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Issue 00526 |
July 12 - 18, 2008 |
issn 0856 - 9135 |
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Society |
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Barbaig burry their ‘Pharaohs’ in ‘Pyramids’ By Valentine Marc Nkwame The Barbaig communities in Hanang district are in the process of ‘mummifying’ their respected elders, just like the ancient Egyptians used to do.
The structures all leave enough room for varieties of gifts such as pots of beer, milk, tobacco, honey and dried meat to be placed in there so that the dead elders could ‘eat’, ‘drink’ and entertain themselves with a puff or two of cigar. Old is gold and fit for the mold
For the last two weeks the area around Bassotu has been a
bustling beehive of activities in preparation for the ‘Bung’eda’
ceremony the climax of the whole affair. At least ten former respected
elders have received the immortal honor of being buried in the ‘Bung’edas.’ One of the elders who was immortalized in the typical ‘Bung’eda’ pyramid is Qabarod Gidabosta who died at the end of last year aging over 105 years; at least, that is what his family claimed. Apparently according to Gitundu Lakwai a relative who lives in Mogitu village, a man must have been at least 90 years upon his death for him to be honored with a ‘Bung’eda.’ But there are other factors; In order to be mummified the subject must be a ‘man’ for some reason women are left out from this treatment. On the other hand, the ‘man’ must have had a daughter or two, because as far as the Barbaig are concerned, female children are a symbol of prolonged life. All the same, the man must in the first place have sired sons because during the ‘immortalizing’ ceremony, these young men must climb on top of the erected grave to perform the ultimate rituals. The late Qabarod Gidabosta had seven children among them two daughters; Maria Gibambi and Meri Gitimay, all married, or so it seems. “He was a peace loving individual,” adds Lomiko Batey an old man in the village. According to Bate, people who used to quarrel with others beat their wives or had at one time shed blood through killing or simply injuring others are automatically disqualified from the immortal honor. The fire in their eyes But the list is far from being complete; if a person died from strange illness and especially if there was any case of diarrhea then he is also not considered a good candidate for Bung’eda the same case applies to a person who committed suicide or those who died in fire accidents. The Barbaig (also known as Mang’ati) people believe that fire accidents especially when a house goes up in flames are a curse possibly punishment from God or maybe gods. Finally for a person to qualify for the Pharaoh-like treatment must have been a very wise man to whom people used to turn for advice, wisdom or instructions. The Bung’eda ceremonies are usually a beehive of activities but in reality beehives themselves play an important role in the festive. Honey as it seems is the major ingredient of ‘Gesoda’ a special brew made from Aloe Vera roots and of course honey. The ‘soda’ that knocks you out! The term ‘Ge-soda’ despite containing the word ‘soda’ in it does not indicate any form of ‘beverage,’ this apparently, is an extremely high alcohol content drink that even the Barbaig themselves won’t let their women taste it. Which is just as well because during the recent Bungeda festivals at Bassotu, at least seven healthy men were seen dropping into states of unconsciousness. Upon inquiry it was explained that the ‘Gesoda’ had taken effect. At least 150 large pots of ‘Gesoda’ were recently brewed at each of the homesteads in which the ‘Bung’eda’ ceremony took place, now there were at least eight of those which means some 1200 huge pots, full of the Aloe Vera rum were in the offing. As for the dancing the Barbaig do it like the Maasai, the event is filled with groups of young men jumping up and down with sticks but there were also some scenes of people chasing each other at which the on-lookers were advised to stay clear because the Mang’ati youth have the tendency to beat any person who stood on their way. Whistles of immortality
As the sun set into the horizon everything became quiet,
the thousands of Barbaig stood around the ‘pyramids’ in respect to their
elders. In the background a spine chilling whistle could be heard from
groups of men standing ‘in attention’ like any army parade. Whistling continues … for the non- barbaig the combined human and wind whistling in the background as the sun dips into the horizon could sound sinister. It gets even more scary considering the hundreds of people standing still like trees in a huge circle. Sons and daughters of the ‘Pharaohs’ lined up on one side of the ‘pillar-like’ graves (pyramids), taking turn in climbing on top of the structures with leaves, pots of beer, smoke-dried meat and honey. Other items that were placed on the graves include pieces of hide, tobacco and milk; at least these were commodities that were placed on the grave belonging to Ginawedo Gidamepaba who died early this year. He is believed to have aged over 90 years. Further on young Barbaig could be seen in pairs; male and female heading into oblivion; “It has nothing to do with sex, here young people keep themselves ‘pure’ until marriage,” an old lady explained. But as more and more couples continued pairing up and moving towards nearby bushes, we couldn’t be so sure. The about 80,000 Barbaig people, live in the mountainous areas around the Hanang District of the Manyara Region in Tanzania. The Barbaig are a war-like and cattle rearing tribe. The unremittingly dry expanse of savannah that stretches south of Mount Hanang, the Mang'ati Plains, is at first sight a deeply inhospitable place. Yet the plains are home to thousands of Barbaig (or Barabaig), a semi-nomadic, cattle-herding tribe distantly related to the Maasai. The key to their existence in such a barren land lies on the other side of Mount Hanang in the shape of Lake Balangida, a large freshwater expanse at the foot of the Malbadow Escarpment. The lake is fed by the mountain, which ensures that even when the lake is dry (an increasingly common occurrence) the deep wells that have been dug around its periphery still contain enough water for the Barbaig's herds.
Lake Balangida is to the Barbaig the way River Nile is to
Egyptians maybe that is why the ‘Mang’ati are now burying their elders
in ‘Pyramids!’ |
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