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An Ethnoarcheological Study of Burial Practices Among the Abasuba Of

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An Ethnoarcheological Study of Burial Practices Among the Abasuba Of AN ETHNOARCHEOLOGICAL STUDY OF BURIAL PRACTICES AMONG THI ABASUBA OF RUSINGA ISLAND, LAKE VICTORIA, KENYA By BERNARD*' OKU ML - OLOO A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE INSTITUTE OF AFRICAN STUDIES FOR THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF HIE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN ANTHROPOLOGY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI NOVEMBER 2006 University of NAIROBI Libiary 0444796 7 In loving memory of my late mother, Euniah Anyango, who would have loved to live and see me through the academic ladder but death cut her short before she could even see me through form four. And My late grandmother, Peres Onyango, who a!v\ ays encouraged me to work hard school and was ready to use all her resources to ensure I achieve the best in my academic pursuit. Unfortunately, she passed on when 1 was leaving for the field for collect data for this thesis. To both I pray that God rests their souls in eternal peace DECLARATION This thesis is my original work and has not been presented for a degree in any other university. -A Sign: Date: OKUMU-OLOO BERNARD This thesis has been submitted with my approval as the university supervisor Sign: Date; / PROF. SIMIYE WANDIBBA TABLE OI CONTENTS Acknowledgements ..........................................................................................................iv Abstract.............................................................................................................................. v CHAPTER ONE: BACKGROUND OE THE STUDY 1.0 Introduction............................................................................................................. 1 1.1.1 The concept of death among Africans ......................................................................1 1.1.2 Death among Kenyan communities..........................................................................2 1.1.3 History and culture of the Abasuba .........................................................................6 1.1.4 Ethnoarchaeology and burials.................................................................................. 9 1 .2 Problem statement...................................................................................................... 9 1 .3 Research objectives ................................................................................................10 1.3.1 General objectives .........................................................................,..................... 11 1.3.2 Specific objectives ..................................................................................................11 1 .4 Justification of the study ...........................................................................................11 1 .5 Scope and limitations................................................................................................11 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Archaeological background to the burial practice ................................................. 11 2.2 Determinants of the burial practice in society ........................................................ 13 2.3 Significance of burial practices.................................................................................15 2.4 Theoretical framework...............................................................................................17 2.4.1 Mortuary differentiation.........................................................................................17 2.5 Hypotheses............................................................................................................... 18 2.6 Operationalization of variables..................................................................................18 2.6.1 Dependent variable.................................................................................................18 2.6.2 Independent variables........................................... ■ - - • * CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research site ................................................................................................................19 3.1.1 Economic activities....................................................................................................22 3.1.2 Transport and communications............................................................................... 22 3.2 The universe.............................................................................................................23 3.3 Sample selection and size.......................................................................................... 23 3.5 Data collection .......................................................................................................... 23 3.5.1 Secondary sources.................................................................................................. 23 3.5.2 Primary methods..................................................................................................... 23 3.5.2.1 The survey method.............................................................................................. 23 3.5.2.2 Focus group discussion........................................................................................24 3.5.2.3 Key informant interviews.................................................................................... 24 3.5.2.4 Direct observation.................................................................................. 24 3.6 Data analysis ............................................................................................................. 24 3.7 Problems encountered in the field and their solutions ..............................................24 3.8 Ethical issues......................................................................................... 25 CHAPTER FOUR: THE BURIAL PRACTICES OF THE ABASUBA OF RUSING ISLAND 4.01 Introduction.................................. ...........................................................................26 4.1 Practices before burial...............................................................................................26 4.2 Practices during burial................................................................................................29 4.3 Practices after burial ..................................................................................................31 4.4 Taboos guiding the Abasuba burial practices ...........................................................33 CHAPTER FIVE: FACTORS INFLUENCING THE BURIAL PRACTICES OF THE ABASUBA 5.1 Introduction...............................................................................................................35 5.1 Social status.......................................................................................................................35 5.2 Demographic factors................................................................................................40 5.3 Cause of death............................................................................................................ 44 5.4 Other factors...............................................................................................................47 CHAPTER SIX: ARCHAEOLOGICAL INFERENCES 6.0 Introduction..................................... 50 6.1 Burial site preservation..................................................................................................50 6.2 Beliefs of the society..................................................................................................... 48 6.3 The society land dispute resolution.................................................................................50 6.4 Social differentiation......................................................................................................51 6.5 The cause of death.......................................................................................................... 51 6.6 Social structure...............................................................................................................51 6.7 Economic activities......................................................................................................... 52 6.8 The physical environment.................................................................................................52 6.9 Gender power relations.................................................................................................... 52 6.10 Cultural change...................................................................................................... 53 CHAPTER SEVEN: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 7.1 Introduction.........................................................................................................................54 7.2 Summary and conclusion........................... 54 BIBLIOGRAPHY...........................................................................................................56 APENDICES......................................................................................................................59 APENDIX A: A structured questionnaire........................................................................... 59 APPENDIX B: Guide for focus group discussions.................................................................61 APPENDIX C: Key informant interview guide........................................................................6 li LIST OF TABU S AND MAPS Tabic 2.1: Conceptual model of mortuary differentiation ........................ 18 Table 5.1: The Abasuba social status classification.................................. 33 Table 5 2: Number of the deceased
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