-
CHAPTER IV - Corpses, Funerals, Imageries of Modernity and the Making of the African Elite Identity on the Zambian Copperbelt, 1945–1964
- The Lembani Trust
- Chapter
- Additional Information
CHAPTER IV Corpses, Funerals, Imageries of Modernity and the Making of the African Elite Identity on the Zambian Copperbelt, 1945–1964 Walima T. Kalusa Introduction When Donald McDonald Thondoya, an educated employee, died in an accident at the Roan Antelope mine, Luanshya on the Zambian Copperbelt in 1960, his family arranged a memorable elite funeral and burial.1 They dressed his corpse in an expensive suit complete with well-polished shoes, socks and necktie. Rejecting a coffin provided free of charge by the Rhodesia Selection Trust (RST), the mining company for which he had worked for twelve years, the bereaved family also purchased a costly casket for the corpse. With financial contributions from Thondoya’s workmates, relatives and friends,theyfurtherhiredahearsefromaEuropeanundertaker to transport the corpse to the mine cemetery, spurning a lorry in which the company ferried black corpses to the cemetery.2 Led by the hearse on the burial day, a large cortège of cars with black and white mourners wound its way from the mortuary to the African Methodist Episcopal Church, of which the deceased had been a staunch member. The procession attracted hundreds of onlookers along the funeral route. Some of them allegedly commented admirably on the exquisite procession with its numerous cars, but others dismissed it as no more than a means by which the bereaved family ‘showed off’ their status.3 At the church, six pall-bearers, all drawn from Thondoya’s congregation and equally clad in immaculate suits, removed the coffin from the hearse. To the accompaniment of a solemn Christian hymn, they carried the casket into the church and placed it in front of the altar. A church minister then conducted a funeral service in English. This elicited a complaint from some mourners who felt that the use of the language of the empire as a medium of communication during the service was inappropriate. Ignoring their complaint, the clergyman eulogized Donald Thondoya as having been a devout Christian, a loving husband, a hard worker and a dependable community leader.Heconcludedtheeulogybychallengingthecongregation to emulate the dead man’s values and by imploring the Christian God to admit Thondoya into His heavenly kingdom.4 The funeral service over, the pall-bearers placed the coffin at the entrance to the church and invited the funeral attendees to view the corpse. As the mourners reached the coffin, each of them bowed solemnly to the casket, observed a moment of silence in prayer and exited the church. The procession then drove on to the African mine cemetery. There, Gilbert Kasewentha, an educated member of the bereaved family, read a lengthy obituary of the deceased in English. In his speech, Kasewentha stressed Thondoya’s educational background, his church membership and the positions he had held at the mine prior to his demise. Kasewentha further thanked both African and European mourners for not just attending the funeral and burial but also contributing money to help the bereaved family.5 After the obituary, the church minister conducted the burial service. Committing the corpse to the grave, he exhorted the mourners to remain steadfast in their faith to God, just as Thondoya had been in life. The mourners then returned to the funeral house for refreshments, the cost of which was met 134 walima t. kalusa [54.84.65.73] Project MUSE (2024-03-19 05:26 GMT) by the financial contributions of family members and other funeral attendees. Finally, a few weeks after burial, Thondoya’s family held a memorial service to consecrate a bronze plaque and a headstone placed on the grave. Written on the plaque were his name, and the dates of his birth and death, as well as a biblical scripture.6 Donald Thondoya’s mortuary rituals raise a host of questions. Why did his family and friends bury him in costly attire and coffin instead of a free casket provided by the RST? Why did they refuse to transport his corpse to the cemetery in the company truck and hire a hearse, presumably at a high cost? Equally, why did the pall-bearers turn out at the funeral and church service in expensive suits? How can we explain why the mourners drove their cars to the church and cemetery instead of walking there on foot, as was more common on the Copperbelt?7 Why did the clergyman and Gilbert Kasewentha eulogize Thondoya as an educated man, committed Christian, loving family man and hard worker? And why did the preacher implore God to admit the dead man to His...