The weird casualness that marks Kikuyu funerals

To outsiders, the casualness is striking [Photo: Courtesy]

A while ago, writer Jackson Biko attended the funeral of his father-in-law in some part of Central Kenya. While the mood at a funeral is usually sober, Biko was taken aback by what he thought was lack of ‘proper’ mourning among the local folks.

“The first thing that strikes you when you go for a Kikuyu funeral is the lack of tears. You have to understand, where I come from when we bring the body home it’s complete bedlam! Utter chaos! People meet the convoy kilometres from the boma and run alongside the hearse, chanting, waving leaves and sometimes running with cows. People wail; women, men, children, dogs, chicken, birds, goats...everyone! Wails rent the air. If it weren’t for the casket, it could well be a political rally,” he wrote.