Funeral

While Alan and George were in Tanga, the rest of us attended the funeral of Herbert’s brother. The service was held at Herbert’s house. Here is a description of the day for those of you who are curious what a funeral is like in another country. First up on the schedule was food. Food is always served at weddings and funerals. There were a lot of people and they each got a plate full of rice and meat stew. One thing that surprised me was that the women got food first. Africa, for the most part, places men above women and they usually eat first. Apparently, they are trying to teach men to put women first and often make an effort to practice it.

After eating, it was time for the service and the viewing of the body. Here, everyone is expected to pass by the body to pay their last respects. The service was an Anglican one, but it didn’t go as long as the funeral service we attended a few weeks ago. Jon, the pastor of Alan and Shannon’s church, was asked to participate and shared from the book of Isaiah. He had never done a funeral before and didn’t know the deceased, but did a great job.

Once the service ended, everyone loaded up in buses and trucks and headed to the burial site. The grave site had been prepared before we arrived and the service concluded once the men had finished burying the casket.

Afterward, we discussed the differences between US and Tanzanian funerals. Unfortunately, it is much more routine here. US ones seem to be more formal, but here I think death happens so often due to the harshness of life and lack of medical care, that people here accept it easier.

It was a sad day, but I’m glad we were there to support Herbert and his family.