i 

 

An exploration of the mourning rituals of the people of Bethal in the 

Mpumalanga Province of South Africa 

 

Faculty of Humanities 

School of Human and Community Development 

Department of Psychology 

 

A Research project submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for 

the degree of MA by coursework and Research Report in the field of 

Psychology in the faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, 

Johannesburg  

15 March 2023 

by 

Kedeboni Precious Mamosadi 

2175763 

Supervised by 

Dr Simangele Mayisela 

 

 

 

 

 

 



ii 

 

University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 

Department of Psychology 

SENATE PLAGIARISM POLICY 

Declaration by Students 

 

 

I, KEDEBONI PRECIOUS MAMOSADI (student number: 2175763) am a student registered 

for MASTER OF ART BY COURSEWORK AND RESEARCH REPORT 

(PSYCHOLOGY) in the year 2021. I hereby declare the following: 

• I am aware that plagiarism (the use of someone else’s work without their permission 

and/or without acknowledging the original source) is wrong. 

• I declare that this research report is my own, unaided work. It has not been submitted 

before for any other degree or examination at this or any other university. 

• I have followed the required conventions in referencing the thoughts and ideas of       

others. 

• I understand that the University of the Witwatersrand may take disciplinary action 

against me if there is a belief that this is not my own unaided work or that I have 

failed to acknowledge the source of the ideas or words in my writing. 

• The in-text citations and the reference list comply with the APA 7 guidelines. 

 

 

Signature:  K.P. MAMOSADI                                                         Date:  15 March 2023 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



iii 

 

 

Abstract 
 

People from diverse cultures have unique ways of conceptualising and responding to death 

through varying degrees of mourning and grieving processes. This study is centred on 

exploring the traditional mourning rituals of African indigenous people with reference to the 

people of Bethal, in the Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. The study adopted a qualitative 

research methodology, with critical phenomenology as a research approach. The participants 

were the residents of Bethal, a small, under resourced township in the Govan Mbeki District, 

Mpumalanga Province. Eight in-depth, semi structured, face to face interviews were conducted, 

recorded and transcribed verbatim; and analysed through Thematic Analysis. Sampling 

procedure followed a purposive strategy while this cohort of people were selected according to 

their willingness to participate, their availability and being permanent residents of this area. 

The study found that mourning can be an individualised and collective experience. The study 

further describes how African people inherently ascribe to certain traditional mourning rituals 

in order to deal with the loss of a loved one. Findings contribute to existing research on African 

ways of grieving by highlighting grief and mourning rituals through an African lens embedded 

in the subjective narratives of the participants.  Results from this study further demonstrate how 

Covid19 restrictions have affected these traditional mourning rituals. Finally, 

recommendations are provided on how African people can realign their mental healthcare, 

while preserving their cultural mourning rituals. 

 

KEYWORDS: Eurocentric paradigm, Afrocentricity, grief-work, mourning rituals, culture, 

psychosocial aspects  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



iv 

 

 

 

Acknowledgements 
 

To my beloved aunt, who has played the role of my mother for my entire life, words are not 

enough to express to you my love and gratitude for everything you have done for me – 

including your continuous support throughout my academic journey. Thank you so much for 

investing in me.  

To my sister who has never failed to encourage me during the most challenging times, thank 

you for always being there for me. Your love and unwavering support for me will be something 

I will cherish for the rest of my life. 

To the rest of my family, thank you for always being in my corner and for always believing in 

me. 

To my supervisor, Dr Simangele Mayisela, thank you for your assistance and for your support 

throughout this process. 

To Professor Peace Kiguwa, thank you for your constant support throughout this journey. No 

one else had a better understanding of some of the academic challenges that we would face. 

Thank you for being that one person we can always turn to for help.    

Last but not least, thank you to my academic peers who have walked this journey with me and 

for supporting each other throughout.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



v 

 

 

 

Table of Contents 
Declaration…………………………………………………………………………………….ii 

Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………….... iii 

Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………….……………..iv 

List of tables ........................................................................................................................... viii 

List of figures ......................................................................................................................... viii 

Chapter 1: Background to the Study .......................................................................................... 1 

1.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1 

1.2 Aim .................................................................................................................................. 2 

1.3 Objectives ........................................................................................................................ 2 

1.4 Paramount research question ........................................................................................... 3 

1.5 Sub-research questions..................................................................................................... 3 

1.6 Research Rationale........................................................................................................... 3 

1.7 Contribution to Knowledge.............................................................................................. 5 

1.8 Chapter Outline ................................................................................................................ 5 

Chapter 2: Literature Review and Theoretical Framework ....................................................... 7 

2.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 7 

2.2 Afrocentrism and Eurocentrism ....................................................................................... 7 

2.3 The concept of Afrocentricity .......................................................................................... 8 

2.4 The African worldview .................................................................................................. 10 

2.5 The Eurocentric and Afrocentric concepts of death ...................................................... 12 

2.6 Grief ............................................................................................................................... 13 

2.7 Mourning........................................................................................................................ 14 

2.8 Psychosocial aspects of mourning ................................................................................. 15 

2.8.1. History and politics in relation to mourning. ......................................................... 15 

2.8.2 Socio/ Cultural/ Racial aspects of mourning .......................................................... 16 

2.8.3 Gender/Age/Economic aspects of mourning .......................................................... 17 

2.9 Theoretical Framework .................................................................................................. 19 

    2.9.1 An Afrocentric conceptual framework ................................................................... 19 

    2.9.2 African Grief Therapy model (AGT) ...................................................................... 20 

    2.9.3 Continuing bonds bereavement model.................................................................... 21 

2.10 Conclusion  .................................................................................................................. 22 

Chapter 3: Research Design and Methodology ....................................................................... 23 



vi 

 

3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 23 

3.2 Research Design and paradigm ...................................................................................... 23 

3.3 Corpus of texts/collected data to be analysed. ............................................................... 24 

3.3.1 The Participants ...................................................................................................... 24 

3.4 Research method and data collection procedure ............................................................ 28 

3.4.1 The research instrument .......................................................................................... 29 

3.4.2 The interview process ............................................................................................. 29 

3.5 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................... 311 

3.5.1 Method for analysing the data set. .......................................................................... 31 

3.6 Researcher Reflexivity ................................................................................................... 34 

3.6.1 Positional reflectivity .............................................................................................. 35 

3.7 Quality Criteria .............................................................................................................. 36 

3.7.1 Dependability .......................................................................................................... 37 

3.7.2 Triangulation ........................................................................................................... 37 

3.7.3 Credibility ............................................................................................................... 38 

3.8 Ethical considerations .................................................................................................... 39 

3.8.1 Informed Consent.................................................................................................... 40 

3.8.2 Privacy and confidentiality ..................................................................................... 40 

3.8.3 Autonomy and respect ............................................................................................ 40 

3.8.4 Nonmaleficence ...................................................................................................... 41 

3.8.5 Beneficence ............................................................................................................. 41 

3.8.6 Justice ...................................................................................................................... 41 

3.9 Dissemination of the Results ......................................................................................... 42 

3.10 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 42 

Chapter 4: Research Findings and Discussion ......................................................................... 43 

4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 43 

4.2 Presentation and Discussion of Findings ....................................................................... 43 

4.2.1 The African worldview in relation to traditional mourning rituals. ........................ 44 

4.2.2 Distinctive traditional bereavement rituals conceptualise grief. ............................. 48 

Sub-theme 1: Mourning rituals are a unifying agent. ...................................................... 53 

Sub-theme 2: Engaging in mourning rituals provides a sense of altruism. ..................... 56 

Sub-theme 3: There are varying degrees of involvement in the mourning ritual. ........... 59 

Sub-theme 4: Certain rituals are gender specific. ............................................................ 61 

Sub-theme 5: Funeral expenses represent a major drawback in the African mourning 

process.............................................................................................................................. 64 

Sub-theme 6: The continuation of emotional ties with the deceased as a coping 

mechanism. ...................................................................................................................... 66 



vii 

 

Sub-theme 7: African culture links death to bad luck...................................................... 70 

4.2.3 The effects of Covid-19 restrictions on traditional mourning rituals. .................... 72 

4.2.4 The mourning environment may not necessarily be peaceful. ............................... 74 

4.2.5 Modernisation has changed traditional mourning rituals........................................ 75 

4.3 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 79 

Chapter 5: Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations ...................................................... 80 

5.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 80 

5.2 Summary of the study .................................................................................................... 80 

5.3 Recommendations .......................................................................................................... 82 

5.3.1. For the mental healthcare of African people .......................................................... 83 

5.3.2. For the Cultural preservation of traditional mourning rituals ................................ 83 

5.3.3. For the contribution to existing studies .................................................................. 84 

5.3.4 Recommendations for future studies ...................................................................... 84 

5.4 Limitations of this study ................................................................................................ 84 

    5.5 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………..85 

References ................................................................................................................................ 86 

APPENDICES ......................................................................................................................... 92 

Appendix A: Participant Information Sheet .................................................................... 92 

Appendix A (1): Zulu translated Participant Information Sheet ...................................... 94 

Appendix B: Letter of informed consent for Interview and Recording ........................... 96 

Appendix B (1): Translated Letter of informed consent for Interview and Recording ... 99 

Appendix C: Virtual Interviews Consent Form ............................................................. 102 

Appendix C (1): Translated virtual interviews Consent Form....................................... 104 

Appendix D:  Interview Guide:...................................................................................... 106 

DATA ANALYSIS APPENDICES ...................................................................................... 111 

        Appendix E: Phase 3- mapping for themes and sub-themes…………………………..112 

        Appendix F: Horizontal and Vertical Analysis………………………………………..118 

Appendix G: Phase 4- reviewing themes. ...................................................................... 121 

Appendix H: Process Reports ........................................................................................ 122 

Appendix I: Ethical Clearance Certificate ..................................................................... 130 

        Student Submission Form……………………………………………………………..131 

 

 
 

 

 

 



viii 

 

List of tables 
 

Table 1:  Horizontal and vertical analysis ensuring rigor of results……………….118. 

