Dead of the night burial an abomination

Danisa Masuku
SOCIETIES have norms and beliefs which they abide by; so when someone defies them itaï¿½ï¿½s an abomination.

Following an incident where a Silobela man buried his grandson during the night, community members in Siyaphambili Village, which falls under chief Malisaaï¿½ï¿½s jurisdiction were left furious.

It was discovered that community member, Petros Sibanda, buried his grandson during the dead of the night on 8 July this year.

Villagers have since raised questions regarding the strange incident. In a bid to find answers in a follow up story, B-Metro sought the views of cultural experts.

Culturalist Richard Ndebele, a regular panellist on Star FMaï¿½?s programme Enkundleni, said it was taboo for a person to bury someone during the night.

He said there was a need for the village leadership to intercede with ancestors in a bid to cleanse their community after the shameful act by a villager.

aï¿½?The chief, headman and village head should talk to the spirits so as to appease them and cleanse the area,aï¿½? he said.

According to Ndebele, Sibanda should be fined two cattle and one of them should be slaughtered and used in the appeasement ritual.

Failure to do so, Ndebele said, the area could be affected by drought for two to three years and lightning could strike, leaving a trail of destruction. At times a strange incident may happen in the community.

But the remedialAï¿½ process is against Christian beliefs. However, all the same, Sibandaaï¿½ï¿½s act also violates Christian doctrines.

aï¿½?A ceremony like a funeral is supposed to be witnessed by people in daylight so that they can tell that the deceased was really buried,aï¿½? said a pastor with Christian Miracle International, Thomas Chikusvura.

A magistrate who requested anonymity as he is not allowed to talk to the media said:

aï¿½?There must be an inquest since there are very suspicious indications of foul play. The post-mortem must be produced failure to which the body must be exhumed for medical examination. The findings will lead to the next step,Aï¿½ whereby the police will do their investigations where a sudden death docket would be opened. When completed it would be taken to a court of law to assess whether there was foul play or not.aï¿½?

The magistrate or the coroner would then make his analysis and conclusionAï¿½ after which a murder or culpable homicide docket is opened.