This is said to help protect the widow against suspicions of witchcraft as Rosenblatt and Nkosi (2007:78) state: 'For the widow in inzila [mourning], a danger is that if something happens to someone in the community, for example, if a child dies, she might be blamed' (translation in square brackets added - MM). (p. 156). The isolation instils a feeling of imprisonment especially as a result of being shunned by their community in the name of cultural beliefs associated with widowhood (Manyedi et al. These problems are, in Africa in particular, exacerbated by widowhood rites that represent the widow as someone who is defiled or has bad luck and who should therefore not mix with people, especially women who still have husbands. A meta-analysis published in 2012 that looked at all published studies of the widowhood effect found widowhood is associated with 22-per-cent higher risk of death compared to the married population. Widowhood in Africa: The Human Rights question (Part One) By Gozie C. Udemezue“No widow should lose her rights because she lost her husband.”Fundamental human rights are those rights every country or nation recognizes and entrenches in their national constitutions.These rights are non-discriminatory, thus protective of both gender of female and … She has currently taken up membership in that congregation. Widowhood rites. I believe the implication hereof is well articulated in the proverb: 'What is good for the goose is good for the gander.' The reasons why people go through widowhood rites are varied just as the set of practices are varied. Previous research has demonstrated health benefits of marriage and the potential for worse outcomes during widowhood in some populations. Traditional widowhood rites: Pros and cons. Rather, the widowhood rites are generally intended for the overall good of the widow. The following are a few African widowhood rites and practices in a few African contexts. (p. 148). Using critical feminist frameworks, we explore the plight of widows and the concept of widowhood in African society. is further described as the capacity for reciprocity and dignity, humanity and mutuality in the interest of building and maintaining communities with justice and mutual caring' (Bekker 2010:7). The above statement expresses a widow's negative feelings regarding the isolation and stigmatisation as a result of African traditional widowhood rites and practices. 1 Merrill/Age Wave Widowhood Research, 2018. Some of these mourning rites are potentially life-threatening as observed in the case of the Isiokpo people where widows are forced to drink water in which their husbands' corpses have been washed (Tasie 2013). Limann (2003:1), Owen (2001:10; 2011:616), Potash (1968:1) and United Nations (1995, cited in Sossou 2002:201) decry the lack of scholarly research on global and African widowhood rites and practices despite the fact that widows make up a large part of the female population in all societies. She must wait for others to greet her. African traditional widowhood rites and their benefits and/or detrimental effects on widows in a context of African Christianity, Department of Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology, University of South Africa, South Africa. According to Poovan, Du Toit and Engelbrecht (2006; see also Mbigi & Maree 1995), ubuntu can be described as follows: ... as the capacity in African cultures to express compassion, reciprocity, dignity, humanity and mutuality in the interest of building and maintaining communities with justice and mutual caring. And this is especially true for women, who are not always encouraged to develop financial and emotional independence when their spouses are alive. He (Tasie 2013) sums up the purpose of the Isiokpo tribe's widowhood rites in two main categories, namely: 1) First, to sever the ties between a dead husband and his living wife. Rosenblatt and Nkosi (2007:68) point out: 'In Soweto, perhaps 90% of the community is considered Christian . [citation needed]. All attempts are made to make the subject and its processes uncomfortable and painful even in discussions. These rites and practices therefore remain unexposed, unchallenged and not sufficiently reflected upon in spite of the pain they inflict on the widows. The description is based on research conducted by Pauw, published in 1990, and confirmed by other researchers in some other African contexts. The challenge presented by the neglect and maltreatment of widows does not receive sufficient attention as contemporary scholarship seems reluctant to reflect on African widowhood rites and their consequences. Most of these rites are meant to cleanse the widow of perceived defilement related to the death of her husband and to neutralise and/or counter the effects of ritual danger embedded in widowhood. In Women 2000 (Owen 2001:2), one finds the following negative and painful statements by widows from some developing countries: 'We are considered bad omens. 1-2. It does not matter how negatively she experienced her in-laws and the community. 