 

List of figures  
 

Figure 1: Themes 1 and 2…….……….….……………………………………....….…...112. 

Figure 2: Sub-themes 1 and 2……….…………………......………….………………….113. 

Figure 3: Sub-themes 3 and 4…….….……………….……………………....…………..114. 

Figure 4: Sub-themes 5 and 6………..…….…………………………………………......115. 

Figure 5: Sub-themes 7 and Theme 3& 4….……………….…………………………….116. 

Figure 6: Theme 5……………………………………………………………………...…117. 

Figure 7: Final thematic map depicting all twelve main and sub- themes……….…….....121. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

  



1 

 

Chapter 1: Background to the Study 

 

1.1 Introduction  

  
Death and grief are said to be a universal life experience (Nwoye, 2013). Thus, 

everyone experiences death or grief at some point in their lives. According to Howarth (2011), 

one of the most distressing emotional experience a person would face is the loss of a loved one. 

Although this is an unavoidable phenomenon, Howarth (2011) suggested that there are 

different ways in which it is conceptualised. For example, the authors Cavanaugh and 

Blanchard- Fields (2019) postulated that every culture has its own unique way of describing 

death. Therefore, the concept of death bears different meanings for different people. Also, 

Cavanaugh and Blanchard- Fields (2019) define death as the point where a person is no longer 

alive. These authors view death as a transitional process from being alive to being dead. Baloyi 

(2014) defined death as a situation where the soul separates from the body. Consistent with this 

view, Adeyemo (1979) argued that when someone passes on, their spirit still lives, but outside 

their body. Thus, the person moves from being mortal into an immortal being (Tjibeba, 1997).  

As common as death is, its meaning varies across cultures, and people respond to it 

with varying degrees of mourning and grieving processes (Makhubu, 1988). Howarth (2011) 

added that in different cultural beliefs, bereavement and grief are expressed through the process 

of mourning. This may include a number of cognitive, emotional, psychological and 

behavioural reactions to the loss (Brown & Goodman, 2005). In order to deal with grief, one 

study suggests that most African communities (particularly the black population) rely on 

indigenous healing practices such as performing different mourning rituals (Makgahlela, 

2016). 

There are different definitions and understandings of mourning. For the purposes of this 

study, Asuquo’s (2011) definition of mourning has been adopted, and it refers to certain 

activities that a bereaved family and community will most likely engage in as a way of dealing 

with any type of personal loss for example, washing the body of the deceased the day before 

the funeral as a sign of respect, the slaughtering of specific animals such as a cow or a goat and 

allowing only the women in the family to sit on the matrass in honour of the deceased. 

Additionally, mourning rituals are regarded as those practices that arise as a result of mourning 

(Asuquo, 2011). These rituals often go hand in hand with the grieving process and play a very 

important role in how people deal with losing a person they love. Grief, according to 



2 

 

Makgahlela (2016), is defined as the process where grieving people connect with each other 

and can express their bereavement with members of a community with which they can identify. 

This study has explored the concepts of grief and mourning, and how this commonly 

experienced phenomenon distinctively relates to the overall grieving processes of African 

people. Research literature exploring the concept of mourning within African communities as 

well as an emergence of subsequent mourning rituals which can accompany this phenomenon, 

was considered. It is postulated that these grief and mourning rituals have a significant effect 

within both the personal and social aspects of human functionality. This meant that this 

phenomenon needed to be examined not just from an individualistic point of view, but 

holistically from a psychosocial sphere as well.  

 

1.2 Aim 
 

The main aim of the study is to unearth understanding of the experiences of the people in the 

community of Bethal, Mpumalanga Province in relation to their grieving and mourning rituals.  

 

1.3 Objectives 
 

Deriving from the initial quest of conducting this research, there are objectives which the study 

tries to address. And these are: 

• To explore which existing grief and mourning rituals are considered to be important 

within traditional African perspectives in order to provide a better understanding as to 

why they exist.  

• To explore some of the benefits as well as the drawbacks of these mourning rituals on 

African people. 

• To understand how certain historic events, socio-economic, education, age and gender 

factors influence the mourning rituals of African people.    

• To explore how Covid -19 restrictions and regulations affected the traditional mourning 

rituals of this community of African people.   

 

 

 

 



3 

 

1.4 Paramount research question 
 

What is the phenomenological experience of the people in the community of Bethal, 

Mpumalanga Province in relation to grieving and mourning rituals? 

1.5 Sub-research questions 
 

1. What mourning rituals are considered important within traditional African 

perspectives? And why? 

2. What are some of the benefits as well as the drawbacks of these mourning rituals on 

African people? 

3. What is the influence of historical, socio-economic, education, age and gender factors 

on the mourning rituals of African people?    

4. How have the Covid-19 restrictions and regulations affected the traditional mourning 

rituals of this community of African people? 

1.6 Research Rationale 
 

The exploration of different cultural grief and mourning rituals has become an area of 

study that is gaining some momentum by psychology scholars such as Asante (2007), Baloyi 

(2014), Nwoye (2013) and Okechi (2017) just to mention a few. Although this may be the case, 

the African wisdom as captured in the process of mourning has not yet been thoroughly 

investigated and documented. The area that is of main concern for the researcher is the notion 

of using only the Eurocentric approach for dealing with critical psychological issues affecting 

people who are of African descent. This may in turn, affect the way Western societies view 

and understand the whole idea behind African mourning practices. These challenges have 

raised the attention of some of the abovementioned researchers to be more involved in new 

theoretical paradigms which are more action-based in attempting to close the gap of knowledge 

systems consistent with these two different paradigms. This could be advantageous` for many 

African communities as this research could shed some light on several issues that may arise on 

the different perspectives of the African knowledge system as captured in mourning rituals as 

a practice (Okechi, 2017). A study by Nwoye (2015) pointed out the fact that one of the other 

ways that Eurocentrism had actually failed the primitive tenet of the African paradigm is that 

research pertaining to African practices is seen more relevant when conducted according to 

Western methodologies instead of the traditional worldview of native African people and their 

cultures. Thus, Asante (2007) postulated that the grieving and mourning concepts within the 

African context are a few of the least explored areas of studies within the African community 



4 

 

itself. This may provide some sort of explanation as to why very few researchers have explored 

this phenomenon. This kind of discrepancy has propelled the researcher to try and close the 

existing gap of knowledge systems that currently exists between the Western and the African 

ways of defining this phenomenon.  

 

 Another area of concern, according to Nwoye, (2015) would be the hidden inadequacies 

and shortcomings in the existing Eurocentric models which attempt to explain the process of 

grief and mourning of African people through western ideas. Since the entire process of 

grieving and mourning is relative to context, the manner in which different people 

conceptualise and express their emotions towards this very issue is influenced by their unique 

belief systems (Okechi, 2017). This research hopes to bring about a new frame of reference 

and of cultural inclusion as it will draw on the experiences of those grief/mourning rituals of 

an underdeveloped community within the South African context, which is also home to mostly 

Zulu-speaking people. 

  

Whilst studies by authors such as Cavanaugh and Blanchard- Fields (2019) and Brown 

and Goodman (2005) have been conducted with their main area of focus primarily on the 

mourning processes of people in Western societies, very few studies have successfully explored 

the indigenous mourning practices that are native to the African context (Nwoye, 2015). I 

initially found this particular gap within such knowledge systems to be very confounding. 

Essentially, as a researcher, the notion or the idea of the human body- specifically the black 

person’s body- and how it relates to other bodies of different races, was absolutely intriguing 

(Okechi, 2017). Subsequently, my interest was immediately peaked as I yearned to learn more 

about the common yet sacred practices of black people. Since most views on the different 

concepts of death are mostly based on original Euro- American paradigms, the Eurocentric 

approach still dominates most aspects of the professional study of Psychology in Africa 

(Nwoye, 2013). However, some evidence brought forth from research done by scholars such 

as Asante (2007), Nwoye (2013) and Okechi (2017) does exist which suggests that there are 

some studies that have sought to respond to and possibly rectify these challenges through the 

investigation of mourning rituals in Africa. The present research study seeks to contribute to 

such efforts, and the researcher aims to broaden the existing knowledge systems and 

understanding towards the concept of death, including factors surrounding the process of 

mourning. This process will be achieved through the exploration of the specific mourning 

practices relative to the black population in the community of Bethal, Mpumalanga Province.  



