Funeral rite in shaving heads

A people’s culture is usually determined by the practices they follow, usually as a rite of passage, during weddings and funerals. One such practice is  shaving relatives, heads as part of mourning. Tongas observe this practice too. But what is its significance? Is it still practised? Our Reporter ALBERT SHARRA explores.

Former general secretary of the CCAP Livingstonia Synod, Reverend Howard Matiya Nkhoma says shaving hair on the final day of a funeral ceremony is a common tradition among the Tonga people.According to Nkhoma, who is Tonga, it is only members of the deceased family that shave hair after the funeral.He said the shaving symbolises the loss inflicted on the family.“There is a strong belief attached to hair and our relationship with members of the family. When we lose one of us, we remove the hair to acquire a new one. The shaving is done on the same day, usually the third day after burying the deceased,” Nkhoma said.He added that shaving happens as part of the inheritence ceremony.“What we have on the final day of the funeral ceremony is called inheritance. In Tonga we call it kuhara. We discuss all issues at family level and determine all other issues about inheritance,”he said“When a person dies, we expect that the person has left property which include farm produce, household items, a marriage partner if he or she was an adult and children. These need a new person to look after them and we choose that person on this day,” he said.In addition to this, Nkhoma said the inheritance ceremony resolves differences or misunderstandings among members of the family. He said among the common concerns raised and resolved are rudeness and greed.Apart from symbolising losing a member, shaving drives to new life.Nkhoma, who is the current acting vice chancellor of the University of Livingstonia, says the growing of new hair means the beginning of a new life for the family.However, according to both  Nkhoma and son to group village headman (GVH) Mundigheghe of T/A Fukamapiri of Nkhata Bay, Geoffrey Manda, the tradition is grtadually losing its meaning.“What was happening in the past is not what people are doing nowadays when there is a funeral. Everyone was encouraged to remove all the hair, but today some people just cut some hairs from the head in an act that does not symbolise shaving. It is all about time,” said Manda.He revealed that in the past, people used a single razor blade or scissors to shave all members of the family, but due to HIV and Aids, more conscious practices are followed. He said ssome people go to barber shops while others just do something that symbolises shaving.