this is my culture essay |
An Interesting Kunama Society Funeral A Wake (Ceremony)
It is one of such interesting and so engross tradition in the world, many people want to come to participate or watch Kunama A wake tradition in Eritrea (Gitida and Anakobisha ceremony in Kunama language.) When an older person became too old about 70 years old and up then had many great, great grandchildren, if he/she passed away. In Kunama tradition, the close family members would felt sad or cry for short period of time and they would be so happy or joyful. The grief had a limit even for the immediate family members or loved ones. But if a younger person died, they would feel a better sad. They would not play or sing; they wake up every day at early in morning and mourned or cry for about two years, by dressing black cloth and head scarf. The village elders would not allow them to cry and feel sorrow for the death of older person. They comfort them with good words and distract them in-order to stop crying, then be happy, play, laugh, eat and drink their traditional alcohol. Because they belied that, God blessed the deceased person with many things. God gave long years to live in this world, with many children and grandchildren. Now it is time to go back to his/her ancestors to the heaven. So we should not be sad, we should feel happy for him/her and wish the best for him/her. Also wish for ourselves to be blessed like him, to living long years and have a good time, with many blessings then back to our ancestors at the right time.
When an old man was very sick or in a coma, all immediate family members would call each other and consult about it. How are they going to do? Then they send message to all surrounding villages and towns to inform everybody to be prepared for the funeral process of their beloved family member, because it costs too much money and time, so all of the family members would have to contribute anything for the death of their family member. They had to collect many cows, sheep and goats in- order to kill for funeral ceremony. Also they had to buy, perfumes, good sailed soaps and white sheet cloth to cover the dead body. When he/she passed away the family members would cry in loudly voice and some of them would feel joy. The women’s would sing in high speech belting sound ilililililililililililil. The males send someone right away to the top of the mountain and announce the news by using or blowing a cow horn (Gila) a kind of traditional trumpet that makes an amazing sound tuttuttuttttutt…. It would go a long distance across the valleys, fields and mountains, then it reach to the ears of faraway village. It was a signal that an elder person had passed away in the village; everyone would know. In previous time, they would send someone, who can run very fast to spread the word to their relatives, whom lived in faraway villages. But now days they use the technology to reach out to everyone in short period of time, using cell phone, Facebook, emails, and letters.
Then, the deceased family members and grandchildren would call each other quickly from surrounding villages would pick up their drums and blown their horn trumpet (Gila) would make a beautiful sound tuututututututututttttu--- in order to call and gather many people from their village, after that they would sing and head to the deceased member’s house. As soon as they arrived, the crowd would cry for a short period of time, and then stop crying. They would start to sing and dance. All the groups came from faraway, they would put their flags on the top of the hut; each flag will represent each group from different villages and towns. Then the family would interrupt playing and feed them some food and drink then after a while, they carry the dead body in wooden bed, to the burial site or cemetery. They would sing on their way these words” please! Open, open the door, we brought a guest, your son X to you, here is he please! Open your arms and take him in peace.” If there was a tomb ready to bury, before they open it, they would killed a goat and splash the blood of goat in to the tomb then they open the old tomb and bury the dead body. If the families have a wealth and wanted to dig a brand new tomb, they can do that too, before they dag the ground they kill a sheep, take the blood and pure bee honey spread in to the new tomb site ground, then they will start to dig the new tomb. Usually it would take one to two day and night to finish the new tomb. First they dig deep like a well with 3 feet radius and 6 feet dip. Then they dig to side way and they make a wide cave under the ground about a master bed room size and seven feet high. They would slaughter a cow and sheep in order to feed, the people who are digging the tomb. If the family is not wealthy, they open an old family tomb which had buried many people in the past. Sometimes they would ask their grandchildren or close family members to dig their tomb before they die. If the person was wealthy and was able to provide food and drink to the villagers, the grand children would mobilized the community and then they would make their traditional alcohol and cook plenty food and invite all the community. They dress him/her like a king/queen and take them to the burial site. They treat them like king/queen then, they built a nice temporary shelter, near his/her tomb, then he/she would watch them dig his tomb. When they finished, the tomb they invited him to come and take a look his tomb. If he/she was strong enough to come and take look, he would see his final resting place. He would bless and appreciated them.