5 

 

 

1.7 Contribution to Knowledge 
 

The purpose of this study would be to contribute to the existing studies which seek to 

respond to, and possibly emphasize certain challenges brought on by the Eurocentric paradigm 

in relation to grief and mourning rituals within the African context. Also, it would be imperative 

to introduce the Afrocentric paradigm in the understanding of traditional grief and mourning 

rituals in order to bring to light black people’s personal reflections upon or their interpretations 

of these rituals. These personal accounts will be the result of certain practices that usually take 

place in a particular context or environment. In short, the grief and mourning rituals of African 

people are influenced by a number of variables. We can postulate that although these grieving 

processes are subjected to the contexts in which they are observed, they do serve as a unifying 

agent for this cohort of people.  

 

1.8 Chapter Outline 

  

Having already produced a short summary of what this study entails, the structure of 

this research report will be presented in the following order: the first Chapter has presented an 

introductory section by giving a brief background to the study as well as the research questions 

and some of its main objectives. Furthermore, since it is important for any research project to 

generate a new body of work and provide a fresh perspective or insight into the relevant current 

systems of knowledge in order to demonstrate sustainability and/or bring to light any gaps that 

may be prevalent, this study will also present a suitable rationale in support of the 

abovementioned. The study simultaneously brings into focus some of its contributions to the 

African knowledge systems which pertain to traditional mourning practices that already exists 

within African studies. Chapter two continues to introduce the two key theoretical concepts or 

models upon which the main framework of the study lies, forming the foundation of the study, 

as well as a review of the literature and the body of work that speaks to the different aspects 

relating to this research, while the third Chapter explains the research paradigm, methodology 

as well as those specific approached that have been used to analyse the data set. The subsequent 

analytic tool in Chapter four will identify and discuss the themes that have emerged from the 

findings of the study as well as present the discussion of these main findings. And then lastly, 

Chapter five makes provision for the concluding remarks - while taking into consideration the 

limitations of the study as well. This final Chapter also includes some recommendations for 



6 

 

the mental healthcare/well-being for said participants, suggestions for future studies and for 

different cultural preservation methods that would be of benefit for African people as a whole.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



7 

 

Chapter 2: Literature Review and Theoretical Framework 
 

2.1 Introduction  
 

The main premise of this study is rooted on the basis of fundamentally exploring the 

concept of mourning within the African context, and how the emergence of those subsequent 

mourning rituals usually compliments this phenomenon. The purpose of the literature review 

would be to locate this body of research into the broader context of other research findings, and 

to indicate how it shares certain similarities and contradictory aspects with these already 

existing phenomena (Delport, De Vos, Fouche & Strydom, 2011). The discussion will start off 

with defining the Afrocentric and Eurocentric paradigms, defining Afrocentricity and the 

African worldview. Then constructs such as death/loss, grief, mourning and the various 

psychosocial aspects of mourning will also be discussed.  

It is important to note that the primary function of the next section serves not to compare 

the two paradigms, but simply focuses on why the Afrocentric view may be the most 

appropriate approach for this particular study. Also, the concept of Afrocentricity will be 

defined as it relates to the Afrocentric paradigm.     

 

2.2 Afrocentrism and Eurocentrism 
 

The notion of the Afrocentric paradigm emerged as the result of trying to highlight why 

it would be important to place Africa at the centre of the epistemological foundation – a term 

later known as “Black constructivism” (Adeleke, 2015). On the basis of this author’s findings, 

in certain areas such as America, the Eurocentric paradigm became a threatening component 

to black people, and for many centuries prior, this particular threat had already existed, and 

continued to play a crucial role in spite of the efforts and accomplishments of previous 

generations of this cohort of people (Adeleke, 2015). Furthermore, in Asante’s (1990) view, 

Eurocentrism had essentially destroyed some aspects of the African culture by inhibiting both 

the cultural and economic developments.  This author further theorised that the Eurocentric 

paradigm was symbolic to a future threat to the cultural, political, social and economic 

development of black people (Asante, 1990).    

As a way of eliminating these injustices, the concept of Afrocentrism was first 

proposed. According to Adeleke (2015) this paradigm was developed mainly as a way to 

counter-act what was perceived as the “accepted” Eurocentric way of life, and in so doing, the 



8 

 

importance of a new ideology arose. Subsequently, Asante produced somewhat of a standard 

definition of Afrocentrism: as “…. a frame of reference wherein phenomena are viewed from 

the perspective of the African person, and which seeks in every situation the appropriate 

centrality of the African person” (Asante, 1990, p.171). Through the emergence of this 

ideology, it was postulated that the black person’s sense of knowledge and awareness of 

African histories and cultural heritages needs to be strengthened (Jackson, 2003). Asante 

(1990) postulated that essentially, Africa can then be made as the starting point of some 

theoretical knowledge- the same type of knowledge that can form a “defensive” weapon against 

the overpowering Eurocentric worldview. 

 

Adeleke’s (2015) claims are further supported by the findings of Augustine Nwoye 

(2015) through his ideas of making use of the Afrocentric paradigm to make clinical diagnoses 

within African Psychology. Nwoye (2015) postulated that a missing link does exist within the 

Eurocentric paradigm, and its treatment plans make it impossible to appropriately address and 

directly deal with specific illnesses faced by black Africans. His theories solidified that there 

is a missing gap that exists between these two knowledge systems as certain (and very 

important) aspects of the African person’s livelihood hasn’t been thoroughly and contextually 

investigated through the Eurocentric paradigm (Nwoye, 2015). He adds more content to his 

previous theoretical assumptions by emphasizing crucial implications brought forth by Western 

ideologies: he points out that Eurocentrism has a tendency to define human beings 

predominately as observable phenomena, while in the same breath, fails to acknowledge the 

aspect of African spirituality, which is a major component in how Africans conceive their world 

(Nwoye, 2015). In such instances, it poses as problematic since in African psychology, 

spirituality and having a holistic approach are important factors which have an influence on 

human well-being (Nwoye, 2015).  

 

2.3 The concept of Afrocentricity 
 

In this regard, Chawane (2016) defines Afrocentricity as an action-based thought 

process; one in which the African person’s values, interests and perspective are emphasized.  

Additionally, this author stipulates that this concept can be regarded as a way to exercise 

knowledge in order to include a new historical perspective (Chawane, 2016). As the originators 

of the very civilisation currently known today, Afrocentricity essentially gives credit to African 

people (Chawane, 2016). The common conception with these definitions is that there is a call 



9 

 

for change in the way our world has been previously perceived, and radical change that should 

encompass every attribute of human existence- with emphasize placed directly on the 

centeredness of African lived experiences (Chawane, 2016). However, Chawane (2016) 

acknowledged Asante’s (1990) work by pointing out a noteworthy directive: that Afrocentricity 

may not be regarded as the direct opposite of Eurocentricity, nor does it seek to replace it. 

These two paradigms should co-exist with each other. Concurrently, this phenomenon is 

constructive in the sense that it doesn’t deny others their place but aims for multiculturalism. 

The gist of this argument is that Western views must not be imposed as universal as Africans 

are also entitled to bestow their own perspectives and should be awarded the right to exercise 

their own sense of self-knowledge (Chawane, 2016). 

  

The foundation of Chawane’s (2016) arguments suggest that this concept bears a lot of 

value for Westerners as well by allowing them the ability to see things from a different 

perspective. Stikkers (2008) postulated that a counterforce is then experienced that derails 

Western influences and traditions. An important premise that emerged from the idea that 

human progress has only come from Western philosophies, and not the human race as a whole 

should be corrected (Asante, 1990). Authors Early, Letkowits, Moses and Wilson (1994) 

further suggest that the truth is conventional; therefore, through Afrocentrism, Africans may 

mentally position themselves in a state of forming their own sense of the truth which 

encapsulates their own social and political agendas. The assumption is that the ideologies of 

each paradigm appear to be more relevant to the context in which the subject is being studied. 

The Afrocentric paradigm could be more beneficial to an individual who resides in Africa, and 

who may have adopted an African way of living – and vice versa.  

 

The whole notion behind these two paradigms has been an ongoing argument for a very 

long time. After much deliberation, I can make the assumption that even though both 

frameworks are important, each is more useful in terms of their own contextual stance. In other 

words, each paradigm (and its ideologies) appears to be more relevant to the context in which 

the subject is being studied. Thus, the Eurocentric paradigm could be more beneficial to an 

individual who resides in the Western world, and who may have adopted a Westernised way 

of living – and vice versa. This may provide some sort of explanation as to why these two 

paradigms have such contradicting views. What is evident is that Afrocentricity emerged as a 

result of African scholars seeking to challenge some Eurocentric perspectives of looking at the 

world only from their own point of view.  



10 

 

 

The next section will discuss the essence of the African worldview, along with those particular 

concepts which emerge in support of this phenomenon, such as the African epistemology, the 

primary tenets of being an African, the African cosmology and the African personhood.  

 

2.4 The African worldview 
 

According to Mkhize (2004) a worldview represents those unique assumptions that a 

particular cohort of people develop as an attempt to explain their realities, place, and purpose 

in the world. She goes on to say that when trying to explain their unique realities and purpose 

in the world, people develop compartmentalised assumptions that govern their way of life 

(Mkhize, 2015). However, it is not to say that because this worldview exists, every single 

member of an African culture should automatically subscribe to it (Hook, 2015). Nwoye (2015) 

describes this concept as those perceptions that Africans place much value on, whereby the 

African epistemology describes the different ways in which Africans understand and conceive 

the world in which they live (Baloyi, 2008). It seeks to communicate a culture of unity set in 

place to provide a basic conceptualisation of the African context (Grills, 2002). This 

phenomenon shares a similar sentiment to African personhood. 

