BURIALS: HOW THE IGBO HONOR THEIR DEAD.

BY OKECHUKWU ONONAEKE

One key responsibility of the Igbo is to honor their dead. This responsibility is so dear to the Igbo and to the sovereign monarch of the Igbo, CHI UKWU because it is one favor the Igbo does to his fellow Igbo with out expecting compensation from the beneficiary, the Igbo dead. So the Igbo does everything to honor his/ her dead: father, mother, siblings, wife, husband, uncles, aunts, cousins etc. To honor the Igbo dead is the greatest thing that an Igbo can do for a fellow Igbo.

Honoring the Igbo dead must be in keeping with the statutes, ordinances, laws and commandments of the Igbo King, CHI UKWU.

Here are the ways the Igbo honor their dead:

1. Igbo mourn their dead. Igbo do not celebrate death even if it occurs at 150 years of age.

2. Igbo ensure that their dead is buried within 24 hours of death. This is to assure that their dead relations re-incarnates without any distortion of the body of the dead relations. Igbo are conscious of the fact that delaying the burial of their dead relations not only goes against the laws of CHI UKWU but will distort the body of the dead and may imperil the chances of the dead relations for re-incarnation which is the hope of all Igbo. The Igbo can bury his dead relations immediately and do what ever ceremonies for the dead later at a more convenient time.

3. The Igbo ensures that his or her dead relation is buried only in the holy land, Ala Igbo, irrespective of wherever in the world the Igbo dead resided prior to the death. Why? Because burial in the holy land, Ala Igbo assures re- incarnation for the Igbo. We are not sure if the Igbo buried outside Ala Igbo reincarnates.

4. The Igbo do not waste money on unnecessary expensive burial ceremonies. Expensive burial ceremonies are foreign to the Igbo and offend the sensibilities of CHI UKWU. The Igbo who lives in compliance with the ordinances of CHI UKWU directs such funds instead to addressing the needs of the poor relations of his or her dead Igbo relative.

5. The Igbo honors his/ her dead by ensuring that the relations of the Igbo dead are well taken care of, not tokenisms. S/he ensures that the poor relations of his/ her dead are assisted to climb out of poverty via education or business recapitalization, so as to become net contributors to the Igbo society. Why do the Igbo do this? So as to ensure that her dead Igbo reincarnates to a better Igbo society.

6. The Igbo also honors his or her dead by memorializing worthy ancestors. The Igbo honors his or her worthy ancestor( those who lived non- pagan lives) by memorializing their deaths. What does it take for an Igbo to live non-pagan lives? An Igbo who lives non-pagan life worships only CHI UKWU via omenala. The worship and veneration of any other being other than CHI UKWU as god by an Igbo is paganism.

 The worthy Igbo knows where his worthy ancestors ( grandfather/ grandmother etc) was buried. S/he holds regular family ilo mmuo to promote unity and peace in the family. S/ he documents all history about his/ her own ancestors and holds events to honor and memorialize them rather than that of foreign ancestors who are unknown to CHI UKWU. By doing these regularly, the worthy Igbo is not only honoring his/ her ancestors ( who are his/ her links to CHI UKWU) but also teaching his/ her own children and grandchildren to also honor him or her when s/ he joins her own ancestors.