When we arrived in Kising'a on Saturday, we were very sad to hear about an accident in Kidumuka that killed a mother and her 14 year old son. A lightning strike on the solar panel on their house sent electricity down a wire into a room where it exploded onto the two taking lunch. Both were burned badly and killed instantly. Small solar panels are becoming very common here and advances in LED lighting has made them very effective. Unfortunately, technology is not always applied in the safest way possible and many solar units are not grounded.
The funeral was the next day after Sunday service and we were invited to participate with the group of evangelists. We took the car to Kidumuka because it was still wet and looked like it could rain again. The bodies were still in the small mud brick home with many relatives sitting with them grieving. A couple pine board caskets were brought to the home and several hundred people gathered outside. The bodies were brought out wrapped in blankets in the caskets and the service started just outside the home. All of the evangelists participated in the funeral liturgy. The blankets were uncovered to show the faces of the mother and child, with care to keep the burns covered. A blanket was brought out to be held above the caskets as all the people slowly walked by the head of the caskets. We were close with the evangelists and I was able to hold the edge of the blanket high. After all had been able to walk by and acknowledge their deaths, the faces were carefully rewrapped and lids were placed on the caskets.
Kidumuka village lies along a ridge across from the main preaching point of Kising'a and the burial site was well down the ridge almost to the valley. The crowd went down the trail to the site where graves had already been dug. As we walked, someone collected donations from the attendees to pay costs for the funeral and reception afterwards. Two holes, about 5 feet by 7 feet and 4 feet deep had been dug in the clay with a casket sized hole at the bottom for another couple feet. The crowd gathered around with most being far back on the hillside. We were with the Evangelists at the graves, the choir was singing whenever the pastors were not speaking. The caskets came and about four men in each hole made measurements with a stick and dug out the casket sized hole to fit. The caskets were lowered in the graves and Pastor Shukuru preached a message very loudly so the distant people could hear.
Bags of clothes were placed in both graves to be buried with their owners. Dirt was added to level the casket depression and then a cover of lumber trim boards was placed on top, followed by a blanket. Each of us in the evangelist group then tossed a handful of dirt into each grave three times. The family then did the same before a group of men filled the rest of the holes. The dirt was a piled high and carefully patted smooth by grieving family members. At this time, several people spoke about the departed and the man who had collected contributions read all the names with contribution amounts.
The crowd walked up the hill at the end of the service in a long line on the steep trail. Large buckets of ugali (maize staple with the consistency of mashed potatoes) and beans had been prepared for the guests. The entire service lasted more than 3 hours and we were standing the entire time in the open. The lives of the husband and another child will be severely impacted both by grief and by loss of the mama's role in the household. Other family members will help to fill the void.
The funeral was much like it would be for us except bodies are not prepared for burial. The funeral occurred within 24 hours after the accident. When we returned to Iringa we passed the Kising'a bus which had been in a terrible accident. Sue and I have taken the same bus back from Kising'a in the past and several people were killed with many injured. There will be more funerals in the villages this week.
The funeral was the next day after Sunday service and we were invited to participate with the group of evangelists. We took the car to Kidumuka because it was still wet and looked like it could rain again. The bodies were still in the small mud brick home with many relatives sitting with them grieving. A couple pine board caskets were brought to the home and several hundred people gathered outside. The bodies were brought out wrapped in blankets in the caskets and the service started just outside the home. All of the evangelists participated in the funeral liturgy. The blankets were uncovered to show the faces of the mother and child, with care to keep the burns covered. A blanket was brought out to be held above the caskets as all the people slowly walked by the head of the caskets. We were close with the evangelists and I was able to hold the edge of the blanket high. After all had been able to walk by and acknowledge their deaths, the faces were carefully rewrapped and lids were placed on the caskets.
Kidumuka village lies along a ridge across from the main preaching point of Kising'a and the burial site was well down the ridge almost to the valley. The crowd went down the trail to the site where graves had already been dug. As we walked, someone collected donations from the attendees to pay costs for the funeral and reception afterwards. Two holes, about 5 feet by 7 feet and 4 feet deep had been dug in the clay with a casket sized hole at the bottom for another couple feet. The crowd gathered around with most being far back on the hillside. We were with the Evangelists at the graves, the choir was singing whenever the pastors were not speaking. The caskets came and about four men in each hole made measurements with a stick and dug out the casket sized hole to fit. The caskets were lowered in the graves and Pastor Shukuru preached a message very loudly so the distant people could hear.
Bags of clothes were placed in both graves to be buried with their owners. Dirt was added to level the casket depression and then a cover of lumber trim boards was placed on top, followed by a blanket. Each of us in the evangelist group then tossed a handful of dirt into each grave three times. The family then did the same before a group of men filled the rest of the holes. The dirt was a piled high and carefully patted smooth by grieving family members. At this time, several people spoke about the departed and the man who had collected contributions read all the names with contribution amounts.
The crowd walked up the hill at the end of the service in a long line on the steep trail. Large buckets of ugali (maize staple with the consistency of mashed potatoes) and beans had been prepared for the guests. The entire service lasted more than 3 hours and we were standing the entire time in the open. The lives of the husband and another child will be severely impacted both by grief and by loss of the mama's role in the household. Other family members will help to fill the void.
The funeral was much like it would be for us except bodies are not prepared for burial. The funeral occurred within 24 hours after the accident. When we returned to Iringa we passed the Kising'a bus which had been in a terrible accident. Sue and I have taken the same bus back from Kising'a in the past and several people were killed with many injured. There will be more funerals in the villages this week.
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| Full Car going to Kidumuka |
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| Graveside |
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| Returning after the service |
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