Besatra Funeral

One year after the death of a leader in the village of Besatra, the body was buried. This 61 yr old man was shot while trying to protect his cattle from 6 malaso (cattle thieves). As Grant has grown close to this village and the man's eldest son, he was invited to attend the funeral. Although Grant has already been to a Mahafaly funeral, this one was a unique experience as he attended as a part of the "family" not as an outsider. He was able to sit with the elder men of the village as they welcomed family from all over. As each family would come to the village, the village leader, Kalaha, would provide them with a goat to eat. Each family would present their own gift to Kalaha (cows, goats, chickens, cloth, money, etc) and would then settle into the village. They would bring their own fire building supplies, and then cook the goat they were given. There were thousands of people there and Grant said that he has never seen so many goats being killed.

Grant was able to attend the burial the next day, and was in charge of driving the 3 (!) widows, a few men, and the belongings of the deceased (suitcase, cooking pot, eating utensils, etc). To appease the ancestors they must take the deceased out of the east side of the house. This house had only a small window (not large enough to take a casket through) on the east side, and so they had to make a hole in the wall! At the actual burial, the men slaughtered a cow as a sacrifice to their ancestors, and sprinkled the blood on the tomb. As Kalaha is the oldest son of the deceased he was in charge of doing this. It was difficult for Grant to watch Kalaha worship his ancestors, as his heart longs to see him come to know the Lord.

The funeral was a good reminder to us how much our relationship is growing between the village and us. There seems to be a strong sense of trust between the leaders and Grant. The whole village has really accepted us...even the children. When Grant was walking through the village before the funeral he went into the school house. There he saw a picture on the chalkboard - he couldn't help but laugh. Any guesses on who the kids drew (see above pic)?? The funeral was also a good reminder that having a great relationship with them is not where it ends. It is so essential that we share the great news of Jesus with them! We are anxious for them to break the chains of fear and oppression and find the freedom they can have in Christ.