Unearthing the Cultural Meanings of Burial Rituals
A Comparative Discourse on the New Testament and amaXhosa Traditions
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22037671 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mlamli Diko (0000-0001-8516-3586, University of South Africa, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 31-56 |
| Publication date | 2025-05-04 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Early Christian History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2222-582X • E-ISSN: 2471-4054 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/2222582x.2025.2568464 |
| OpenAlex | W4416602947 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 34 |
Burial rituals have historically been cultural reflections which represent belief systems about life, death, and the afterlife, and serve as profound tapestries woven with the threads of existential meaning. In this article, I scrutinise the cultural meanings of burial rituals, comparing the New Testament’s focus on rebirth or resurrection and eternal life with the amaXhosa traditions’ emphasis on ancestral recognition, reverence, and communal identity. The focus of the article is not on the entire New Testament (NT) text, but on selected contexts. Applying symbolic interactionism, I uncover how these practices function as cultural artefacts, reflecting multi-collaborative and divergent constructions of life, death, and the spiritual kingdom. Three notable findings emerge. First, while certain biblical texts in the NT concentrate on individual standing with God, amaXhosa traditions foreground collective obligation and continuity with the ancestors. Second, symbols such as the tomb in the NT discourse and animal slaughter in amaXhosa burial rituals convey multilayered yet complicated social values and theological imperatives. Third, both cultural contexts use burial spaces to cement cultural cohesion and consciousness, albeit through differing metaphysical experiences. Inevitably, by scrutinising these intersections and contrasts, this article unmasks the dynamic chemistry between religious doctrine and cultural heritage. Above all, this article is interdisciplinary, blending NT discourse, cultural philosophies, and amaXhosa traditions to establish how burial rituals, as cultural artefacts, signify diverse belief systems
Biblical theology · New Testament · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Pentecostalism and Christianity Studies · Religion and Sociopolitical Dynamics in Nigeria
A State of (Greater) Exception? Funerals, Custom and the “War on Covid” in Rural South Africa
Drumming Tradition among the Xhosa Amagqirha
What if it were True? Why Study the New Testament
Exploring embodied differences in Xhosa manhood masculinity, and reflecting on thematic analysis
A Symbolic and Ritualistic Exposition of Purification Rites in the Old Testament
Bereavement rituals and their related psychosocial functions in a Northern Sotho community of South Africa
Widows and ritual danger in Sotho and Tswana communities
The Central Beliefs of the Xhosa Cattle-Killing
Mead and Blumer
A Decolonial Perspective on the Practice of Unveiling Tombstones in Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches in South Africa
Funerals and the Public Space of Sentiment in Botswana
The Role of the Church in Postcolonial African Burial Rituals in Collins Chabane Municipality
Shared Legacies of the War
Decolonising the Mind
A Critical Evaluation of the Impact of Religious Belief (Christianity) within Post-Colonial African Burial Rites
Symbol and authority in Mpondo ancestor religion
Death 'On the Move
| Highly cited | No |
|---|