Abstract
Comparing the treatment of the dead across different strata of societies before and after colonial influence changed societal structures shows an interesting pattern in African societies. By looking at the Kikuyu in Kenya, the Igbo in Nigeria, the Ga in Ghana, and the Ndembu in Zambia, this much is clear: having separate burial areas for different members of society is a common practice that creates unnecessary and dangerous social anxieties when the European structure of a universal burial ground is forced onto those people. This is true even if several generations exist over which the change has been happening. Further illustrative evidence of both these anxieties are shown by examining the Wari’ of the Amazon basin, as well as evidence of these practices having worldwide universality in medieval writings on revenants from Serbia and Russia.
Presenters
Milo Rhys TeplinAsst. Archeologist, Cultural Resources Management, SWCA Environmental Consultants, Texas, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Colonialism, Africa, Thanatology, Burial, Religion, Cosmology
