Death in Luo culture, just like in all other communities internationally, is feared, condemned and unwanted, no matter how bad the deceased might have been.
It usually attracts wails and screams as people mourn the dead person, a responsibility largely left for women as their male counterparts try to endure the pain, suffering in silence.
If the deceased was a male, it is common to hear present men chanting and shouting 'jowi'.
Jowi is the Luo word for buffalo, one of the most courageous animals according to Luos.
This chant is used to describe the deceased as a buffalo, a courageous, fearless and unstoppable person, meaning that the society has lost a very important person.
This can partly be picked from the 'Jowi ja muomo' (the unstoppable buffalo) saying, and becomes more intense in the event that the deceased was a high ranked person in the society.
Therefore, politicians and any other sort of leaders receive more of the same.
It, however, is not applied to children and is reserved only for the older generation.
This is because the young persons might have not demonstrated their abilities at their age and cannot be allocated the title having not earned it.
Therefore, you now know what to think the next time you hear such chants during funeral ceremonies.
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