Corpses with a will of their own

By Maloba Andati

Dead men tell no tales, the saying goes. It however does not make sense to those who have ‘had an encounter with the powers of the dead’.

Different communities in Africa hold varying beliefs about their departed, with some believing that the dead can cause havoc if ‘provoked’. While this may sound to some like one of the proverbial old wives’ tales, to the members of these communities they are very real.

Among the Teso, it is believed that if a person is associated with the death of another and attends their funeral, the corpse will start smelling to send a coded message that the culprit is around. The odour is different from the normal smell of death.

We recently came face to face with this cultural belief when we attended a colleague’s funeral in Teso District. As the burial ceremony got underway, with the choir singing and welcoming the preacher of the day, a pungent smell like that of rotten eggs suddenly filled the air.

Low voices

As we sat with hands over our noses, the villagers started congregating in small groups whispering in low voices — a clear indication that something was amiss. And we were shocked when we were informed that the man responsible for our colleague’s death must be in the compound.

Apparently, the dead man was sending a message that his ‘killer’ should leave the compound. With village wags pointing fingers at him, an old man quietly walked away from the home, head bowed and seemingly disturbed.

A local young man confided to us that the power of the dead was so strong, "you do not kill a man and go to his funeral". We were left speechless since as far as we knew, the man had been involved in a head-on collision in Nairobi.

Damaris, an events organiser in Nairobi, says she once witnessed a rare spectacle when she attended a friend’s funeral in Kisumu. On the day of the burial a strong whirlwind swept through the compound. Curiously, the dust devil concentrated at the tent where the corpse lay. As those around panicked and some scampered to safety, elders moved near and tried to plead with the dead man. They told him to relax, that there was no need to cause problems.

Damaris was to learn later that the dead man was unhappy at the presence of his nemesis at his funeral. It was claimed that the man in question had been involved in rivalry over a woman with the deceased sometime back.

Meanwhile, it is believed among some sub tribes of the Luhya that if a person dies and their wishes are not honoured, the dead person will shed tears — never mind that the person is lifeless!

The story is told of a polygamous man who died in Nairobi a month ago. The first wife decided that she would bury him at Lang’ata cemetery, contrary to the wishes of the community. According to their traditions, the body was taken to the man’s house for a vigil before burial the following day. The dead man is said to have began shedding tears, a spectacle that went on throughout the night.

Those present claim that it took the intervention of a medicine man who sweet-talked the deceased into cooling down. He then informed the shaken family and friends that the tears were because they had dishonoured the man’s wishes. It was decided there and then that the corpse be transported to their rural home for burial.

You may have heard about bodies that ‘refuse’ to be taken home for burial. It is claimed that some bodies, being transported home, will ‘rebel’ and cause the vehicle to stop moving.

Some people Crazy Monday talked to say they have witnessed this first hand, insisting that these corpses have such a strong a force that acting contrary to their wishes can be calamitous.

Michael jackson

And if you thought such things only happen in Africa, you are wrong. It seems that the African blood flows powerfully among our cousins who moved to America centuries ago. Did I hear someone say old habits die hard? Not long ago, after the death of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, his fans were quoted as saying they had spotted the image of MJ on a tree stump.

In a story headed ‘Family sees image of Michael Jackson in tree stump’, CBS reported that a Stockton family had alleged that the image of Michael Jackson appeared on his tree stump the day the King of Pop died.

"Like the ‘Virgin Grilled Mary’ or ‘Cheesus’, the family thinks they’ve got an unusual spiritual image staring right at them from their own front yard," wrote the CBS reporter. Felix Garcia has lived in the house for 22 years, and has never noticed the apparent image in his birch tree stump. "I was standing by that bush, and I looked up and saw that image here," Felix said.

It was reported that many people in the crowd who gathered to look at the stump on a Sunday afternoon ‘saw’ the resemblance. Asked why it had to be Michael Jackson who would appear instead of a religious figure — or even any of the other celebrity who had recently passed away — a neighbour retorted: "Because Michael Jackson was an icon to us, to Stockton. Michael Jackson meant more to us than Jesus, to some people. I think they’re both about even." The report went on to say that from afar, it looks like any other tree. From up close, it looks like any other stump. Not all neighbours are convinced — some say it looks more like the scarecrow, and some say it looks like Jesus. The family was reported to have said they did not expect their tree to become a shrine to Jackson, but they hoped that nobody tries to cut it down.

A similar story was also circulated on the popular media site YouTube, alleging that the image of MJ had indeed appeared on CNN when Larry King was interviewing Jermaine Jackson. And clever guys went on to even post the ‘images’, which some later dismissed as having been photoshoped.

However, Simiyu, a Bukusu from Bungoma, informs us that the dead not only cause problems, but also can shed blood.

Different places

He talks of a case where a man who had died three days earlier had blood oozing from all parts of his body, ostensibly to protest against ‘mistreatment’. Scientifically, it is impossible for blood, fresh and warm, to ooze from the dead. But there are people who claim to have witnessed the spectacle.

The people of Bungoma claim that before the founder of Dini ya Musambwa, Elijah Masinde died, he had pointed out where his grave would be dug. He had given instructions for a huge tree in his compound to be cut down and his final resting prepared where the trunk stood. However, elders chose to dig the grave in a different place when he died. This is thought to have angered the deceased, and in retaliation he made them do a lot of work. Those who had dug the grave are said to have been finding old bones wherever they tried to dig one.

After doing so in ten places, they gave up and it was decided that the deceased’s wish had to be honoured. The tree was cut down and a grave dug there and this time no bones were found!

One Oroo informs us that in his native Nyamira, it is not uncommon for a dead person’s body to swell, to the point that the corpse might not fit into a coffin.

This, the locals believe, is a message from the deceased that something is not being done right. "It is a protest by the dead over the way things are being handled.

Should you not straighten things up, even the grave may not be large enough to bury the person, no matter how deep you dig it," says the elder.

A philosopher once said that for those who believe, no proof is necessary. And for those who don’t, no proof is possible.