2012:754; Rosenblatt & Nkosi 2007:67). The rites vary from one community to the next but the common practices include ritual bathing, confinement, hair shaving, wife inheritance just to mention but a few. Widowhood rites. Erwin (n.d.:3) states that '[t]he Bible records the high value of widows to God the Father and God the Son in both the Old and New Testaments'. She washes her hands and feet with the mixture and pours it back into the rain pots. Love, farewell, blessings, proof of innocence with respect to causing the spouse’s death, and obedience of tradition are the main reasons why people go through widowhood rites. Matsobane Manala, African traditional widowhood rites and their benefits and/or detrimental effects on widows in a context of African Christianity, HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, 10.4102/hts.v71i3.2913, 71, 3, (2015). 3 WISER, “Survey of Recent Widows,” 2013. Kotzé et al. Ritual cleansing: This happens particularly in the rural areas. (vitag.Init = window.vitag.Init || []).push(function(){viAPItag.display("vi_949932995")}). The proportion reporting inheriting the majority of assets is lower. It seems that practices like these are simply meant to demean the widow. Her clothes are burnt and she is made to walk naked home. In many traditional communities of developing countries (especially in Africa), widowhood represents a “social death” for women. 2003:79). Tasie (2013) focuses exclusively on the rural Isiokpo people and their psycho-social concerns, which he claims are the aim of most of the terrible and dehumanising widowhood rites he mentions. It is certainly for this reason that Owen (2011:618) avers: 'Widows across a wide spectrum of cultures and religions are often among the very poorest of the poor, due to discrimination they experience in matters of inheritance, land and property rights.' One of the interviewed widows in Manyedi et al. The rules become stricter when the widow has to visit the lands or fields. How can people who are supposed to be shaped by ubuntu with its appreciated values as stated above conduct themselves in such an abusive manner towards the vulnerable widows? The pattern indicates a sharp increase in risk of death for the widower, particularly but not exclusively, in the three months closest thereafter the death of the spouse. The issue of widowhood in Africa, in terms of the apparent plight of these bereaved and grieving women, needs to be urgently addressed for change in the 21st century. This research has established that African Christians have been influenced by the traditional African widowhood rites that discriminate against and violate widows' human rights to the extent that they also shun these care-seeking vulnerable women and discriminate against them. (p. 3). This, I believe, would not be such a problem if staying or leaving were the widow's own choice, but often it is not. This is an indication that there are many commonalities amongst many African communities with regard to widowhood rites and practices. The fear amongst traditional Africans of the defilement or bad luck that is associated with African widowhood also seems to be strong amongst Christian believers. (Sisoda 1997) Its target clients are any members of the community burdened by painful loss of a loved one. Women whose spouse had passed away had to go through this rite. This is clearly stated in literature. The widow is also given a black head cloth and dress, and wears a special headband made of python skin (for a woman of mosate) or cow skin (for common women), all of which are referred to as clothes of darkness (sefifi or senyama) (Pauw 1990). form of widowhood rites while 88% of respondents within 70-79 age bracket had practiced one or more forms of widowhood rites. (Manyedi et al. [ Links ], Mbatha, M.S., 1984, 'The causes of alienation among African elderly widows in urban areas and proposed social work remedies', MA in Social Work, Department of Social Work, University of South Africa. Yes, I mean neighbours, friends and church members, they often come to me, they check on me and as we talk I forget. This biblical teaching should sensitise the Christian church to be compassionate towards widows. For example, in the case of a widower, the marriage is terminated by the death of the wife. He uses two data sources: (1) nationally representative demographics and health survey (DHS) data from 15 sub-Saharan African countries and (2) a 13-year longitudinal study from the Kagera region of north-west Tanzania. Though African cultures are diverse, there are many commonalities with regard to widowhood rites and practices. As the Northern Sotho proverb goes, Lebitla la mosadi ke bogadi (a woman's grave is at the place/home of her husband), implying that death of a husband is not supposed to separate a woman from her in-laws. The same is true of the Luo community in Kenya where forced guardianship and cleansing of widows occur through sexual acts by men who are either chosen to act as the widows' guardians or are so-called professional cleansers, including alcohol abusers, sexual perverts and the insane (Ambasa-Shisanya 2007:610). In many contemporary African villages in South Africa, the widow is '... required to wear black clothes ... and behave in a manner that shows that she is grieving' (Kotzé et al. The widow is confined to her home, a tradition which is experienced by some widows as imprisonment. [ Links ], Makatu, M.S., Wagner, C. & Ruane, I., 2008, 'Discourse analysis of the perceptions of bereavement and bereavement rituals of TshiVenda speaking women', Journal of Psychology in Africa 18(4), 573-580. For her to gain access to the king's headquarters accompanied by another widow who has completed her mourning period, she has to have the sorghum-beer ritual performed for her. 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