This Nigerian tribe buries their dead in sitting position

The Ngas (also called Angas) are one in every of Nigeria’s lesser-known however culturally wealthy ethnic teams. 

Primarily present in Pankshin, Kanke, and elements of Kanam in Plateau State, the Ngas are estimated to quantity over 1,000,000. Their language, Ngas or Angas, is a part of the Afro-Asiatic household, and their traditions date again centuries earlier than colonialism.

The Ngas consider in a supreme deity referred to as Nen, who oversees the universe, and in ancestral spirits who stay actively concerned within the affairs of the dwelling. To the Ngas, demise is just not the top however a metamorphosis, a passing from the world of the dwelling to Sara, the land of the ancestors. And to reach in Sara with honour, one have to be buried correctly.

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Rituals of mourning and transition

When a Ngas elder passes away, the neighborhood enters a interval of mourning. These rites, typically spanning days, embrace wailing, storytelling, music, and the slaughter of animals.

For younger individuals who die prematurely, the tone is totally different: their deaths are considered as spiritually problematic, prompting investigation into attainable curses or non secular infractions.

Why the lifeless sit

In contrast to most cultures that bury their lifeless mendacity down, the Ngas put together their deceased, particularly titled males, elders, and nobles, to be buried in a sitting place. The physique is positioned in a specifically constructed grave carved into rock or dug into the hillside. The lifeless are made to take a seat upright, dealing with east, the route of the rising solar.

In some instances, the arms or legs are adjusted, even damaged, to make this posture attainable. The seated place is a robust image. It represents continued authority, knowledge, and application within the afterlife. The lifeless man turns into an ancestor, and like a chief presiding over a council, he should sit able to information and choose.

The grave is then sealed with a big stone slab, marking the burial website and making certain the deceased’s spirit is just not disturbed.

In keeping with an account on Ngas Nation Blog,

The lifeless in Ngasland are often buried in vertical graves by inserting them in sitting positions such that they relaxation their heads on their palms. A stone is positioned on the doorway of the grave and coated with the excavated materials. A small signal is positioned on prime, indicating that it is a grave.

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Religious views

The Ngas view Sara (the afterlife) not as a passive resting place however as a realm the place the lifeless keep affect over the dwelling. Ancestors are referred to as upon in prayers, desires, and selections. To be buried sitting means one arrives in Sara not as a servant however as a ruler, prepared to look at over and information their descendants.

The sitting burial reinforces the idea in reincarnation (tuput), the concept an individual could return to life via a new child little one within the household line. A noble burial strengthens that soul’s legacy, making certain they return with honour.

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Trendy challenges

At this time, not all Ngas communities apply the seated burial. With Christianity and trendy burial legal guidelines, many have shifted to traditional graves. Nonetheless, the outdated methods persist in additional rural or conventional elements of Plateau State, particularly for elders and conventional leaders.

Some communities have tailored, holding Christian funerals alongside conventional rites. Others quietly proceed the seated burial, away from public view.

Why it issues to the Ngas individuals

This custom is greater than an uncommon burial methodology. It tells a narrative about how a individuals see demise, legacy, and management. It’s a norm to talk of the lifeless “resting in peace,” however the Ngas remind us that demise can be a name to rule, to look at, and to stay current.

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