Members of the Luo community hardly refer to the dead as dead, opting for the 'sleeping' instead.
Its hard to hear a Luo person saying "ng'ane nyocha othoo' (so and so recently died), the common phrase being 'nyocha onindo' (he recently slept).
The sleep narrative is primarily used to eliminate the ugly and unbearable 'dead' part which is known to provoke feelings, resulting to breakdowns.
Its also helps when breaking the news to a person close to the deceased, as the information will land in a softer manner, giving them the needed time to digest it.
Going direct will immediately trigger all their feelings, and could see them swept off their feet and into collapsing, for weaker people.
The phrase is best for children who do not know what it means by dying but understand sleep, so telling them this will save you from further questioning.
Apart from these, Luos are among the Kenyan communities that believe in life after death, and that the dead continue with their lives in the second world.
This was proved by opposition leader Raila Odinga when he hosted President Uhuru Kenyatta at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga mausoleum in Bondo, Siaya county on Friday.
Raila said that the mausoleum which houses the remains of the founding Vice President and the things associated with him is 'his sleeping place'.
“Today we have a very special guest in this home. It is my younger brother (Uhuru), and we have been with him since yesterday. I decided to bring him home so that he can see where Jaramogi sleeps,” he said as quoted by Standard.