After one month of burial, a wake ceremony was done, the deceased family would prepare a second and final a big ceremony called (Anakoybisha) in Kunama Language. The family would invite all of the deceased grand, grandchildren and extended children from all over the village’s countryside’s and towns. All invited team would made their own traditional alcohol and gather many famous singers and dancers from their own village. The females would braid their hair and do their makeup and dressed their best dress in-order to look so beautiful. Males too they dress their best dress with hut in the head had feathers on top of hut. They would arrive by singing with their drams at ceremony house. The family members would find a good host to take care of their guests from faraway by providing a shelter to stay for couple days and cook food and drink. The host would receive some ration for the assigned guests. Freely they would eat, drink and sleep, then play day and night for about three to four days. Thousands of people including children would come to the playground and dance, sing, eat and drink for free all day and night long.
On the fourth day, they play the final dance. The family would stops the party, one of respected village elder would ask all the people to sit facing to the East side, then he would blessed them in their traditional prayer. The family members would call all the invited group’s leaders and give them an oxen, or cows, or a camel, goats and sheep as a prize for all teams according to their number. Each group would take their prizes to their own villages or towns when they arrived to their places they would kill their gifts, make barbeque and enjoy their final meal and everyone would spread to their house. Most of participants would feel so tired and their voice would change, you wouldn’t hear them when they talk, because of crazy dancing and relentless singing for three to four days in dusty environment. For example, if the deceased person had big family or many grandchildren. The family might lose about 10 to 15 cows, and sheep or goats, by giving to many groups, who came from many different places.
I remember for the first time, when I was 16 years old I went with my mother for her grandmother funeral ceremony, in a small village of Eritrea called Mariti. I really, really enjoyed the dancing, singing, love elation and rich culture. I didn’t sleep for two days, maybe I slept for a few hours, I injured my leg a metal cut my feet so deep, but I didn’t feel it, I just dance and dance, but when I came home I was unable to move, because my foot was swollen so badly and pain full. I slept in a bed for two days and then I was okay. My sisters were making fun of me and gasped me, and act how I was dancing with my wounds legs. It was unforgettable moment in my life. I wish one day, it would happen here in USA, so I would it do again one more ahahahaha...
That’s why it is amazing and such a unique culture or custom in the world, many people enjoyed dancing, loved sharing and caring for one another and many want to be part of this beautiful awesome A wake Kunama Anakobisha tradition. Still they are practicing it, and trying to conserve their ancestor’s tradition more at the countryside not much in the cities and big towns of Eritrea. Now day many people traditional beliefs where converted to Christianity, Following the Christiana cultures and forgetting their ancestor’s culture.it is not good to lose your culture, because it is your identity, it represents who you are and is so unique and such a beautiful custom that needs to be conserved and passed in to the coming generation.
It is one of such interesting and so engross tradition in the world, many people want to come to participate or watch Kunama A wake tradition in Eritrea (Gitida and Anakobisha ceremony in Kunama language.) When an older person became too old about 70 years old and up then had many great, great grandchildren, if he/she passed away. In Kunama tradition, the close family members would felt sad or cry for short period of time and they would be so happy or joyful. The grief had a limit even for the immediate family members or loved ones. But if a younger person died, they would feel a better sad. They would not play or sing; they wake up every day at early in morning and mourned or cry for about two years, by dressing black cloth and head scarf. The village elders would not allow them to cry and feel sorrow for the death of older person. They comfort them with good words and distract them in-order to stop crying, then be happy, play, laugh, eat and drink their traditional alcohol. Because they belied that, God blessed the deceased person with many things. God gave long years to live in this world, with many children and grandchildren. Now it is time to go back to his/her ancestors to the heaven. So we should not be sad, we should feel happy for him/her and wish the best for him/her. Also wish for ourselves to be blessed like him, to living long years and have a good time, with many blessings then back to our ancestors at the right time.
When an old man was very sick or in a coma, all immediate family members would call each other and consult about it. How are they going to do? Then they send message to all surrounding villages and towns to inform everybody to be prepared for the funeral process of their beloved family member, because it costs too much money and time, so all of the family members would have to contribute anything for the death of their family member. They had to collect many cows, sheep and goats in- order to kill for funeral ceremony. Also they had to buy, perfumes, good sailed soaps and white sheet cloth to cover the dead body. When he/she passed away the family members would cry in loudly voice and some of them would feel joy. The women’s would sing in high speech belting sound ilililililililililililil. The males send someone right away to the top of the mountain and announce the news by using or blowing a cow horn (Gila) a kind of traditional trumpet that makes an amazing sound tuttuttuttttutt…. It would go a long distance across the valleys, fields and mountains, then it reach to the ears of faraway village. It was a signal that an elder person had passed away in the village; everyone would know. In previous time, they would send someone, who can run very fast to spread the word to their relatives, whom lived in faraway villages. But now days they use the technology to reach out to everyone in short period of time, using cell phone, Facebook, emails, and letters.