 

To be able to comprehensively describe what constitutes being an African, we first 

need to contextualise the use of the word “African”, as it refers to a person whose dealing with 

the world is influenced by an African Cosmology (Nwoye, 2017).  Similarly, African 

cosmology is the peculiar manner in which African people understand the world and how it 

functions. At the centre of this ideology (and with grief/mourning rituals) is the idea of 

universal oneness, thus, representing a sense of interconnectedness and solidarity amongst 

members of a community (Moleko & Visser, 2012). Additionally, this worldview pre-

determines the behaviours and belief systems of African people and seeks to bring to light the 

realities what of it means to be a black person within a predominately Eurocentric world 

(Moleko & Visser 2012). Another aspect to consider is that African cosmology is a theory that 

is profoundly grounded in the African culture (Mkhize, 2004). Thus, since it encompasses the 

total way of life, it will influence the worldview of African people. This means that their overall 

behaviour and practices will be arranged into recurring and observable phenomenon 

(consistently practiced and passed on from generation to generation) making it harder to accept 

a new tradition and way of doing things (Mkhize, 2004). Another scholar, Musana (2018) 



11 

 

concurs by reiterating the idea that these characteristics of a unified community define certain 

attributes that are inherently of value for this cohort of people. Obiechina (1993) stated that 

through socialisation, people from different cultures will subsequently pass down their unique 

practices onto their young. 

 

Moreover, Nwoye (2017) supported these authors’ arguments by highlighting that 

Africans view their world as consisting of the physical as well as the spiritual realms, which 

are realms that are believed to be in constant communication with each other. This phenomenon 

forms the foundation of some of the ideas that this study proposes. In other words, whenever 

these grieving/mourning rituals are properly implemented according to the various African 

customs, then there will be a balance between the physical and the spiritual world.  

 

My understanding is that The African worldview forms the most basic component of 

what it means to be African. It plays a very important role in the attempt to conceptualise how 

the African person relates to their own extremities, and how they actually conceive their own 

realities to place meaning to their lives. This perspective is pivotal for the study of mourning 

within the traditionalistic African context, and it forms the foundation of these guidelines in 

which these rituals are individualised, prioritised and ultimately performed. As we develop an 

understanding of these guidelines, one has a better chance of conceptualising some intrinsic 

details of some of the grieving processes of African people. Essentially, we come to the 

understanding that mourning rituals (as a tradition) are not only passed on from one generation 

to the next but are also a shared experienced between members of a community.  

 

The following section represents the core essence of the study, as it will look at the different 

ways in which the concept of death/loss can be defined, the description of grief and mourning, 

and how these subsequent mourning rituals emerge as a result of dealing with such phenomena.  

 

Death and grief are said to be universal life experiences (Nwoye, 2013). According to Howarth, 

(2011) one of the most distressing emotional experience people face is the loss of a loved one, 

and virtually everyone will deal with grief at some point in their lives. Although death and loss 

are a universal experience, Howarth (2011) also suggested that there are different ways in 

which these two terms can be conceptualised. 

 



12 

 

2.5 The Eurocentric and Afrocentric concepts of death 
 

Cavanaugh and Blanchard-Fields (2019) conceded with the idea that the process of 

defining the concept of death is very complex as it involves intricate perspectives and 

disillusions about what death (or the idea of dying) really means. They add that one of the most 

fundamental aspects of this phenomenon are determining where exactly the point at which life 

ends and has led to the following two concepts: Functional death (clinical death) is defined by 

the lack of a heartbeat and breathing, while Brain death occurs through the measurement of 

brain activity (Cavanaugh & Blanchard-Fields, 2019). These two concepts have been used as 

two different medical determinants of physical death (Cavanaugh & Blanchard- Fields, 2019). 

Furthermore, death is a universal, central human concern, and authors Ahmed, Azam, Hussain, 

Rafique and Salah (2019) stipulate that this phenomenon can be a transformative process for 

those family members left behind.   

 

Moreover, Cavanaugh and Blanchard- Fields (2019) concurred with the works of 

Howarth (2011) by stating that every culture has its own unique way of describing death, which 

means that the concept of death bears different meanings for different people. Some writers 

have somewhat of a similar theory of death. Baloyi (2008) postulated that the Eurocentric 

paradigm views death as the obsolescence of life. In the same breath, the African worldview 

sees death as the moment when the soul separates from the flesh (Baloyi, 2014) thus, transcends 

from the physical world to the spiritual world. Therefore, people do not cease to exist. Baloyi’s 

(2014) description of death was consistent with Adeyemo’s (1979) argument that when 

someone passes on, their spirit still lives on; however, it exists outside their body- transitioning 

from a mortal being into an immortal one. On the other hand, Adeyemo (1979) further argued 

that death is the entity standing in between the two different worlds: the world of the departed 

souls and the world of human beings. When a person departs from this physical world, a ritual 

is required in order to unite the two worlds (Adeyemo, 1979).  Both these authors’ ideas support 

the notion that whenever these mourning rituals are properly implemented, an explanation 

about the process of transition of the deceased to another state of being in the spiritual world is 

provided.  

 

Contrary to the above two authors, Makhubu (1988) viewed death from a different 

perspective. The argument here is that for African people, the concept of death should not be 

applied to human beings, but to plants and animals only. This may be due to the fact that death 



13 

 

may be regarded as a very negative connotation when it’s directly applied to human beings 

(Makhubu, 1988). To further emphasis this point, Okechi (2017) explains that among the 

traditional African societies, death is so sacred that it makes it difficult for people to view it as 

just a natural phenomenon. Asuquo (2011) stated that the common belief is that death was 

made for the purpose of recalling any individual whose time on earth has been fulfilled. Thus, 

death becomes an inevitable and inescapable phenomenon for every single person who comes 

into this world. Another author, Opoku (1978), had theorised that death is not necessarily the 

end of life, but a transitional process from this world to the land of the spirits. He added that 

death should not sever the family connections because the dead become their ancestors and 

continue to live by forming part of their ancestral lineage (Opoku, 1978). On the other hand, 

the findings by Okechi (2017) contradict these claims by suggesting that from the African 

perspective; only the elder or senior family members are assumed to have completed their 

assigned tasks here on earth and can be perceived as due to go back home to their ancestors – 

anything beyond that is the hand of an enemy. For example, if a young person dies prematurely, 

their death is not naturally accepted. Okechi’s (2017) findings are not necessarily aligned with 

Asuquo’s (2011) as he insists that death is a creation made by God Himself, made for the sole 

purpose of removing people from the earth when their time is up. Furthermore, Adeyemo 

(1979) stipulated that death is the only object standing in between these two worlds, thus a 

ritual is required to unite the departed spirit with the physical world. This very reason forms 

the basis for performing mourning rituals since Africans regard death as merely a transition 

into the spiritual world. Therefore, the dead continue to live as ancestors and the belief is that 

they will continue to communicate to their loved ones through dreams, visions and 

hallucinations (Opoku, 1978).  

 

2.6 Grief 
 

As common as death is, Makhubu (1988) postulated that people respond to it with 

varying degrees of mourning and grieving processes. In different cultural beliefs, bereavement 

and grief are expressed through the process of mourning, which includes various emotional, 

psychological and behavioural counter-reactions to the loss that they experienced (Brown & 

Goodman, 2005). The meaning of grief is not simply “the losing of…” but incorporates other 

intense feelings of sorrow and despair brought on by losing the person you love. It’s a type of 

emotional pain with complicated meanings attached to it (Salah et al, 2019). Grief is said to be 



14 

 

the price we pay for love - the deeper and more intense the love is, the greater the depth of the 

grief that will be felt after the loss (Salah et al, 2019).  

 

2.7 Mourning 
 

In order to deal with grief, a study by Makgahlela (2016) suggests that most African 

communities (particularly the black population) depend on indigenous healing practices such 

as performing different mourning rituals. Mourning is a term which refers to certain activities 

that a bereaved individual will most likely engage in as a way of dealing with any type of 

personal loss (Asuquo, 2011). Closely related to this definition, mourning rituals are regarded 

as those practices that arise as a result of mourning, and these rituals often go hand in hand 

with the grieving process and are said to play a very important role in how people deal with the 

loss of a loved one (Asuquo, 2011). Makgahlela (2016) further stipulates that these processes 

are often viewed as a way for grieving people to connect with each other and to be able to 

freely express their bereavement with members of a community that they can fully affiliate 

with. The duration of the mourning period (which consists of many rituals or physical 

activities) is uniquely subjective, and it may later serve as a rite of passage to grieving in the 

most “appropriate” manner (Hall, 2014). This simply means that this important period cannot 

be limited within any specific time - frame as people’s response to grief is very multifaceted. 

Baloyi (2008), who focused on more traditionalistic mourning practices, highlighted a 

perspective of what it means for African people to mourn in a coherent and respectful manner 

in order to maintain a balance between those who are still alive and those who have passed on. 

In Africa, most mourning practices are ritualised (Long, 2016). This meant that different ethnic 

groups perform different mourning rituals, and these rituals all possess some sort of symbolic 

significance to each one of them (Baloyi, 2008). According to Ademiluka, (2009) these types 

of performed rituals are usually based on who the deceased was, and the kind of role they 

played not just within the family context, but the community as a whole.  

