Strange things that prevent some families from burying their loved ones

Whenever death is mentioned, sorrow takes preeminence. At no given time does anyone want to associate himself or herself with this monster. Whether we like it or not, we have to mention this name. Many are times that I have witnessed a number of families having a difficult time in addressing this issue of death. By this I mean there so many strange things that bar some of the families from burying their loved ones.At times such things end up haunting most family members because they did not give their loved ones a befitting burial. It is so painful to go through grief and such disturbing moments.First and foremost the commonly witnessed issue that prevents families from burying their loved one is when some family members especially wives in case the person who has died is a man is being claimed by two peopleI once witnessed a case where two women were fighting over a dead body for 24 years because all of them felt they have a right to bury the husband.It was only after one of the two ladies died, that the man was laid to rest.This happened after a very long unending court battle.Secondly, some families believe in the power of witchcraft and they will never leave their loved ones to be buried because they fear that if they bury that dead person, someone else will soon follow after burial. So this is done to save a life.In some communities like the Bagisu, the dead are spared so that they can be served as delicacies. That is meat that cannot be thrown away.Also, some of the families will never bury the dead because of some rituals.There is a friend of mine from Teso community who told me that they take away some parts of the dead so that they can use them for special purposes. He pointed out that they can remove the manhood and make some concoction which is used as a charm to woo women to those men that can hardly stay with a wife after marriage. He told me no woman or a man will divorce you after mixing these human parts that have been ground into powder and mixed with food.He posed a question to me that I kept me wondering. “What do you think makes some women stick to their men even if it is clear that the man is not a person to stay with,” asked the man.The same case with women.In some communities like the Luhyas and Luos, you can’t be allowed to bury you, wife, unless you have paid her bride price. The do this so that they can avoid a bad omen.According to them, they must know if the bride price of the dead woman was fully paid. If not they will be buried in their parents’ homeland, not the husband’s home unless he pays the bride price instantly.Some of the families don’t bury their loved ones for lack of money which can be used to settle the huge hospital bills. Such people end up burying a banana stuck in an assumption that they have buried their dead.Elsewhere some soldiers are never buried, especially if they die in a battlefield. There was one case in Busia whereby a father insisted that he must see his son’s body before burial.To his surprise, he discovered that they were burying a log donned in a military combat gear.