10 Facts about Xhosa culture to help you understand Mandela's burial

When Mandela is buried in Qunu on Sunday, many of the Xhosa rituals may seem foreign to you. We asked Nelisa Ngqulana to explain some of the culture’s burial traditions to help you understand what is happening. 1. Mandela is being buried in his birthplace Xunu, because Xhosa people believe you must be returned to the earth in the place you were born. The elders of his tribe would have gathered at his home in Johannesburg, where he died, and spoken to his spirit: telling him that they’ve come to take him home. This is done to ensure the person’s spirit doesn’t wander around. 2. When Mandela’s body arrives in Qunu, it will be greeted by the elders who will shout “Aaah, Dalibhunga!” (the name given to him by the elders when he reached adulthood) three times. This will be repeated during the funeral ceremony as people bid him farewell and pay their respects. 3. Mandela’s family has royal connections: his great-grandfather was a Thembu king and his father was a respected counselor to the Thembu royal family. Mandela spent 10 years as the ‘adopted’ son of the Thembu royal family when his father died in 1927. At his funeral, the royal Thembu family will be dressed in traditional animal skins (leopards for chiefs and a lion skin for the king). 4. The South African flag that has been draped over Mandela’s coffin will be replaced by a leopard skin or blanket, symbolising that he has returned home. The skin marks Mandela's connection to the royal family. A special stick, known as “umquma” will be placed on top of the coffin among the flowers. It will have travelled from this tiny village to Mandela's home in Johannesburg to collect his spirit. The Thembu people [AbaThembu] believe that the dead cannot rest unless their spirit is reunited in this way with their final resting place. 5. Xhosa people believe the departed continue to live in the beyond. Early on the day of the funeral, an ox (or a smaller animal, depending on the importance of the person) is slaughtered in preparation for the umkhapho ritual (“ukukhapha” means “to accompany”). The men cook the meat with no spices, outside in boiling water. The meat must then be eaten outside the house. The ritual is intended to help the spirit to the beyond so the deceased can return as an ancestoral spirit later. 6. During the days leading up to the funeral, elders will have been in constant communication with ancestoral spirits, preparing the way for the deceased to be accepted into the beyond when his spirit arrives there. 7. Mandela is guaranteed to live on as an ancestral spirit, because is the head of a family. This means he will become an important protector. The ancestors are treated with great respect, and believed to have a special relationship with the living. 8. While death is a highly sacred occurrence in Xhosa culture, it is also considered impure because the elders have been summoning spirits throughout the mourning. Any bad spirits will be cleansed during a ceremony the day after the funeral. The elders will instruct the family on the appropriate period of mourning to honour and what they will be expected to do during that period. 9. About a week after the funeral, the family will perform ukuhlanjwa kwemihlakulo (washing of spades). His family will have to prepare umqombothi (a traditional beer made of maize) as part of the ritual. At this ceremony, Mandela’s clothes may be distributed among his family. 10. The entire family has to observe a period of mourning. The widow must wear black for that period. Some people shave their hair as sign of mourning. Because Graca Machel is from Mozambique, and not Xhosa, it is not clear whether she will be required observe the widow rule. It is possible that Mandela’s ex-wife, Winnie Madikizela Mandela, will choose to observe the elder’s directions. follow us my twitter account > https://twitter.com/EmmyCreation facebook > www.facebook.com/donjemly