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53 Rituals and taboos surrounding death Virtually all black African societies embraced belief in life beyond the grave. When someone died there were attendant rituals to prepare the passage of the spirit into the next world. Terminology used to describe death bears testimony to the indestructibility of the spirit. Among the Ndebele, when someone has died, such expressions as the following are used: usedlule (she has passed on), usethule (he is silent/quiet), usetshonile (she has disappeared/set), umoya usuphumile (the spirit has left the body), usechimezile (he has closed his eyes), usehambile (she has moved on), usephumule (she has rested), usephelile (he is finished), usechitshile (she is extinguished/expired). With regard to royalty more powerful images were used: inkosi sikhotheme (the King has bowed), ilanga selitshonile (the sun has set) or intaba isidilikile (the mountain has fallen). When someone died, the spirit and the physical body separated. Members of the community performed various rituals to facilitate the smooth passage of the spirit into the next world. At the same time, measures were taken to minimise pain and shock among the surviving members. Death, it was believed, defiles. Close relatives of the deceased had to be cleansed in order to rid themselves of the defilement. The same applied to implements that were used to dig the grave. In the past sharpened wooden sticks, ingibho, were used to dig the grave (Interview with Lot Mathiba Nyathi, 2000). Later, sharpened iron rods, izimbo, were used for digging. Hoes came next and have now been replaced by picks and spades. The ritual cleansing, known as ukugezisa amakhuba (cleansing of hoes) was performed a week or two after the funeral, depending on individual circumstances. It is this belief in defilement that explains why the Ndebele kings did not want to be visited by the bereaved. It is recorded that one reason for the relocation of the Royal Town was the death of the chief queen. King Mzilikazi Khumalo moved from Emahlokohlokweni II following the death of an unnamed queen. A similar reason accounted for his movement from Emhlangeni (Inyathi) following the death of unina womuzi, Lozibaa Thebe (OkaPhahlana), who died in 1861, to his final capital town of Mhlahlandlela. On the day of a burial, certain rituals were performed to cleanse the people who came into contact with the corpse. Those who had reason to view the corpse, such as the close relatives, had white medicine applied below each 54 eye. As soon as the body was buried, the hut in which it had lain was cleansed using intelezi medicines. The inyanga dipped his flywhisk, itshoba, in medicine and sprayed, ukuchela, the entire hut. While the corpse lay in the hut, ashes were not taken out of the village. Following burial and the cleansing of the entire homestead, the inyanga lit a torch consisting of a dried twig smeared with medicine. He moved into the hut where the body had lain and moved about with his cleansing flame lifted high. Close relatives returning from the burial partook of cleansing medicinal concoctions, ukuhabula ixolo. The first sip was spat out and the second was swallowed. This was done outside the homestead and was meant to take care of internal cleansing. External cleansing was achieved by taking a medicated bath. Medicines called izintelezi were mixed with water and defiled persons bathed their bodies. Nowadays shortcuts are resorted to. At the entrance two dishes are placed for the returning mourners. One dish contains a single herb, usually umsuzwane, and people wash their hands and faces. The other dish of plain water is meant for people who have embraced foreign ideas. The beast slaughtered on the day had its meat, called ingovu, eaten without salt. All the bones were collected and later burnt. Any meat uneaten was kept outside the homestead to be eaten by relatives who arrived late. All these rituals were performed on the day of the burial. However, the cleansing process continued the next day. The next stage, known as ukwehlisa abantu entabeni, was reserved for close relatives only. The officiating inyanga made what is known as ilumo. This consisted of a mixture of all the grain available in the homestead. The grain and some herbs were ground together using a pestle and mortar. A little water was added in order to make a thick paste that was stuck on to a forked piece of stick. Next the inyanga prepared two medicinal mixtures. The first consisted of burnt herbs used in ilumo plus milk fat...

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