There's a section of Gabarone I came across that has then in their yards. I thought they might be for grain storage, but then it one of the books, it talked about a tribe who lived in a section of Gaborone and who buried their family members in the traditional mud huts you could see in their yards, or sometimes under the foundation of their houses. I wonder if that's what they are.
The only thing I've been able to find on it is this from a culture website:
Most Batswana believe in a Christian afterlife and anticipate resurrection. People also expect the deceased to maintain interest in their descendants, as ancestral spirits. People want to be buried in their home villages, even those who have not lived there for a long time. Today most people are buried in cemeteries, but some Batswana are still buried inside their compounds. Funerals are very important events, at which a wide range of relatives, neighbors, and other associates are expected to attend; the expenses are heavy for many families.
That sounds like what happens here - people like to be buried in the family's home town or village so the ancestors can welcome them home, the entire extended family travels there for the funeral, and in the case of chiefs and elders, they might be buried within the kraal --- the circle of huts.
I really like the attachment to the extended family that seems to exist in Africa. We've lost that in a lot of ways here. Everyone is too busy and wrapped up in their own lives.
I think the attachment is partly because there are fewer lines dividing people off from one another - children have as many mothers, aunts and grandmothers as there are women in the community, things that affect a family are the business of all adult relatives, because marriage joins two families together rather than creating a new, separate unit, old people are respected because they've lived long and understand the world, even the ancestors are still part of the family and intercede with the One for them ... it's a very different way of looking at the world and our place in it than the Western norm.
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aglarien
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Date: 2012-12-08 02:05 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2012-12-08 02:43 am (UTC)Most Batswana believe in a Christian afterlife and anticipate resurrection. People also expect the deceased to maintain interest in their descendants, as ancestral spirits. People want to be buried in their home villages, even those who have not lived there for a long time. Today most people are buried in cemeteries, but some Batswana are still buried inside their compounds. Funerals are very important events, at which a wide range of relatives, neighbors, and other associates are expected to attend; the expenses are heavy for many families.
http://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/Botswana.html#b#ixzz2EQNHcWc1
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Date: 2012-12-08 10:35 am (UTC)Looks much better weather than here, but that might have something to do with it being much nearer the equator lol
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