Bajuni Death Rites

Over the years, the Bajuni have assimilated the burial rituals practiced in the Islamic faith. However, the manner in which this community commemorates ancestral spirits remains unique to themselves. When someone passes on, they are buried on the same day. Quran verses are read to ensure a smooth transition for the deceased into the afterlife. The body is then prepared for burial and once this is done, it is wrapped in a white cotton cloth. Next, the family communes at the mosque for special prayers before proceeding to the cemetery where the deceased is lowered into the ground without being enclosed in a casket. While the burial itself is a brief affair, the Bajuni hold an annual song and dance event called vave to memorialize their dead. The observance of vave is an elaborate celebration of the afterlife.

Vave is an event that takes place the night before Bajuni farmers set fire to bushes in their farms to clear the land for a new planting season. Before commencing the slash and burn cultivation, farmers come together to appease those who have gone before them and pray for a bountiful harvest. Vave is a sacred performance that is only undertaken by men who have tilled the land for many years.  

The performance of vave is undertaken by two groups of three farmers each. The ritual kicks off with the two groups facing each other. One group assumes the role of ancestors and the other group representing humans. The two groups begin exchanging verses of song that invoke the help of God (Mungu) and the chief of ancestors (shela koma) in the upcoming agricultural season. The call and response between the two groups is broken up with a vigorous ritual dance called randa. The vave performers get off the stage and join the audience in an intense dance session accompanied with singing. This goes on until dawn and just before the ritual ends, the farmers scatter maize on the ground as an offering to the ancestors.