Judging by what the eyes see, it seems that after the construction industry, the funeral industry is the largest these days in the South-East, especially in Anambra State. The amount of money sunk into funerals these days is mind-boggling.

Parents are living longer (into their 80s and 90s) because of better access to healthcare. Unlike the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s when people could not check their blood pressure or blood sugar at home, such is available to many families these days, saving many from sudden death caused by high/low BP or diabetes. When people’s parents live into their 80s and 90s or even late 70s, there is tendency to turn their funeral into a “celebration of life”.

NON-TRADITIONAL

People of the South-East don’t have the tradition of celebrating birthdays in a big way, except those who live in Lagos and Abuja. It is not common to see someone in the South-East celebrate their 40th or 50th or 60th or 70th birthday with fanfare. If done at all, it is usually low-key with a couple of family members coming to the house for a get-together. Therefore, the burial of a parent has become an opportunity for big celebrations. It is not officially called a party but usually has all the trappings of a party or even a carnival.

There are suppliers of virtually everything: brochures, invitation cards, water, drinks, food items, gifts, and canopies. Then, there are undertakers, decorators, security people, servers, MCs, DJs, ushers, camera people for video recording and still photographs. There are also suppliers of aso ebi, which is a cloth worn by friends and associates for uniformity. In the past, only direct bereaved family would dress alike. But today, aso ebi, borrowed from the South-West, has become part and parcel of funerals in the South-East. Some would buy packs of such cloth and give to family and friends for free to sew and wear at their funeral ceremony as a way of making it colourful.

Because of the amount of money spent at burials these days, so many people have built their businesses round them. Week after week, they are supplying things to those organising burials. And they make a lot of money from such, thereby changing their financial status. The weekly traffic to the South-East for funerals and other events also ensures hotels are usually fully booked from Wednesdays to weekends. Airlines and buses travelling to the South-East from Tuesdays are also usually fully booked. Some people travel from Lagos or Abuja to the South-East for funerals 2 or 3 times a month.

DIFFERENT CATEGORIES

Funerals gulp millions of naira, depending on the financial muscle of those organising it. There are about 3 categories. 1st is the basic category which costs less than N1.5m. It can cost less than N1m. Only basic rites are performed, taking care of the requirements of the church, kinsmen, village, women’s groups and guests e.g. where stipulated that maternal kinsmen of the deceased man or kinsmen of the deceased woman be given a goat, this is given instead of a cow. Except perhaps palm wine, no bottled wines or spirits are shared at such events. Basic meals of rice and akpu or flour meal are prepared for guests.

2nd is the medium category which costs N1.5m - N5m. The funeral is made as dignified as possible, but attempts are made to keep cost under control. First, the amount of wine and spirits at the event is controlled. Second, a decent but not-too-expensive casket is used. Third, there may not be funeral undertakers to bear the casket – kinsmen are used.

Finally, there is the 3rd category, which is the premium. This starts from about N5m. First, the invitation card is a booklet – which costs aabout N1m. Second, the burial brochure costs over N1m to produce. Casket costs about a million naira or more, while undertakers charge about N0.5m or over a N1m, depending on their class. Food vendors charge up to N2m for a thousand guests, while drinks, wines and spirits cost up to N5m. Choice wines are drunk like regular beer. One person may drink up to 2 bottles of a champagne brand which costs over N150,000 per bottle. At the end of such a burial event, aabout N30m or more is spent.

Surprisingly, in spite the amount of money spent at such funerals, most families who organise them do not incur losses, except those who don’t attend other people’s events and who don’t support others. The communal spirit makes people to support the bereaved at their time of loss. It goes round from family to family, and anybody who is known to attend events and support others never runs into a loss after a burial. The Igbo people say, when a big man travels to a distant land and comes back with much meat, it is those whom he has been giving that have reciprocated.

ALL YEAR ROUND PARTYING

Interestingly, except for about one month of Lent, burials take place every week in different villages of every town between Wednesday and Friday all through the year. If the deceased or bereaved are people of note, friends and well-wishers come from outside the town. For example, when the funeral of a prominent Anambra person is taking place or one of the children of the deceased is a prominent person, one sees the Who’s Who in Anambra from virtually all towns in the state.

