Ch.+13+Funerals+-+Christine

For a chief’s funeral, family and friends attend the ceremony. The chief’s funeral is the most complex and sacrificial funeral in the tribe. During the ceremony, both animals and humans are both killed, to give the chief what he needs in his after life and in the underworld. The children of the chief sacrifice a dog first, to give the chief the ability to see danger and evil. After killing it they draw a circle with the dripping blood of the dog around the chief’s dead body. Next, a cat is killed to give him good night vision for the underworld so he can see things clearly. Then, an eagle is sacrificed to give him good eyesight in the light. A parrot is then sacrificed so that he has a clear voice in his next life. On his mother’s side, a goat is sacrificed because they are sturdy and will be able to provide him with transportation in his afterlife. Those are the animal sacrifices. For the human sacrifices, a special slave wife of the chief is killed and then thrown into the grave with him. For the rest of his slave wives, a strong man breaks the women’s arms and legs, after which they are buried alive.



Eagles are sacrificed for their good eyesight.

Cats are sacrificed for good night vision.

The funeral:

- The Chief is first taken to a special chamber where he is washed and changed. The things used to wash his body must never touch the ground.

- His legal wives then dress him in special cloths.

- His body is brought to his ancestors shrine room.

- The legal women in the Chief's life all sit around him while friends and family wail and play drums to let the ancestors know that he is coming to join them.

- The Chief's first wife and kids then perform a play for him, while the rest of his wives officially go into mourning and are secluded.

- The Chief is then buried. The burial includes the sacrifices and the music used to signal the ancestors.

- After the burial, the family has a great feast of the sacrifices, both human and animal.

- Ten months after his burial, another ceremony begins. This includes a special feast with English speaking men, a play by the family, and a special war canoe parade.

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For people who aren't the chief:

When an Ibo woman dies, she is buried at her son's home, however if she has no son then she is thrown into a bush. Children of the tribe are buried at their parents'.

Interesting link for further research:

http://www.postcolonialweb.org/nigeria/ibofuneral.html

__Works Cited__
 * Eason, Chris. "Google Image Result for Http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/African_Hawk- eagle_Aquila_spilogaster.jpg."// Google//. 18 Sept. 2008. Web. 11 Nov. 2010. .


 * Preez, Johann Du. "Tree of Life Web Project - Details for Media ID# 28909." //Tree of Life Web Project//. 24 Dec. 2007. Web. 11 Nov. 2010. .


 * Hauser, Karen. "Funeral Ceremonies of the Ibo." //Postcolonial and Postimperial Literature: An Overview//. 1992. Web. 11 Nov. 2010. .


 * "Ibo Funeral Ceremonies." //Tripod - Succeed Online - Excellent Web Hosting, Domains, E-mail and an Easy Website Builder Tool//. Web. 11 Nov. 2010. .

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 * "YouTube - Igbo Dance at Burial Ceremony." //YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.// 13 Apr. 2009. Web. 11 Nov. 2010. .