 

Moreover, since the Afrocentric paradigm forms the basis of the African lifestyle, a lot of 

emphasis has been placed on the importance of the Metaphysical world (Long, 2016). Another 

theory formulated by Baloyi (2008) stated that in order for African people to maintain the 

harmony and balance between the dead and the living, these ritualistic activities need to be 

properly implemented.  

 



15 

 

As it has been already mentioned, these concepts are perceived in a unique and 

distinctive manner within the African context as compared to other parts of the world. I concede 

with this notion simply because it is based on those traditionalist cultural and psychological 

undertones which deal with death in a different way. However, I must disagree with some of 

the findings or remarks brought forth by Asuquo (2011), which claim that in the event of the 

death of a young person, it is seen as the result of the work of a perceived enemy. In my opinion, 

death means that God has called you back to Heaven as you have completed the purpose of 

why He had put you on this earth to begin with – complimenting the theories postulated by 

Okechi (2017).  

 

2.8 Psychosocial aspects of mourning 
 

This part of the review seeks to discuss a few of those psychosocial aspects in relation to 

mourning such as the history and politics, the socio/cultural/racial aspects and then finally, the 

gender/age/economic aspects in relation to mourning.  

 

2.8.1. History and politics in relation to mourning.  

 

South Africa is a diverse country and living in a society that is constituted by so many 

cultures and beliefs means that most memorable events can be celebrated in many different 

ways. According to Ademiluka (2009) in Africa, as in the Old Testament, death is regarded as 

one of the most important rites of passage amongst other things. Therefore, the mourning of 

death can be accomplished through various activities. The findings of Lee and Vaughn (2008) 

introduced another dimension: they proposed that the dense literature on African beliefs related 

to mourning has been significantly disconnected from the demographic history- which posed 

as a challenge for historians of death within the African culture. This may result in many 

regions having a constricted basic idea of the demographic trends in Africa prior to the 2nd half 

of the 20th century (Lee & Vaughn, 2008). Additionally, the concepts of “death” and “Africa” 

are worlds which are unfortunately often intertwined (Lee & Vaughn, 2008), for example, in 

Western media coverage, Africa is often portrayed as a constituent of death (for example, 

Famine, diseases, war, etc). These scholars suggest that this is not a new phenomenon as it 

dates back to the years of slavery (Lee & Vaughn, 2008). Additionally, political violence is 

also a phenomenon which stands out in contemporary Africa in most recent literature (Lee & 

Vaughan, 2008). Some regimes of violence have become so common that it has rendered death 

itself as empirical of its sediment meaning (Lee &Vaughan, 2008). 



16 

 

  

Furthermore, research by Pierre Bourdieu (1986) observed how certain social constructs 

operate through the use of capital. Bourdieu (1986) stipulated that capital is accumulated labour 

that enables people to live or survive. This was an important phenomenon as it provided a 

description of those specific principles that underlie the imminent irregularities of our social 

world. This author also referred to how we live in a world where capital and the availability of 

opportunities is unequally distributed, and that these are either gained or inherited, but are never 

fairly obtained by every individual in society (Bourdieu, 1986). This means that the economic 

play field is already set, and that we are born into/enter into an already unequal playfield. In 

his work, Bourdieu (1986) claimed that the dispersal of the different types of capital represents 

the existing unequal social class structures, and how important it is for the system to maximize 

its profits. Bourdieu’s (1986) argument is based on a Marxist’s theory which explains how 

monetary value is placed on human beings, including certain aspects of culture. According to 

Bourdieu (1986) humans (more specifically their physical bodies) are seen as the sites where 

society’s monetary value or the economy can be driven by – as a result, society is dependent 

on economics. A few years before Bourdieu’s (1986) research, another author Burawoy (1981) 

postulated that within the South African context, the unequal distribution of political, economic 

and other resources among the different races of people was generally rooted in racism which 

stemmed from the Apartheid era. Moreover, to be able to conceptualise the different ways in 

which people are able to access these resources, one needs to take note of how the theory of 

Capitalism presupposes the general allocation of resources (Burawoy, 1981). By an extension, 

understanding racism in the context of Capitalism looks at precisely where the different racial 

groups are located within the capitalist social structure (Burawoy, 1981).  

 

2.8.2 Socio/ Cultural/ Racial aspects of mourning 

 

Ademiluka (2009) proposed that there are several elements of mourning that are meant 

to play a certain social role in society, for example, the washing of the corps and plaiting of the 

hair are some of the rituals used to dignify the deceased. Evidently, the mourning of a loved 

one in a respectable manner is a type of honour that isn’t just bestowed on the dead body itself, 

but also on the spirit and the memory of the deceased (Ademiluka, (2009). From a traditional 

standpoint, the way a bereaved individual experiences a death depends on how the loss is 

interpreted (Nwoye, 2013). The whole process begins with how the news is broken to family 

members. A home setting is the preferred option. Afterwards, most community members will 



17 

 

show up in solidarity to offer their support (some may even shed a few tears together with the 

family).  Nwoye (2013) also reiterated the idea that the community can lend a helping hand by 

offering financial help, bringing over refreshments or whatever else the family may need. Thus, 

the mourning practices can help address both psychological and interpersonal needs for the 

bereaved. For example, during the actual funeral, people provide emotionally sustaining 

speeches that help put some sort of meaning to death and provides some sort of emotional 

support for the family. Even after the funeral procession, stories are exchanged about the life 

of the deceased. Another function of mourning within a socio-cultural system is the 

preservation of cultural heritage and people’s traditions, and as such, these mourning rituals 

enable people to form a group identity and organise themselves as a collective whole 

(Ademiluka, 2009). In addition, engaging in mourning rituals is a symbolic gesture for the 

African people’s social order, and it also becomes a way to sustain a subjective sense of their 

own society. Whenever people gather to mourn their deceased in their own customary manner, 

they inadvertently revive a renewed sense of themselves which solidifies how legitimate their 

social organisation is (Ademiluka, 2009). 

  

 Mourning rituals are also regarded as a unifying agent for African people and serve as 

a reunion for long-separated relatives, irrespective of distance and relationships (Ademiluka, 

2009). These funerals are also considered to be very social events for the community as a whole 

(Baloyi, 2008). Africans consequently mourn collectively for multiple reasons such to offer 

much-needed assistance to the bereaved family members, to partake in certain rituals, to 

identify with the grief of the mourners, to avoid misfortune/sickness and to also provide a 

chance for those children born out of wedlock to be accepted back into the family (Baloyi, 

2008). Lastly, one of the most obvious yet important reasons for mourning would be to pay our 

last respects to the deceased. 

 

2.8.3 Gender/Age/Economic aspects of mourning 

 

According to Demmer and Rothschild, (2011) the effects that mourning rituals have on 

children has been neglected. These scholars suggest that the daily struggles that some families 

face may have inadvertently cause children and adolescents to repress their feelings about grief 

(Demmer & Rothschild, 2011). Furthermore, these authors found that in the South African 

context, the task of mourning is exacerbated for those children who may have lost someone to 



18 

 

a highly stigmatised disease (e.g. Aids), which often leads to hidden grief (Demmer & 

Rothschild, 2011).  

 

Furthermore, according to authors Demetrovics, Kopp, Pilling and Thege (2012), 

certain practices are gender- specific, which means there are prevalent gender roles during the 

mourning process. This will then lead to differences in the mourning rituals applied by men 

and women. In light of Ademiluka’s (2009) research findings, the widows of the deceased 

usually play the most important role in the bereavement of their husbands. There are specified 

rituals that they have to partake in such as rubbing their bodies with ashes, and after a certain 

period of time, the bereaved widow is allowed to take off the clothing in which they grieved 

in. These items of clothing must then be burnt by specific members of the family. Both the 

widow and widower must take a ritualistic bath to mourn their spouses. These are just a few of 

the mourning rituals.  

 

Moreover, a majority of South Africans live below the breadline, and most live in 

households where money/resources are in short supply (Demmer & Rothschild, 2011). These 

authors add that in such instances, the cost of funeral expenses can be very overwhelming, and 

often unattainable (Demmer & Rothschild, 2011). Van den Berg (2012) concurs that there are 

short- and long-term economic impacts that emerge after death – and because the mourning 

period varies across cultures, the bereaved may be away from work for a substantial amount of 

time. It can subsequently become difficult to go back to work, or they may even lose their jobs 

due to some psychological traumas that may arise during the grieving period (Van den Berg, 

2012). He adds that at the extreme, some bereaved individuals may suffer such psychological 

traumas that they may never re-enter the employment environment again, causing economic 

suffering a long time after the grief has subsided (van den Berg, 2012).   

 

This section of the research report has provided an extension of a broader conceptualisation of 

this research study by exploring the different concepts relating to the Africanised way of 

mourning; including those various psychosocial aspects which are a representation of this 

phenomenon. The next part of the discussion will include aspects relating to the theoretical 

framework of the study, as well as the underlying theoretical models.  

 
 



19 

 

2.9 Theoretical Framework 
 

The next section will engage the theoretical framework of the study. The focus will be 

on two theories of psychological grief and bereavement, and how they relate to grief work. 

