Ngoni Chiefs Buried in a Sitting Position
Rites of funeral and burial
The observation of the funeral rites begin with the proclamation of death, digging of the graves near the cattle kraal, the preparation of the body in a sitting position and burial of the body together with his possessions.
The day after burial, the kraal is extended over the grave so that the cattle should trample on it. The purification of the mourners through shaving of their heads takes place and the widows put on their mourning hat (zitambo) to signify their grief. In addition, an animal is ritually slaughtered as a sacrifice of the community and then shared to the family.
The last shaving ceremony involves calling on the spirit of the paramount to be in touch with the newly appointed chief.
A fire is made for brewing sacrificial beer and a calabash of beer is offered to the spirit of the deceased paramount.
They then slaughter an animal, and offer it to the spirit of the deceased paramount which is believed to be coming back.During this ceremony, all the mourners are shaved again as an ultimate purification. They then remove the zitambo and burn their shaved hair near the river. The ashes are disposed of and the mourners batted before sharing the ritual.
