I now sit in a legendary hammock waiting for two exchange students from america to arrive and, if God agrees, to take a small vacation to my site. We call this cultural exchange. This time has allowed me to throughly reflect on past event that took place and is reoccuring every hour if not minute through out the world. Some say it's too much and others too little. What ever you think that fact is death is a necessity of life.
For some unknown spiritual, scientific, or galatical reason there have been a lot of deaths over the past 3 days. The first of which I would like to talk about because it happened to a man who I know a little bit but mostly because I got to attend his funeral. Maybe the only ceremony/meeting Senegalese people go to and don't expect to be fed. Fortunately there is a religious offering for the deceased a few days later and everyone who came to the funeral is invitted to eat until they can't eat no more.
I'd like to be a bit more serious though because the funeral I attended was rushed but perfect. Senegal doesn't have a morgue or 700 different chemicals to pump into a body in order to delay its natural decomposing processes. Instead, Senegal with the aid of cell phones must call the area, family, friends to come quick and help dig a grave.
Truth, I got to watch how they dug the grave. It's a square room with a shelf roughly 20cm from the top that will be sealed with wood once the body is palced in the newly dug dirt. The cemetery, if you will, is down by the river and riddled with old mounds of dirt where bodies still or used to lie. Now, trees and shrugs grow over the graves allowing animals and humans to walk or graze on them as they please. Trust me, my viewing point for the ceremony was on top of an old grave.
Anyway, the digging is done by the river in a freshly cleared space. There are no machines. Only the tools one uses to live and farm the land with are welcome. I never would have guessed a pick, garden hoe, shovel, and machete could create such precision when diggin a hole. Everyone took responsibility for the constrution of the room. No one was allowed to get too tired and no one refrianed from making a contribution. The digging process was really beautiful as it was the perfect example of how all people are the same. Death comes along and we are able to put our emotional energy to a cause (I'm saying digging a hole is better than retaliating against whoever you felt was responsible).
Even those who didn't dig brought a fresh batch of leaves, instead of flowers, (there are three different types used for funerals) to be put on top of the body and sealed in with it. When the body arrived with it's caravan of chanting religious leaders, family, friends, and spectators (no women) it was dressed in all white cloth and quickly lowered in to it's new resting place. Leaves were then used to fill the rest of the hole and closed in once the hole was full. More leaves were added ontop of the pieces of wood used to close the new room and finally the dirt was added and we prayed. They gave a short and sweet prayer filled with please for God to accept his sould in to heaven.
The ceremony ended with everyone greeting eachother and telling eachother to be patient. I didn't notice it at first but no one had greeted anyone upon arrival. All arrvived and went stright to work. The final clod of dirt provided the closure they needed. The body, leaves, wood, and dirt now belonged to the earth and his soul was God's.
The men quickly left for the mosque to give one final prayer all together for the sould of the newly deceased once the room was completely closed. We, the men, then went to greet the women and ask them to be patient and after that it was over. The man's wife will mourn for 40 days. She won't leave the fence, she won't cook, wash, or lieave the house at night. Women and families then flock to stay with her and aid her during mourning. After that she will be cared and care for the family of the deceased.
In my personal opinion (sorry), I thought the procession was perfect. Everything came full circle even though the room was a rectangle. He came from the earth's nutrients and went back to the earth's nutrients by being buried by the people who daily use and need the earth's nutrients to survive.
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