Dangerous Politics and the Funerals Hunters: The Fake Mourners (Moirologists)!
By Kur Wel Kur,
Many communities in the world rinse their souls by shedding tears of sadness when they lost loved ones; however, other communities of different cultures hire mourners (fake mourners-mirologists-) to mourn for their (communities) loved ones. Before, such communities existed in the Middle East and China; however, as the world globalised, some people practise this tradition in countries like United Kingdom!
I believe the pain experiences in the loss of a life, differs in these communities. Due to emotions, we shed tears for the vacuum left by the deceased, for the privileges and rights entitled to us from the late persons when they had lives, for the earthly separation. Some mourn in a suicidal manners; they become hopeless; they reduce themselves to emotional and helpless beings.
For these reasons, some communities, Dinka community in particular, consider death a communal issue; family members and friends with the community behind them congregate in the house of the person who has lost someone. Family friends and the community submerge in the responsibilities, which clothe and soothe the family members of the deceased.
Responsibilities such as burying the deceased, cooking for family members and other mourners, doing the laundry duties, caring for the children of that family, for instance, driving the children to and picking them up from school, paying for basic needs of the mourners and comforters, shaving the family members’ heads.
Shaving symbolises connection and value of the deceased to the family members who shave their heads. The relatives, especially women, take off their jewelleries and change into black clothes and they don’t wear make-up.
In Dinka community, family members surrender their feelings of partying or dancing. They give up their physical beauty for three/four months in honour and memory of the deceased, for example, their hairs remain unkempt for this period.
The community blankets the family members and friends through their pain for three/four days, after which family members, friends and the community conduct the prayers of ‘dispersal’ ; many family members and friends, leave the deceased home, only one or two family member (s) and friend (s) may remain to keep doing the house duties.
Dinka community holds final prayers after three months for a man or after four months for a woman; Dinka people call this prayers as ‘prayers of disconnection’ or (puo kaar), that a person is disconnected from the livings, though the family members could occasionally invoke the names of the deceased, they would do this as a spirit but not as a physical living being.
In these prayers, family members shave (final shaving) their heads and change their mourning clothes; so after these prayers, family members resume their normal lives without their loved ones.
For the Dinka readers, the above background of the rituals involved in the death of our community member, acts as a reminder; however, for other surfers, the background will act as a spotlight or a guide because I will discuss how dangerous politics and funerals’ hunters are enemies within.
The technologies such as mobile phones, Internet, which have become information giants through blogs such as PaanLuel Wel, Gurtong, Borglobe and other sites with social websites such as Facebook (To South Sudanese), have made the world a global village!
A distance of thousands miles by airbus A380, a population on the side of the globe receives either good or bad news about relatives in minutes. So a small misunderstanding can become big deals on other end, depending on the reporter.
The war in our country has shredded our relationships to a great extent; funerals become as normal as other occasions where we could just spray ourselves with bitter and dirty politics. In the old days and even now back at home (South Sudan), only the experienced seniors speak at the funerals.
They encourage the family members and friends with words full of hopes. They define the death to the whole community, that death is universal, that it takes children and adults; that all people will one day die, only that some people die before Others, that death is a process.
However, in diaspora (especially in Adelaide,Australia), young people oblige themselves with responsibilities of the seniors; they encourage themselves to stand in front of the mourners and community members in the funerals. Some young people have become inspirational to many, whereas others proved their naivety, so instead of consoling the mourners, they discouraged them and indirectly verbalised insults.
Because of their inexperiences, these young people can’t differiate victims’ words of bitterness and frustration from political articulated words. The inability of these young speakers fail them to understand that some relatives mourn their loved ones by throwing themselves on the graves of their loved ones, and if you come to their rescue, they slap you in the face but you dare not them slap back!
Dirty politics of segregation and allegiances masked the truths: life and death. Funerals’ hunters dress as mourners, only to push the relatives of the deceased to the lowest points and darkest corners of their emotions. They feel good when they air venomous words to their target group; they spit in face of the coffin; they defile the cadaver by urinating on the coffin!
An Episcopal church pastor, David Bol Amol, at one time, asserted that the community must dedicate funerals to prayers only! The man of God, made this statement because he is worried about the direction our community members are steering the community.
In conclusion, as funerals are held for remembering, celebrating and respecting the deceased, funerals hunters disgrace this sacred and last touch moment of the deceased.
The communities must identify funerals hunters and restrict them from attending funerals; the communities must not allow them to spew their filth on the coffins of loved ones.
The tears of joy and those of sadness must not mingle in the funerals!
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