Then, the deceased family members and grandchildren would call each other quickly from surrounding villages would pick up their drums and blown their horn trumpet (Gila) would make a beautiful sound tuututututututututttttu--- in order to call and gather many people from their village, after that they would sing and head to the deceased member’s house. As soon as they arrived, the crowd would cry for a short period of time, and then stop crying. They would start to sing and dance. All the groups came from faraway, they would put their flags on the top of the hut; each flag will represent each group from different villages and towns. Then the family would interrupt playing and feed them some food and drink then after a while, they carry the dead body in wooden bed, to the burial site or cemetery. They would sing on their way these words” please! Open, open the door, we brought a guest, your son X to you, here is he please! Open your arms and take him in peace.” If there was a tomb ready to bury, before they open it, they would killed a goat and splash the blood of goat in to the tomb then they open the old tomb and bury the dead body. If the families have a wealth and wanted to dig a brand new tomb, they can do that too, before they dag the ground they kill a sheep, take the blood and pure bee honey spread in to the new tomb site ground, then they will start to dig the new tomb. Usually it would take one to two day and night to finish the new tomb. First they dig deep like a well with 3 feet radius and 6 feet dip. Then they dig to side way and they make a wide cave under the ground about a master bed room size and seven feet high. They would slaughter a cow and sheep in order to feed, the people who are digging the tomb. If the family is not wealthy, they open an old family tomb which had buried many people in the past. Sometimes they would ask their grandchildren or close family members to dig their tomb before they die. If the person was wealthy and was able to provide food and drink to the villagers, the grand children would mobilized the community and then they would make their traditional alcohol and cook plenty food and invite all the community. They dress him/her like a king/queen and take them to the burial site. They treat them like king/queen then, they built a nice temporary shelter, near his/her tomb, then he/she would watch them dig his tomb. When they finished, the tomb they invited him to come and take a look his tomb. If he/she was strong enough to come and take look, he would see his final resting place. He would bless and appreciated them.
After one month of burial, a wake ceremony was done, the deceased family would prepare a second and final a big ceremony called (Anakoybisha) in Kunama Language. The family would invite all of the deceased grand, grandchildren and extended children from all over the village’s countryside’s and towns. All invited team would made their own traditional alcohol and gather many famous singers and dancers from their own village. The females would braid their hair and do their makeup and dressed their best dress in-order to look so beautiful. Males too they dress their best dress with hut in the head had feathers on top of hut. They would arrive by singing with their drams at ceremony house. The family members would find a good host to take care of their guests from faraway by providing a shelter to stay for couple days and cook food and drink. The host would receive some ration for the assigned guests. Freely they would eat, drink and sleep, then play day and night for about three to four days. Thousands of people including children would come to the playground and dance, sing, eat and drink for free all day and night long.
On the fourth day, they play the final dance. The family would stops the party, one of respected village elder would ask all the people to sit facing to the East side, then he would blessed them in their traditional prayer. The family members would call all the invited group’s leaders and give them an oxen, or cows, or a camel, goats and sheep as a prize for all teams according to their number. Each group would take their prizes to their own villages or towns when they arrived to their places they would kill their gifts, make barbeque and enjoy their final meal and everyone would spread to their house. Most of participants would feel so tired and their voice would change, you wouldn’t hear them when they talk, because of crazy dancing and relentless singing for three to four days in dusty environment. For example, if the deceased person had big family or many grandchildren. The family might lose about 10 to 15 cows, and sheep or goats, by giving to many groups, who came from many different places.
I remember for the first time, when I was 16 years old I went with my mother for her grandmother funeral ceremony, in a small village of Eritrea called Mariti. I really, really enjoyed the dancing, singing, love elation and rich culture. I didn’t sleep for two days, maybe I slept for a few hours, I injured my leg a metal cut my feet so deep, but I didn’t feel it, I just dance and dance, but when I came home I was unable to move, because my foot was swollen so badly and pain full. I slept in a bed for two days and then I was okay. My sisters were making fun of me and gasped me, and act how I was dancing with my wounds legs. It was unforgettable moment in my life. I wish one day, it would happen here in USA, so I would it do again one more ahahahaha...
That’s why it is amazing and such a unique culture or custom in the world, many people enjoyed dancing, loved sharing and caring for one another and many want to be part of this beautiful awesome A wake Kunama Anakobisha tradition. Still they are practicing it, and trying to conserve their ancestor’s tradition more at the countryside not much in the cities and big towns of Eritrea. Now day many people traditional beliefs where converted to Christianity, Following the Christiana cultures and forgetting their ancestor’s culture.it is not good to lose your culture, because it is your identity, it represents who you are and is so unique and such a beautiful custom that needs to be conserved and passed in to the coming generation.
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