Attention will be attributed to Nwoye ‘s sources of gain in African grief therapy model, and 

then we will re-direct our attention to the Continuing bonds bereavement model. However, 

even though “grief” and “mourning” are terms which are often used interchangeably, it is 

noteworthy to emphasize that they are two different concepts. In addition, to fully conceptualise 

the mourning rituals of African people, the study first needs to provide a basic theoretical 

understanding of grief, and how this phenomenon manifests into subsequent mourning rituals 

which are crucial in the process of dealing with the loss of a loved one. In other words, grief-

work is one of the main constituents of these mourning rituals.     

 

2.9.1 An Afrocentric conceptual framework 

  

The study has employed the Afrocentric conceptual framework to explore the grief 

and mourning rituals carried out by people who are of African descent residing in the 

community of Bethal; situated in the Mpumalanga region. The Afrocentric approach intends to 

provide a clear and coherent argument of the way Africans view and describe themselves 

(Asante, 2007). Mazama (2001) postulated that the Afrocentric paradigm is based on the 

premise of the importance of assisting people develop a more comprehensive understanding of 

African people by placing them within their own historical or cultural framework. This 

framework also seeks to re-locate and re-evaluate the African person as an agent in human 

history and strives to minimize the illusion of outsiders (Asante, 2007). The approach further 

places the African subject at the centre of its analysis and tries to interpret why the African 

person would be subjected to certain cultural activities- (Mkhize, 2004) and in this case, to 

mourning practices. Therefore, the Afrocentric perspective emphasises the understanding and 

the description of African people and their experiences within their own cultural context 

(Asante, 2007). The Afrocentric approach is considered to be a more suitable theoretical 

framework for the present study, as the aim of the study is to explore the mourning rituals of 

African people in a rural community in Mpumalanga.  

 

This study’s theoretical models – which are the Africanised African Grief Therapy and 

Continuing bonds bereavement models will now be explicated. 



20 

 

 

2.9.2 African Grief Therapy model (AGT) 
 

According to Nwoye (2000) the African Grief Therapy model can be defined as those 

specific ways/practices in which a community can create for the purpose of healing of a 

bereaved individual. This model has three main objectives namely, 1) to offer certain services 

or rituals that remedy the effects and pain caused by grief, 2) to offer protection from the loss 

suffered and the availability of traditional bereavement rituals, which are foremost approved 

by the community. And lastly, 3) these rituals help to facilitate an understanding and 

acceptance of grief-work within an African context (Makgahlela, 2016).  

 

Nwoye (2000) further proposed that the African Grief Therapy model also addresses this 

question: what exactly does this AGT model heal? Some of the more important psychological 

aspects that this model attempts to heal are the negative images, fantasies or daydreams the 

bereaved may possess, including those inevitable mental and emotional consequences of the 

entire grieving process (Nwoye, 2000). One of the key assumptions of this model is that the 

sudden news of the death is often received with shock, leading to certain mental images of 

fantasies of “bleakness” (Nwoye, 2000). He also postulated that this framework is based on an 

explanation of imagination by the community as a whole, and the grieving person’s thoughts 

and negative expectations after the bereavement (Nwoye, 2000). Also, these traditional 

mourning rituals which are conducted successfully tend to create a new and lasting impression 

on the grieving person’s cognition as opposed to that initial negative internal dialogue they 

used to contain (Makgahlela, 2016). The bereaved then faces new messages that have a 

contradictory effect on their initial belief before the death. Makgahlela (2016) contributes to 

Nwoye’s (2000) interim that this process helps them to assimilate the positive support and 

communal solidarity which helps in the healing process. The main goal is to encapsulate those 

negative emotions and translate them into new meaning – the feelings of loss are not allowed 

to persist (Makgahlela, 2016). Through this model, the bereaved family and overall community 

may be provided with a shared belief and understanding towards dealing with grief and loss. 

 

 

 

 



21 

 

2.9.3 Continuing bonds bereavement model 
 

A postmodernist school of thought about the grief-work and bereavement process is 

represented by the continuing bonds bereavement model theorized by authors Klass, 

Nickman and Silverman (1996). This model (unlike traditional grief theories which usually 

focus on the loss of attachment from the deceased) looks at the continuation of the emotional 

ties/bonds with the deceased as an important coping mechanism for the grieving person (Klass 

et al., 1996). The focal point of this model is the need for the bereaved individual to try and 

form new bonds or relationships within their own environment. Furthermore, scholars Bonano 

and Kaltman (2001) defined these bonds as an active connection with the deceased, which does 

manifest itself through dreams, mementos or other actions. Most importantly, these newly 

established bonds should be the main lifeline to the bond that already existed with the deceased 

(Makgahlela, 2016). 

  

Furthermore, Madison (2005) brings forth the idea that instead of pushing for the bereaved to 

“let go” of their feelings of loss, the primary focus would be to maintain the memory and 

spiritual presence of the deceased within the family itself and society as a whole. In so doing, 

the entire premise behind grief-work and mourning aims to maintain the memory and spiritual 

presence of the deceased within the family structure and social relationships. This can be 

achieved through the establishment of a continuous role for the deceased in the current lives of 

the bereaved (Madison, 2005). The end goal would be to maintain such bonds in such a way 

that it’s possible for the bereaved to be relieved from the intense feelings of grief and allows 

them the opportunity to continue with their lives (Hall, 2014). 

 

This scholar insisted that such bonds should not be seen as an indication that grief is resolved, 

but rather as a way to adapt to the perceived loss. This continuous bond can be expressed in a 

number of ways, for example, the deceased may have been perceived as a role model to the 

bereaved before their passing; thus, they may turn to them for guidance in some aspects of their 

lives (Hall, 2014). Another way to maintain that close bond is by occasionally visiting the 

grave, seeing them in their dreams, and through rituals (Makgahlela, 2016). This scholar insists 

that such bonds should not be seen as an indication that grief is resolved, but rather as an 

adaptive response to the perceived loss.  

 

 



22 

 

 

2.10 Conclusion  
 

The purpose of this chapter was to provide a deeper understanding into the study of traditional 

African mourning rituals as well as the various theoretical perspectives that will assist with the 

critical conceptualisation of the research’s main findings. When discussing the link between 

the factors surrounding grief work and those psychosocial aspects of mourning, Chapter two 

has thus laid important epistemological groundwork from which the experiences of the African 

person can be better understood. It has explicated on the Afrocentric conceptual framework 

from which the study is based on, as well as the two key theoretical concepts of psychological 

grief and bereavement, and how these theories relate to grief work. The Continuing bonds 

theory and the African Grief Therapy model encapsulates important mourning rituals directly 

from African people’s lived experiences. These two models place the African person in 

centrality of entire premise: providing a more personal and subjective account of people’s own 

narratives with regards to the broad spectrum of mourning rituals. These two theoretical models 

are thus considered more appropriate for the Global South, particularly for application in this 

study. However, before we can properly analyse the findings of this study, the next chapter will 

demonstrate the study’s methodological structural composites, ethical considerations and other 

strategies for ensuring rigor and trustworthiness.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



23 

 

 

Chapter 3: Research Design and Methodology 
 

3.1 Introduction 
 

The discussion in this chapter is based on the research design and the methodology that 

is appropriate for this enquiry. According to Creswell (2007), some crucial decisions need to 

be made at the beginning of any research report regarding aspects relating to the study’s 

research paradigm and the methodological factors that ultimately form the foundation of the 

study’s content or structure. Furthermore, in order for a researcher to construct the most 

appropriate research design, they would have to first choose a research method that is primarily 

based on the research questions. The researcher should ask themselves: What is the best 

approach to finding answers to the questions, considering the available resources, time, the 

depth of the answers needed, the theoretical framework, and the already existing knowledge 

on the subject? The following section of the paper will provide an explanation as to why an 

interpretative approach was the most suitable paradigm upon which the methodology for this 

research project is based. This section will also further explain the data collection techniques, 

the procedure of gathering data as well as the method of data analysis – including other aspects 

related to the study’s trustworthiness, reflexivity and ethical considerations.  

 

3.2 Research Design and paradigm 
 

For this research study, the researcher adopted an interpretative phenomenological 

perspective. From this perspective, one of the main aims is to understand and essentially 

provide a description of a certain aspect of human nature (Garner, Kawulich & Wagner, 2012) 

and in this case, what motivates people to engage in traditional African mourning rituals. This 

paradigm signifies people’s subjective experiences of grieving as an important aspect of their 

reality. Subsequently, both the research topic and the specified approach ultimately have a 

similar purpose by allowing the researcher to explore the participants’ personal experiences 

when engaging and performing mourning rituals. Thus, a qualitative research approach was 

used to collect and analyse the data obtained (Durrheim, Painter & Terre- Blanche, 2006). The 

purpose is to describe the phenomena from the participants’ subjective through narrative-type 

descriptions, classification and/or measuring relationships (Terre Blanche et al., 2006). These 

authors further stipulate that this perspective seeks observations because it does not focus on 



24 

 

isolating and controlling variables, but rather on extracting and extending the power of ordinary 

language/expression to foster understanding of the social world. This paradigm involves taking 

people’s subjective experiences seriously as the essence of what it is real for them (ontology), 

making sense of people’s experiences by interacting with them and listening carefully to their 

narratives (epistemology), and making use of qualitative research techniques to collect and 

analyse information (methodology) (Terre Blanche et al., 2006). Additionally, since we 

understand that different people socially construct their own realties, this suggests that people 

are most likely to have a shared understanding of these mourning rituals, which may be 

constructed through their shared historical, cultural, geographical and even political 

experiences and/contexts. As such, this mode of enquiry relies on first-hand accounts of these 

mourning rituals. Concurrently, Terre Blanche et al (2006) adds that interpretative research 

relies on first-hand accounts, tries to describe what it sees in rich detail, and then presents its 

‘findings’ in interactive and often evocative language to illustrate the participant’s emotion or 

thought from the interpretations of the findings. Two key principles include understanding in 

context, which means that we need to understand the context in which the author writes. The 

second is that it positions the researcher as the primary instrument for both collecting and 

analysing the data (Terre Blanche et al., 2006). The overall purpose isn’t to collect pieces of 

‘real-life’, but to place real-life events and phenomena into some kind of perspective (Terre 

Blanche et al., 2006). This approach was then able to give us some insight as to why these 

participants are continuously able to participate in traditional African mourning rituals. 