To be a good MC in Anambra these days, you have to know the names and titles of the Who’s Who in Anambra, for every week or two, they gather at one funeral or the other. For an MC to be rated highly, he should not wait for someone to give him a piece of paper before announcing the names and designations of such prominent people as they come in.

People take funerals seriously in Igboland. They can forgive you if don’t attend their wedding or naming ceremony or birthday. But if you fail to attend the funeral of their parents and you also fail to send your support and apologies to them, it is like a mortal sin. People keep records of what others brought to their funeral events. When it is the turn of such people, the records are checked before the funeral attendance is reciprocated. There are people who will never attend the funeral of the parent or spouse of someone who did not attend theirs or send in their support. Funeral is seen as a debt each person owes the other, because death is certain.

Even if you are not in town or in the country during some funerals, but return months or years after, you need to visit the homes of all those who were bereaved, especially within your community, and present your condolence support in cash. You can also go along with drinks. A condolence visit is never too late. But if you don’t visit those families, they will note it in their Book of Life and wait for your turn to repay you.

WHERE IS THE POVERTY?

Surprisingly, it is in this same country where people say things are hard that one sees different families spend millions on burials. Same people are also building houses all over the place, even as prices of building materials double and triple within few months under the regime of Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd). You then ask yourself, where is this poverty that is said to affect over 70% of the Nigerian population?

Nigeria is a paradox!

-- Article by Azuka Onwuka.

SOURCE: https://punchng.com/funerals-have-taken-a-new-dimension-in-the-east/

This long article is just for funeral in the east? I won’t be suprised the writer will still spend so much when he looses someone.

It more or less has to do with culture now


When we buried our grandma an old woman told my dad to ensure he puts her children through on her to bury her same way

For me I've been saying to myself N will say to my kids never spend much money to bury me as it's just one day N my lifeless flesh.
Just wear the black you already have, take me to the grave, say your prayers N final goodbyes then lemme rest finally.... Because there's more to life than death itself!
Who you wan cook for on top my burial?

So is this write up meant to praise and emulate the south east (Anambra in particular) way of burying their loved ones or meant to criticize them?

Tell me o cos I don't understand

The article is not a fiction but a reality.

Every tribe and culture in the South does a massive celebration of life for an aged parent not jus the South East even though burial ceremony in some states Anambra especially have always been a huge event. I attended the post burial party of a South Western grandma who from all indications had lots of grandchildren and children who were all well to do. The reception had bottles of wine U can only see in wine stores and souvenirs U would think U were attending a wedding party.. So its not restricted to jus the south East both to southern region in general and mostly by wealthy families

chidyke77:
The article is not a fiction but a reality.

ok

I have been to such burials & it's quite repulsive to me. Infact, it's a culture of waste. How do people party & merry over the death of an individual - whether old or young? From my observation thus far on burials in SE, I see it as a show-off & competition among social classes in SE.

This guy looks clean and intelligent but alas he is daft.

MANDIPUTIN:
I have been to such burias & it's quite repulsive to me. Infact, it's a culture of waste. How do people party & merry over the death of an individual - whether old or young? From my observation thus far on burials in SE, I see it as a show-off & competition among social classes in SE.

There is nothing like show off. it has been there for ages.

Bury ur loved ones in honour

Onye ji ego kwashie Nne n'Nna ya ike.


If you have money do the burial of your father,mother,grandma and grandpa in big way.Na something you do once in life time,Na you go bury your papa and mama no be them.
Afterall the money you go spend still enter in pockets of Umu Igbo who may even be your relatives.which is helping the ministry move to permanent site

We are Igbos and we value life,the very reason we don't kill at will.


Abi you wan bury a man/woman that have sons
and daughters that are doctor,lawyer,lecturer,etc,Like you are burying a Chicken.


But if you no too get money(because every Igbo man have money) just do it as your strength reach.




Chukwu gozie Umu Igbo nile.

