Nhlavana’s funeral classic - Makhanya Makhanya
MBABANE - Classic!
This was a term used by Chairman of the Witchdoctors Association, Makhanya Makhanya, when describing the funeral of the late President of the Traditional Health Organisation for Africa, Dr Nhlavana Maseko.
The 90-year-old Maseko was laid to rest at his homestead at Ngowane near Hlane last Saturday.
According to our sister publication, the Times of Eswatini SUNDAY, Maseko’s funeral proceedings were conducted without preaching and singing of gospel songs. It was also stated that women were ordered to remain at home when men proceeded to the graveyard.
Asked about the significance of eliminating the preaching and singing of gospel songs, Makhanya said Maseko’s funeral presented emaSwatini with a great opportunity to learn about the real culture of traditional healers. He said he wished emaSwati could learn from the recent event.
Makhanya said ideally, traditional healers were born with a gift from ancestors, which was why they sang ancestral songs even during funerals.
Funerals
He said their funerals were conducted differently from those of other people just like members of royalty who were buried in caves.
He said their belief was that tinyanga did not die, but passed on to the next world where they met their ancestors. He stated that there was only one ancestral song which was common among tinyanga. Makhanya said the song was ‘Kufa kwangitondza.’ The witchdoctor said the songs which were sung at Maseko’s funeral were godly.
He said people might conclude that the songs were ungodly because they did not get the actual meaning.
“Every song carries a meaning and it is connected to God and the ancestors. We beat the drums so that we can be connected to our ancestors,” he said.
When it comes to preaching, Makhanya said the elimination of preaching was a sign of respect to the bereaved family.
“Bereaved families need time to mourn so we cannot expect someone to preach during the mourning period. A funeral is different from a church service where preaching is mandatory,” he said. He added that people did not have time to listen to preachers while mourning.
Makhanya said it was the best decision to leave women behind when men proceeded to the graveyard. He said tinyanga culture provided that women should remain at home and mourn as opposed to them joining men to the graveyard.
He said it was important that people learnt something from the event.
He stated that believers knew that Jesus was buried differently and could recall the event leading to his burial. Makhanya said Jesus warned people against mourning after he had informed them about his imminent death. He said Jesus’s grave was guarded by the angels because he was born with a gift.
“Kuhambe kahle konkhe emngcwabeni wa Maseko kusukela kulesimemetelo semngcwabo,” Makhanya said in vernacular, loosely translated to mean: “As far as I am concerned, it all went well at Maseko’s funeral starting from the funeral announcement.”