However, it should be noted that these findings are limited to the eight participants, and that 

definitive results for a larger scale which would be representative of the general public would 

need a larger sample size.   

 

3.3 Corpus of texts/collected data to be analysed. 
 

3.3.1 The Participants  

 

For the study at hand, the researcher had made use of purposive sampling to identify 

no more than eight families or households (approximately eight participants from each 

household respectively). In purposive sampling, a particular case is chosen because it illustrates 

some features which are of interest for a particular study (Leedy and Ormrod, 2015). The 

participants selected for this study was a particular cohort of people who are of indigenous 

African descent. These families had been selected from the area of Bethal, which is an under 

resourced community in the Govan Mbeki Municipality, Mpumalanga Province. These 



25 

 

participants are permanent residents of this area. For recruitment purposes, the researcher had 

requested the assistance of some of the community members, the Govan Mbeki Municipality 

and certain community organisations (NGO organisations) to help identify potential 

participants. The eight participants that the researcher chose were for the most part 

recommended by Sister Norah Soko, the head nurse and project leader of one of the NGOs in 

which she volunteers in around this community.  Each participant was approached separately 

through the help/connection of Sister Norah, a few other community members as well as some 

employees from the offices of the Govan Mbeki Municipality. After the researcher was 

provided with the necessary information about these potential participants, it became her 

responsibility to approach each participant consecutively. Separate interviews and date/time 

schedules were then set up for each participant individually after contact details were 

exchanged between said parties. All eight participants were willing respondents to this process, 

and some were previously unbeknownst to the researcher. These participants had not only 

experienced a loss at some point in their lives (and have subsequently dealt with grief) but had 

also engaged in/performed traditional African mourning rituals in the past as well. 

Additionally, the study also made use of both the male and female gender as an inclusion 

criterion as there are those specific rituals directly affecting either men and/or women 

respectively. The different ages of the participants were very significant, so the search was 

narrowed down to people who were 18 years and older as to include multiple generations of 

people who would provide different and unique perspectives of mourning rituals. For ethical 

reasons, minors were excluded from this study because they had culturally limited exposure to 

the intricacies of death and were considered young to fully conceptualise the true meanings 

behind these mourning rituals. Below is an outline of the profiles of the participants: 

 

 The first participant is a 64-year-old female who has three children and has been 

 divorced for many years. Although her children are now adults, they all still live 

 together in her home. As she was born and raised in the community of Bethal, she has 

 been a local resident for all her life. The participant has worked as a Matron at the 

 local hospital for many years and will soon be retiring from this position. She is a 

 frequent churchgoer and says that she finds pleasure in taking part of some of the 

 church-related activities. 

 The second participant is a 36-year-old female who has two young children. Her 

 eldest son is five years old, and the other has just turned five months old. She has 



26 

 

 recently just got married in the traditional sense (lobola); however, she still lives at 

 home as her husband currently lives and works in Johannesburg. She lives with her 

 mother and younger brother instead. She hopes to join her husband at their family 

 home (with their children) as soon as she can get a transfer from work. This 

 participant was born in Bethal and has lived there all her life as well. Although she 

 travels back and forth between Johannesburg and Bethal every other weekend, her 

 hometown is where she’s currently based. She works as a Data Capturer for the  

 Department of Health at Trichardt Clinic, which is a 30-minute drive from Bethal. 

 She commutes to work every day. This participant is a young mother who devotes 

 most of her time to raising her two boys. Whenever she finds the time, she enjoys 

 going to church services on Sundays. 

 

 The third participant is a 21-year-old medical student. She has no kids and still lives 

 at home with her mother and younger brother. Her father passed away when she was 

 still in Primary school and was essentially raised by her mother and aunt. She enjoys 

 spending time with her friends and also lives an active lifestyle by going to the gym as 

 often as she can and jogging around the neighbourhood with her friends. She is 

 currently doing her third year and is ultimately working hard to fulfil her dream of 

 becoming a doctor/physician. 

 The fourth participant is a 31-year-old male named Sunnyboy Eric Siluma. He is a 

 teacher by profession. Mr Siluma does hold two academic qualifications, one of 

 which is a bachelor’s degree in education (further education and training). He also 

 possesses an Honour’s degree in Education Management and is currently employed at 

 a local high school as an educator for Grade 12, while also serving the school as the 

 Head of the Department. He is also currently pursuing his master’s degree in 

 education management. This participant is married with three young boys. He lives 

 with his nuclear family in a townhouse nearby and enjoys spending time with his 

 friends and family during the weekends when he isn’t working. 

 The fifth participant is a 61-year-old retired High School teacher who has been 

 teaching for the past 33 years. She has only one kid, a son, and has two grandchildren. 

 She enjoys her retirement as she feels that she doesn’t even have to get out of bed if 

 she doesn’t feel like it on that day. She is an active member of the community and is 

 also a regular church goer. She enjoys spending time with her son and her 



27 

 

 grandchildren as well. She also enjoys going on regular trips around the country with 

 some of her close friends. 

 

 The sixth participant is a 27-year-old male driver for a courier service company. He 

 has lived in Bethal his entire life (born and bred) and doesn’t have any children yet. 

 He claims to not have much a dating or social life anymore as his job requires him to 

 be on the road for most days of the week. However, although his social life has 

 suffered a bit since he had started this job, he does still enjoy spending time by 

 himself on the road and exploring new cities and meeting new people. He further 

 stated that even though this type of lifestyle of constantly being on the road isn’t 

 necessary the best, the job pays the bills, and he doesn’t have much of a choice in the 

 matter as employment is scarce these days. He had been unemployed for many years 

 prior to this job, and he is extremely grateful to have any sort of employment at this 

 point in order to sustain himself. 

 

 The seventh participant is a 29-year-old Reverend at an Anglican church called St 

 Paul’s right here in the small town of Bethal. He is married to his young wife, and 

 they currently have one child together. This close-knit family lives at the mission 

 house on the church premises. Although the participant is a minister by profession, he 

 still finds time for his personal and social life as well. Whenever he spends time with 

 his friends, they always try to discover new types of music. He enjoys this activity so 

 much so that his friends have even awarded him the nickname “aux god”. The 

 participant also finds pleasure in spending quality time with his wife and young child 

 as well. He proudly stated that although being a part of the ministry of God is very 

 much fulfilling for his soul and spiritual journey, nothing brings him more happiness 

 than being a husband and a father. 

 

 The eight participant is a 22-year-old student at Rosebank College. Although she is 

 currently unemployed, she is in school and one of her main aims is to complete her 

 degree in the faculty of Education as she is currently doing her third year in the 

 course. She finds the course relatively easy as she confidently stated during the 

 interview that if something is a passion for an individual, then said person will not 

 have any difficulty in completing said task. It essentially comes easy to them. The 

 participant doesn’t have any children yet. Also, since the participant is a young adult 



28 

 

 still in her early twenties, she enjoys an active social life by going out with her friends 

 in her spare time. She also finds pleasure in singing and spending quality time with 

 the people she loves. 

 

3.4 Research method and data collection procedure 

  

The research method refers to the method of gathering data. In order to collect the most 

appropriate data, eight individual in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted. 

Authors Johnson and Rowlands (2012) postulated that in the context of a qualitative research 

study, in-depth interviews are a distinct type of social interaction between the interviewer and 

the interviewee, which also seeks to gather the kind of information that usually goes much 

deeper and beyond the surface level – unlike the kind of information that can be accessed 

through other mediums such as focus groups or even surveys. For the current research, face-

to-face interviews were employed, which is a very common data collection method in 

qualitative research (Creswell, 2007). This method was chosen because it was the most 

appropriate for this type of research as it is primarily designed to allow the researcher to access 

personal details and information about the participant’s lived experiences (Johnson & 

Rowlands, 2012). These personal and interactive types of interviews provide for a detailed and 

in-depth subjective understanding of the participant’s feelings, experiences and behaviours (De 

Vos et al., 2011) – and in this case, their motives behind their involvement or engagement in 

traditional African mourning rituals. Additionally, in order for the researcher “to interpret the 

meaning of the described phenomena” (Brinkmann & Kvale, 2015, p. 6), which is one of the 

objectives that are in line with the interpretive phenomenological design, she needed to first 

gain an appropriately contextualised insight and understanding of the participants’ subjective 

narratives – which this in-depth interview method has made provision for. Moreover, a semi-

structured interview was the best option to allow for the necessary topics to be openly 

discussed, and for important or relevant information to be gathered. It also allowed for the 

participants the platform to give more insight and to further elaborate on their experiences 

without any constraints. Although these interviews were conducted in English (as per the 

participant’s request), the mode of communication was usually in isiZulu, which is their mother 

tongue. The interviews lasted for approximately 30 minutes to an hour, which was in line with 

the standards for ethical research. These interviews were conducted mostly at the researcher’s 

place of residence, which was a neutral venue for all parties involved; with one interview taking 

place at the local church. The researcher’s home was chosen as a place of convenience due to 



29 

 

either the distance and/or the amount of privacy that it offered. Also, the most appropriate time 

suitable for all parties involved was also prioritised. All eight interviews took place in the small 

and intimate area of Bethal in the year 2022 and 2023.  

