Mori: Remembering the Dead

Everyplace we visited in Mori either on the way or once we got to the place, the first thing we did was visit the graves. We were required to take plant clippings from nearby plans and place them in the planter onto of the grave. It was easy to see who had been buried the longest by the amount of vegetation on the grave. The one time we came close to forgetting, it was a big deal. We had already left for our walk. We had to go back and place the plants and pay our respects. The other important aspect was placing the clippings in the order which the people had passed away – the most recent death was honored last. Unfortunately, some of the graves we visited were only weeks old. Most of them were close to the family homesteads that we visited. Others were in remote parts that were once settled, but have since been abandoned. These plots were far off of the normal path and required quite a trek to reach them. It was necessary though since the people buried there were relatives of the people we were visiting.

It is an important custom to pay this respect to passed family members. It seems that the people we were visiting had a deep respect for what the legacy their family left. By honoring where they come from, the also carve out an identity for who they are now. I think some of it stems from their pre-Christian heritage. The stories of these people are passed on from one group to another. In this small community, most of which does not have electricity, entertainment is in the form of stories. Not so much formal storytelling that comes to mind, but stories that are shared as part of everyday life. There is a ceremonial aspect as well. Whether it is wearing a funeral kanga to mark the passing of a loved one or the planting of vegetation on the grave, it is a way to commemorate the contribution left and reinforce the linage.

There is not the same culture at home. As strange as this may sound the main objection I have to being buried when I die is that in 20 or 30 years someone will still be coming to leave flowers. Based on trends I’ve seen that is a virtual impossibility. I’ve been out to visit the site of the last funeral I officiated. As sweet as that lady was, it looked like no one had been out there in a while. There is not the same respect paid the passed loved ones as here. Another factor that plays into this in my culture is that the places people are buried are usually far from where their relatives live as opposed to being close to where their family lives. It requires a special trip to visit the burial site. Instead of visiting the place where the loved one is buried, stories and photos can be used to share the person’s life. There is even a different perspective on death. It is seen as finality and something negative. In Tanzania culture, death seems to be seen as part of life, an inevitability that comes after a long life. Though this even that seems to be changing as HIV/AIDS infections rise. American culture seems for forward looking compared to Tanzanian culture. It seems like the majority of each generation sets out to do it better than the one before without taking the item to reflect on what could be learned from those who have gone before us.