The funeral of Salmon Bwana 11/7/10

One of the first days we were in Matoso our Program Director came into the cookhouse early in the morning. He informed us that one of the staff members, a security guard, had passed away. Now, I had never met him, but had heard that he was very friendly and a wonderful person to be around. He got a very severe case of malaria, was hospitalized for nearly a month, and then passed away at his home.

It is the Luo tradition to take the body to the mortuary and keep it there until all of the preparations can be made. This usually takes at least a few weeks. After that the body is brought back to the home and a funeral is held. I have certainly been to a few funerals in my time, but never quite like this one. Preparations started in earnest last week when our staff began planning. The body would arrive Saturday afternoon, so that is when the festivities would start. Matt and I were excused from the Saturday evening party (which lasted well into Sunday morning) but we could hear it from our compound more than a mile away. We arrived Sunday around noon. The services had already been going for 4 hours by then.

The family’s property is seated on the top of a hill that overlooks the lake. In the US this would be the best of the best as far as views go. The little dirt house was surrounded by shelters made of sticks and tarp. Hundreds of people crammed underneath in an attempt to stay out of the blistering sun. Around the canopies were many cooking fires set up for different groups. All of them were cooking ugali (the staple of Luo meals, it is the texture of hard palenta, made of maize meal and water, and almost completely flavorless. It is eaten with every meal and used instead of silverware), sumawiki (a leafy green vegetable), and something that resembled beef. Fortunately, our group also had tilapia which is common in Lake Victoria.

Much of the day involved speeches. There is no TV in this part of Kenya and not many people even have radios, so funerals are the best way to reach large audiences. Some people got up and spoke about Salmon and his life, as would happen at any funeral. However, many of our staff used the opportunity to talk about AIDS prevention and treatment. They encouraged people to get on ART if they need it and counseled about avoiding resistance. They also spoke about the prevention of transmission from mother to baby. This is the best way to get the word out in this area. Then, some local politicians got up and gave campaign speeches. Some people preached, others asked the group for donations for the family.

By 4pm it was time to begin the burial. That’s when the drums started. A parade of people dressed in robes began singing and dancing their way to the front of the assembly. They pick up the coffin and carried it above their heads dancing it around the grounds. People continued to join the procession until there were hundreds of people following along to the grave. At the top of the hill the group crowded around and sang and danced as he was lowered into the ground. The singing got louder as they filled in the grave. It was at this point that one of the women in robes instructed me to dance. She would not take no for an answer.

So I joined them dancing in a circle around the grave as the drums got louder and faster. Then the mass of people started moving down the hill collecting more people on the way. The drums and singing were nearly frantic as people yelled and danced and celebrated. Never before have I been in the midst of that kind of energy. Everyone was dancing for the life that was. The wailing and crying had its time, but this was the time for joy. Even now, two hours later, I can hear the drums coming from the house. The party continues in honor of the late Salmon.