 

3.4.1 The research instrument  

 

For this study, the research instrument is the interview schedule/guide (See Appendix 

D). This interview schedule, which was developed by the researcher and subsequently 

approved by the University’s ethics committee was used to frame and guide the interviews. 

The researcher had intentionally framed the interview questions in such a way that they would 

illicit the most appropriate responses from the participants. Such responses would then form 

the groundwork upon which the initial as well as the sub-research questions would then be 

answered. For example, by asking the participants to share their personal views of how the 

Covid19 pandemic had affected their experiences with these traditional mourning practices, 

the researcher was able to gather specific information relevant to the different ways in which 

restrictions from the pandemic had subsequently affected the traditional mourning rituals of 

this community of people: (Question 4 of the sub-research questions). This method of asking 

questions also provided answers for the unique ways in which the participants were able to 

reinterpret and conceptualise these changes. For each participant, the researcher had asked a 

series of open- ended questions (with probing questions) from the interview guide (see 

Appendix D) regarding their personal experiences in relation to grief and African mourning 

rituals. These types of questions allowed space for the participants to essentially guide the 

interviews by expressing their experiences and opinions in an unrestricted way, thus obtaining 

even more information that could be relevant to the study. Below is an outline/example of some 

of the questions that were asked: (see Interview guide, Appendix D) 

1. In your opinion, why are these specific mourning practices so important within the                

African context, and for its people? 

2.  How has the Covid-19 pandemic affected the traditional mourning practices? 

 

3.4.2 The interview process  

 

The entire interview process did not prove to be too much of a difficult task. During 

these processes, all eight participants were very co-operative as they expressed their familiarity 

with the interview process since they all had experienced this process in varying degrees at 

some point in their own lives. Some of the participants exhibited a sense of calmness as they 



30 

 

shared their personal experiences relating to these African mourning rituals with the researcher, 

while others seemed to be nervous at first, but then gradually became more at ease. During 

each interview, as soon as all formalities were out of the way and both parties were acquainted 

with each other, they settled in into the interview room – which was a private and quiet setting. 

Before the interview could commence, the first thing on the agenda was the signing of the 

written informed consent forms; thereafter, all questions and concerns were dealt with. These 

forms were available in both English and Zulu to accommodate each participant’s language 

preference. Some of the responses from the participants often needed to be further elaborated 

on whenever they became too ambiguous or broad for the researcher to understand or grasp 

fully. Additionally, the researcher approached these interviews with a few questions already 

prepared beforehand (in order to guide the interview), although she had to be open to each 

participant’s unique way of expressing themselves. Therefore, the researcher wasn’t bound to 

her own initial questions. Within the interview setting, the researcher was non-judgemental, 

inquisitive and engaging. She also exhibited emotional control whenever a challenging 

situation would arise. There was an overall atmosphere of openness and a sense of rapport 

during these interview processes during which time the respondents were made to feel free 

enough to share their personal experiences. Additionally, each interview was relatively more 

of an informal dialogue or conversation, with the researcher doing most of the listening while 

the participant did most of the talking; and whereby a collaboration was formed between the 

researcher and the participant in order to reach the same goal of obtaining the relevant data. 

The researcher was also vigilant or mindful for subtle yet meaningful cues in the participant’s 

facial expressions, demeanour, occasional side-tracks, etc. Furthermore, these interview 

processes were conducted in a non-harmful way and no privacy was violated. Participants were 

informed that the interviews would be recorded on a cell phone. The data was transcribed a 

few days after each interview took place – while the process and respondents’ responses were 

still fresh in her mind. This was a necessary precaution in case the recordings were not clear 

enough to make out. The data transcriptions were done manually, whilst the responses were 

written down word-for-word. A process report was included for each interview (see Appendix 

H). This process made it possible for the researcher to have a much better understanding of the 

data material at hand before she could start with the next step of the data analysis process.  

 

 

 



31 

 

3.5 Data Analysis  
 

 Once data was collected through interviews and transcribed, it then needed to be 

analysed, through thematic analysis, for meaning making in relation to the research questions 

and the aim of the research study. Thematic analysis can be defined as “a method for 

identifying, analysing and reporting common patterns or themes within data” (Braun & Clarke, 

2006, p.79). This method of analysis was the most appropriate technique for analysing the data 

content that was obtained for this research study (see Appendices E-G) as it can describe and 

organise data material in sufficient detail – whilst being able to interpret various aspects of the 

research topic, and in this case, what the phenomenological experiences are for the people in 

the community of Bethal, Mpumalanga Province in relation to grieving and mourning rituals? 

 Findings further stipulate that thematic analysis is different from other analytic methods 

that aim to describe patterns across qualitative data, and that although this method of analysis 

is poorly demarcated and rarely acknowledged, it is still widely used in qualitative analytic 

methodology (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Furthermore, not only is thematic analysis a commonly 

used analytic method, but it’s compatibility with the interpretive approach also allows the 

researcher to make a concise report of the meanings, and virtual realities of grief and mourning 

of each participant individually (Braun & Clarke, 2018). It can be considered either a realist or 

constructivist method that is able to generate unanticipated insights into previously undisclosed 

information, while still being able to make provision for both psychologically and socially 

driven ways of interpreting data (Braun & Clarke, 2018). The data analysis procedure is 

discussed in the next chapter. 

 

 

3.5.1 Method for analysing the data set. 

 

Braun and Clarke (2018) further suggest six phases that should be followed through when 

conducting thematic analysis. They may not always be in one sequential order and researchers 

do move back and forth between the different phases. These phases are: 

1) Familiarizing yourself with your data:  It’s important to read through the data content 

and for the author to immerse themselves the corpus of data to the extent of being 

familiar with the depth of the research content (Braun & Clarke, 2006, pg.3352). 

The initial and what I would consider to be the most important step was to first identify 

what kind of participants would be the most appropriate for this study. After identifying 

and interviewing said participants accordingly, I then read through the data content at 



32 

 

hand by taking notes and noting down all observations during the interview processes, 

while also searching for meanings and patterns of the data. This initial process allowed 

me to become familiar with the corpus of data I have collected as a whole, while 

simultaneously acquiring a general sense of the main or most relevant ideas of these 

interviews in relation to the research questions of the study. Additionally, to 

constructively form a basic understanding of the data processing, I have intrinsically 

incorporated the works of Braun & Clark (2018) to shed light on some of the traditional 

African mourning practices and their subsequent theoretical frameworks on the 

grieving process of its people. In so doing, I was able to generate fundamental data 

codes retrieved from the data content by marking down ideas or in other words coding 

all the relevant information that I to go back on. Since the study makes use of verbal 

data, transcribing the data into written format was crucial as this allowed me to generate 

the transcriptions of the audio recorded individual participant interviews. These 

transcriptions were also used to make important notes while using various shapes to 

identify patterns and potential codes and themes. 

 

2) Generating initial codes: This step sees the organisation of the corpus of data in a 

systematically meaningful way (Braun & Clarke, 2006, pg. 3352). The coding process 

reduces large content of data into smaller chunks (Braun & Clarke, 2006, pg. 3355).  

Upon completion of extracting data from the interview processes, the next step involved 

the organisation of the data in a more meaningful way by separating the data into 

different sections. I then collated each extract within specific codes and grouped them 

under an overarching thematic code. According to Braun & Clarke, (2018) a code is an 

element that allows the researcher to identify a feature of the data that appears 

interesting. I was then able to organise the data into meaningful groups. I needed to 

code for as many themes as possible, and as many times as I had to address the research 

question and aims. However, codes are not themes- themes are much broader and are 

created later from codes that present certain commonalities or are representative of the 

same pattern. Therefore, varying codes had emerged and were generated based on the 

research questions at hand. This reduced the size of the collected data and consolidated 

it into more manageable sections.  

 

3) Searching for themes: This phase encompasses the sorting of the different codes into 

potential themes by analysing these codes. A theme is a pattern that captures a 



33 

 

significant component about the data (Braun & Clarke, 2006, pg. 3353). There are no 

rules for what makes a theme; however, a pattern should be formed. In this instance, I 

combined different codes to create different themes.  Following these suggestions, 

making use of a visual mind map was very useful when evaluating the 

interconnectedness or the intersections of the general themes and sub-themes which 

were relevant to the main focus of this study. This phase encompassed the sorting of 

the different codes into potential themes by analysing these codes. I searched for 

relationships between codes, themes and sub-themes. It should be noted that some 

codes did fit under more than one t