One of the borrowed yoruba cultures I hate is this asoebi in burials and lavishing of money in fanfare and pageantry over a deceased.

Anyday I die, I must be buried with great solemnity and not funfare. Make sure people are served food only. Don't gather crowd, a few people is enough to bid me farewell

Ratedgang:
This long article is just for funeral in the east? I won’t be suprised the writer will still spend so much when he looses someone.

This is the point

"WHERE IS THE POVERTY?
Surprisingly, it is in this same country where people say things are hard that one sees different families spend millions on burials. Same people are also building houses all over the place, even as prices of building materials double and triple within few months under the regime of Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd). You then ask yourself, where is this poverty that is said to affect over 70% of the Nigerian population?"

Just tell them to burn your dead body to ashes and pack it to Atlantic ocean.

Princeton92:
For me I've been saying to myself N will say to my kids never spend much money to bury me as it's just one day N my lifeless flesh.
Just wear the black you already have, take me to the grave, say your prayers N final goodbyes then lemme rest finally.... Because there's more to life than death itself!
Who you wan cook for on top my burial?

Princeton92:
For me I've been saying to myself N will say to my kids never spend much money to bury me as it's just one day N my lifeless flesh.
Just wear the black you already have, take me to the grave, say your prayers N final goodbyes then lemme rest finally.... Because there's more to life than death itself!
Who you wan cook for on top my burial?

tradition is tradition bro, it doesn't matter..
At the end of the day, everyone will do what he can but a well spent life on earth is worth celebrating after demise.

Really? Biafra Vice president, Commander Ikonso remains was dump in a latrine and Nnamdi kunu ate garri with ofe Nsala on that day

Misplaced priority.

Princeton92:
For me I've been saying to myself N will say to my kids never spend much money to bury me as it's just one day N my lifeless flesh.
Just wear the black you already have, take me to the grave, say your prayers N final goodbyes then lemme rest finally.... Because there's more to life than death itself!
Who you wan cook for on top my burial?

You won't be the one to change the tradition unless you're not from the south east .

That big fat cow they give to the elders as burial rite is a must.

Onye ara

Atiwaye:
Just tell them to burn your dead body to ashes and pack it to Atlantic ocean.

This is one thing I dislike about the Igbo culture, I have seen people in their lifetime begging for food to eat and other basic necessary needs of life to survive. Once they are dead, come and see elaborate funeral party.

These are not done most of the time because they love the deceased family member, but to show the community that they have arrived. (The Igbo man Way of telling the next person. I AM BETTER THAN YOU.)
This is a vice and not a virtue. most importantly, this has to stop.

No society is stagnant

This will change sooner Dan we think

winnerolivia:
tradition is tradition bro, it doesn't matter..
At the end of the day, everyone will do what he can but a well spent life on earth is worth celebrating after demise.

Giving out brochures, invitation cards, drinking wine & champagne, gifts items, canopies,decorators,MCs, DJs, ushers, camera people for video recording and still photographs, aso ebi is a burial tradition in the SE? I watched many ancient Igbo films, I didn't see such when a funeral is done. So it's a wasteful & a corrupted tradition.

Akwamkpuruamu:
One of the borrowed yoruba cultures I hate is this asoebi in burials and lavishing of money in fanfare and pageantry over a deceased.

Anyday I die, I must be buried with great solemnity and not funfare. Make sure people are served food only. Don't gather crowd, a few people is enough to bid me farewell

This your request will only happen if you die younger.


But if you die very Old,your children/grandchildren will celebrate you

Everyday on nairaland,Igbos Igbos Igbos!!!!!!

Every conehead have now become self appointed minister of Igbo affairs!!!!


Nairaland is now igboland!!!

I do believe that the day of someone's death is greater than the day he was born,but when a loved one dies just do as much as you can,no do pass ur sef

AfonjaConehead:
Everyday on nairaland,Igbos Igbos Igbos!!!!!!

Every conehead have now become self appointed minister of Igbo affairs!!!!


Nairaland is now igboland!!!

Tree with fruit na em children dey throw stone

Op na werey

Imagine the time he spent writing this trash