By Anayo M. NwosuIt is customary that the dead in Igboland is adorned with his or her best apparels on the date of burial. A native doctor is dressed in his full regalia with his staff or oji firmly tucked into his clenched fist while other titled men or women are dressed in the costumes of their highest attainments.
Anayo M. Nwosu
A traditional ruler or Lolo is dressed in his outing or ceremonial dress.
Fortuitously, the white man seemed to have same culture with the Igbos as their priests, knights, soldiers are dressed ceremonially during lying in state and are kitted in their known outfits as they were buried. It was a rare coincidence between colonial religion and the Igbo traditional religion. But a new version of empty “if it is not in the Bible” Igbos do whatever their spirits direct.
In Nnewi, even when a woman or a man had a preference for a particular dress or apparel or had instructed that he or she be adorned and be buried with a particular dress, it is still the prerogative of his relatives to make the final choice of what a corpse wears on a burial day and the ghost of the dead cannot question or haunt anyone based on such decisions.
If a selfish dead relative had instructed that he be buried with his golden or expensive apparels, he could be overruled by his children or relatives. Not when he left a mountain of debts behind or if the apparels have huge commercial value.
But, immediate family members, in-laws and other relations are obligated to gift the dead a piece of cloth; these clothes are carefully tucked into the deceased’s coffin and with which the dead would be buried. Yes! Buried with the corpse.
Over time, due to economic interpretations, our people have reduced the number of clothes they put inside the coffin for burial. The remainder are sold or shared by the close relations of the bereaved.
Statutorily, the ọgọdọ or wrappers from the children of the bereaved, the married daughters, siblings and parents of the dead if alive, must be put inside the coffin and are buried with the dead. It is still in practice in Nnewi till date.
All the children of Mama Obiora, my mum, jointly covered her body with a white wrapper before her coffin was finally closed to viewing by the public. When this was done, no other person would be allowed to view her or lay a wrapper inside the coffin. The corpse would now be ready to leave for church or for interment.
It’s noteworthy that a condolence visit is replete without a presentation by a sympathizer of a piece of cloth, drinks and money.
Before now, the dead was buried with all the clothes presented by mourners. It was believed that the dead would need those clothes in the land of the ancestors; that the more clothes the dead go with, the more the ancestors would regard or respect him or her.
But, with another foreign but now widely accepted belief that the departed would be cloaked in white garment in christian heaven, many of my people who have embraced the Christianity now dress our dead in white garments. They also lace the coffin with spotless white clothes.
It was Catechist Obiora’s idea that we the children of Mama Obiora jointly cover the body of our dead mum with a single white wrapper to complement her white gown, the type we see angels wear in illustrated bible stories.
Catechist Obiora and Reverend Sister MaryFelicia and my other two siblings believe that our mum would go to heaven and not to the land of her ancestors. But I defer.
I believe that Mama Obiora, my mum, is still alive in me.
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