You have no items in your shopping cart.
ABSTRACT
Death is a natural and universal fact of life, which is most times unpleasant and painful yet unavoidable. However, death in Iruekpe cosmology is an important phenomenon, as it holds a significant point in man’s life. Death to an Iruekpe man is not the end of life rather, it is a transition from the ephemeral world of mortals to the world of the spirits. It is a necessary evil that channels one to either the blissful abode of the ancestors and good spirits or into the abode of wandering and evil spirits. Hence the journey to the afterlife begins from the immediate life, as the afterlife is but a continuation of life but in different form or realm. .Rites and ritual for the dead are important rites of passage in African traditional beliefs. It is the last ritual one must pass through to enable such person complete the transitional ritual stages, Presently, this ritual and respect accorded to the ancestors has declined as a result of it being objected by Christianity, Western culture and civilization. The rate our rich cultural heritage is shrinking with the resultant impact to our traditional religion is what triggered this research work. Hence the primary purpose of this research work is to trace and explain the original concept of death and the place of the ancestors among Iruekpe people. This work employed the analytical descriptive methodology. In order to ascertain reliable data, various methods of data collection were employed. These include oral interview and personal observation. Literatures are reviewed. Journal articles and internet are consulted. This research work discovered the following: the concept of death among the Iruekpe people is that of a necessary end not an actual end. The practice of rites and rituals for the dead is culturally normative in Iruekpe land and is a social reality. It also revealed the existence of burial rites and rituals for different categories of people in Iruekpe cosmology. Finally it discovered the significant position of ancestors among the Iruekpe people.
