Afl1501

ASSIGNMENT 06- Cultural Ceremony

Cultural ceremonies are unique to African cultures and very important to Africans. The ceremony or ritual I have chosen to focus on for this assignment is the cleansing ritual.

In the Tswana culture, such a ritual is performed three months after a family member in that household passes away. My family and I recently had to perform such a ritual as we recently lost my uncle.

As I have been taught, the reason such a ritual is performed is because sometime after you bury someone, you need to be “washed” or “cleansed” to get rid of any bad luck or bad atmosphere and be protected from evil spirits. It is also a way of ending the mourning period and being able to lead a life without the ‘cloud of recent death’ hovering over you. During the mourning period there are a set of rules you must confine to (such as not visiting other households except for family), the ritual also signals an end to this.

In the case of an uncle, the ritual is not as complex as in the case of a husband. This ceremony does not require large attendance as compared to a funeral, it is usually reserved for family members and close neighbours.

The first step to this ritual is to purchase an animal that will be slaughtered as the animal’s blood is used to wash those who will be cleansed. A sheep or goat may be used (called “Nku” in Tswana) or another alternative if the family does not have enough money to purchase a sheep or goat is to slaughter chickens instead. The animal is slaughtered the afternoon before the ceremony and it is slaughtered by the men of the family. During this time the women will be preparing food.

In the early hours of the morning each person who is to be cleansed is woken up individually, at around 3am, by the person who is to wash them. This is usually done by the uncle of the family. They are washed at this time because no one is allowed to see them. They are washed with a mixture that consists of the slaughtered animal’s blood,...