costs that are unnecessary, eating dearly into families’ wealth.
She notes that during the late 60s and 70s, it was the bereaved families who were being fed by outsiders, as opposed to today, when they are supposed to host their guests expensively. Mrs. Ondoro stresses that if the community can agree to abandon elaborate funeral ceremonies, it would be a better gift to their departed political hero Raila Odinga, as it would unbuckle families from the yoke of unnecessary expenses on funerals.
A few months before his death, Raila had complained about the elaborate mourning and extraordinary feasting in Luo funerals. He had initiated a campaign to stop these practices and called upon the Luo Council of elders to explore how these elaborate burials could be made affordable. It is often mentioned by many non-Luo members that a burial ceremony of a Luo community member is always exaggerated through an elaborate ‘feeding madness.’
In a Luo funeral, several eatery tents are erected, and all manner of high-class foods are served, which becomes a major attraction for the multitude of mourners. The cost of these foods is overwhelming for families but is often raised through harambees and from the limited wealth within families. Many believe that stopping these ‘village hotels’ will see funerals attended by only a few people, particularly relatives and neighbors, unlike the current situation where large crowds attend under the pretext of bidding farewell to the deceased.
