I read a fascinating article today about African funerals, and below is a short list of things I learned:
- Bodies of the deceased are sometimes kept in the hospital refrigeration unit for over a year, and the hospital makes more money storing dead bodies than actually treating living patients.
- The family pays to keep the body stored in the refrigeration unit while simultaneously raising funds for a lavish funeral. Meanwhile, “Dead Body Interest” continues to accrue.
- The median income in Ghana is $1500/year…a funeral costs $5000-$20,000.
- In Zimbabwe, which has the 2nd-highest death rate from malnutrition in the world, families regularly sell personal items and cut back on food to save up for funeral costs.
At this point, you’re probably filled with some degree of righteous indignation…how is this level of resource misappropriation considered normal or acceptable?
Well, the answer lies in the concept of “Kinship Culture.” An illusion of trust and façade of obligation centers on the “extended family” and the “clan.” Theoretically, the “clan” is your lifeline; if you fall on hard times, the clan will supposedly take care of you. And so you continue to donate your resources, time, and energy to this impersonal “family” that “truly loves you.” This family insists you spend more on the deceased than its living members, parasitically taking advantage of your fear, leveraging guilt and potential ostracization to squelch any personal initiative. The living merely exist in a state of misplaced trust…and the postmortem “celebration” merely breeds resentment among those still nominally alive.
Unfortunately, many people in wealthier nations “live” in a similar manner. Petrified that they will not “be accepted” by the majority, they compromise their integrity and mortgage honesty for membership in a “family,” whether it be a corporation, a church, or another group. And fear and guilt steadily parasitize vitality and transcendence while its members refuse to detach themselves from the ever-growing Monster.
Eventually, these people die or move on. And then the Monster pretends to celebrate that person’s life and legacy. Who was that person? The Monster doesn’t know…but it needs to keep its clan of useful corpses in the refrigeration unit. If the people discover the warmth of love outside the menagerie, a mass resurrection and jubilant exodus would result…and the Monster’s Lifeblood depends on the people it continues to manipulate and insidiously destroy.
So how’s your Family? Is it full of love and laughter…or is it a fraternity of fear? Do its members genuinely care about you…or are you a manipulated marionette for the prevailing agenda? Is your input truly valued…or are your contributions merely funding your own funeral?
