Sunset deadline: Why Luhya elders must be buried before dusk

Among the Luhya community, the burial of respected leaders or elders is not just any other ordinary affair.

Since time in memorial Luhyas have had a special way of interring their leaders who are accorded unique rituals and rites.

For instance, it is widely believed that when a leader is buried before sunset, it is a blessing to the community and the bereaved family. However, when a leader is buried after sunset, the family and community risks attracting a curse.

Burial after sunset is therefore considered a bad omen to the family who would "struggle" to retain or capture power held by their deceased kin buried with dark forces and not angels.

Such considerations are the source of frequent fights between religious leaders and elders who accuse the church of interfering with burial rites.

According to David Kalukhana, Chief Advisor of the Luhya Council of Elders Forum on History and Culture, a leader in Luhyaland is not supposed to be buried past 2 pm.

Kalukhana argues that leaders should be buried in broad daylight before sunset to guarantee blessings and continuity of the leadership for generations to come.

"In the Luhya community, respected leaders are supposed to be buried in broad daylight, and the latest time should be 2 pm. This is to secure blessings because our ancestors believed that when you are buried when there is light you ascend to heaven with blessings. Even Jesus ascended to heaven during daytime when everybody was seeing him," said Kalukhana.

The 80-year-old elder opines that burying a leader before sunset is a blessing for the continuity of the leadership and his offspring.

"When we observe time and respect during the burial, the deceased having been a leader, passes the button of the throne to his offspring and the community," says Kalukhana.

Some Luhya elders have always argued misfortunes that later befell the community as a result of going against this belief when burying a leader.

"When these beliefs are disregarded, then the family is bound to experience mysterious deaths because the spirit of the dead is at war with the generation, kin, and family and the community will never retain leadership until cleansing rituals are performed to appease the ancestors," said Kalukhana.

It is against this backdrop, that the elders speculate national leadership has eluded the Luhya community because some of their prominent leaders like Paramount Chief Nabongo Mumia were buried after sunset.

"We buried our King after sunset, and that is why the Luhya community has found it difficult to even capture the power and leadership of this country because our leaders were accompanied by curses, dark forces and bad omens, which angered our ancestors for going against their wish," claims Kalukhana.

Kalukhana and his ilk are blaming the Church for influencing followers to drop some rituals and practices that were integral in holding the community together. "The Church should play its part but accord culture its space," says Kalukhana.

According to Elijah Kwalanda, an elder from Malava Constituency, leaders and elders in the community deserve to be burial by long-held practices to forestall any eventual repercussions.

"Leaders should be buried before sunset because that is what our ancestors used to do, and we have to live by it. Respect must prevail and religion should not tamper with culture," says Kwalanda.

He added: "We have seen mysterious deaths happening in families of our departed leaders because of disregarding culture, especially the burial rites of a leader or a respected elder, and it's high time we change or continue perishing and getting lost."

To bring the confusion to a stop, Kalwanda reveals they have embarked on an awareness campaign to sensitise members of the community on the need to uphold and safeguard cultural practices.

"We must make sure that we maintain and revive our cultural beliefs and practices, especially when burying leaders and respected elders who must be interred before sunset to avoid some problems we are experiencing in our community, and that is why we have embarked on educating our people to adhere to our beliefs and culture because they form part of our unique identity," notes Kalwanda.

The sentiments were echoed by Patrick Barasa, another elder from the Abashibe clan in Matungu Constituency who laments that the Luhya community has started losing its identity for disregarding its culture.

"As a community, we have a special connection with the dead and especially our leaders. We believe when one is dead, he is supposed to be buried at the right time. However, we have seen modernity in churches reversing this practice from what our ancestors wanted us to live," said Barasa.

Barasa maintains that elders and leaders above 50 years were buried before sunset, adding that among his clan, an elder must be buried in a sitting position.

"Our great grandfather went to look after the cattle and he encountered heavy rainfall, when he went to for a shelter inside an anthill of termites, the rain was so heavy that the anthill collapsed and we found him dead while sitting and, in his honour, we started burying people when seated," said Barasa.

On the contrary, the community buries a person who has died by suicide at night and behind the house, a child is buried in daytime and a person who has died a normal and natural death is buried before sunset.

The late and former Malava MP Malulu Injendi, was buried before sunset. According to Kabras elders, Malulu's body was interred before sunset to avoid repercussions to the family and community at large.

"Our late MP was buried before sunset because it was a must to safeguard our culture of burying a leader within the set timeframe to prevent problems such as losing the seat and experiencing mysterious death," said one of the elders.

Malulu's burial was attended by high-profile leaders led by President William Ruto, National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and a host of Governors, Senators, lawmakers and Members of the County Assembly.

However, Bishop Nicholus Olumasai, Chairman of Kakamega County Interfaith, dismissed elders' interference claims.

"We are not into culture, religion came before culture, and as a church, we do what is required of us, and that is spiritual nourishment, conducting funeral services and praying for the bereaved family," explains Olumasai.

Olumasai dismissed claims that religion has contributed to the dwindling of culture and morals, attributing it to politics.

"We have not contributed to the diminishing of the culture nor disregarded the burial rites of a fallen leader, the people who have contributed to this are the political class, political leaders are the ones who drag and take charge of funerals," says Olumasai.

Adding: "We respect the culture and elders should address their concerns with politicians because they address after the church has conducted the mass, and whether they drag the funeral to clash with the culture. Elders should make the political class understand that they should respect and give room for cultural rites."

According to the Bishop, culture and religion do not go hand in hand, and there is no proof that families lose leadership when burials are conducted after sunset.

"Our work is to conduct the mass and offer prayers to the dead. We are not into the cultural aspect and burying a leader or an elder after and before sunset, it has nothing to do with one getting blessings or not because that is people's beliefs," states Olumasai.

The Bishop insists that leadership and blessings come from God and not culture, arguing that elders should have respect towards religion, and they should do their cultural rites after the church has finished its role.

"Culture cannot work hand in hand with religion. Elders should wait for the church to complete its role and later be allowed to do their burial rites, what I know is that blessings and leadership come from God, anything else is a belief formed by people or a community," said the Bishop.