Funerals are sorrowful events, but not entirely in Luo Nyanza, where they can be to some extent funny and able to make the mourners forget their pain for a moment.
Here is why;
1. People cry to be seen, not out of sorrow
Funeral functions in Nyanza are on most occasions characterized with eating and drinking, given that animals are normally slaughtered to be fed to the mourners.
But this is being exploited by some village folk who only wail and cry to be seen, faking pain and agony (mirima), just to be seen as greatly affected, so as to be considered for some food.
This is because the good food is normally kept for mourners who have come from far, while area villagers (jogweng') are left to deal with the githeri (nyoyo).
After a few minutes in the main house, they will forget their sorrow, approach the tent where guests are sitting and silently await to be served some meat and ugali.
2. They mourn people they don't even know
Also for the food reason, some people will wail over someone who spent their entire life in the city, and who they did not even know personally.
Even passersby sometimes stop over to wail, get some tea and rice (which is the starter pack in my Kamagaga village in Kano, Muhoroni), before proceeding to Ahero or Ombeyi.
As long as they are area villagers, they are assured of something to eat. Others don't even eat at home because they will eat at the funeral.
3. Dogs find a new headquarters
As if in agreement, all village dogs tend to shift to the home of the deceased, with each one taking a spot to await bones thrown away by the guests and inedible animal parts like the skin.
Bold ones normally leave with bruises resulting from kicks and rungu strikes, as they attempt to move closer to the guests' tent to feast on the bones dropped on the ground.
This is because homeowners don't want then anywhere near, for fear that they might stick their mouths into food pots and eat food meant for guests.
During funerals, people who own dogs don't wake up to find them in their compounds, but meet them hundreds of metres away, at the place where the funeral is being held.