TRADITIONAL BURIAL SYSTEM AND THE WORLD BEYOND: A CASE STUDY OF
THE GBAGYI GROUP OF NASARAWA STATE
Dalat Gershom Danglah
Department of History
Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nigeria
INTRODUCTION
There are many and often-complicated ceremonies connected with death, burials, funerals, inheritance, the
living-dead, the world of the departed, the visit of the living dead to their families, reincarnation and survival
of the soul. Death is something that concerns everybody, partly because sooner or later everyone personally
faces it and partly because it brings loss and sorrow to every family and community. It is no wonder,
therefore, that rituals connected with death are usually elaborate. It is therefore because of this mystery that
the writer wants to search for the kinds of rituals and ceremonies that accompany the death of individuals in
Gbagyi land, why such kinds of rituals and ceremonies that accompany the death of individuals in Gbagyi
land, how the Gbagyi people perceive death, their causes of death, and even their perception towards death
and the hereafter. This is treated in line with what accompany the dead, especially the things the dead are
buried with, what the archaeologists called grave goods. In respects to this therefore, this paper is divided
into seven (7) sections thus; introduction, brief historical background of the Gbagyi people, the concept of
death among the Gbagyi people, causes of death, the believe in the world beyond (the hereafter), grave
digging and burial rites/ceremonies and conclusion.
Birth is the first rhythm of a new generation, and the rites of birth are
performed in order to make the child incorporate and social being. Initiation
rites continue that process, and make him a mature, responsible and active
member of society. Marriage makes him a creative and productive being,
linking him with both the departed and the generation to come. Finally
comes death, that inevitable and in many societies, most disrupting
phenomenon of all. Death stands between the world of the spirits, between
the visible and the invisible (Mbiti, 1969:149).
The Gbagyi People: Gbagyi people as an ethnic group have a common nationality, ancestry, culture and
tradition. The Gbagyi today occupy four States including Federal Capital Territory. These States include,
Niger, Kaduna, Nasarawa and Kogi. They inhabit significant cities and villages such as Minna, Paiko,
Ganum, Suleja, Diko, Izom, Kuta, Bosso, Gussoro, Wushishi, Karu (new and old) Garki, Bwari,
Gwagwalada, Kwali, Abaji, Kotonkarfe, Chikara, Rubochi and Kulo (old and new), Toto, Yelwa, Gadabuke,
Nakuse, Zaria, Chikun, Kujama, Bimin Gwari, Kachia, Kagarko, Jere, and Igabi among others. The Gbagyi
dispersion within this belt has been referred to as the Gbagyi Diaspora. At best, the Gbagyi phenomenon can
best be described as “nation without a State” (Gwamnan, 2005:3). According to Gwamna (2005:3), that
historical tradition of the Gbagyi varies. There are some who see the Gbagyi as indigenous to their present
abodes and are therefore autochthonous. These scholars according Gwamna (2005:3), include J.A. Shekwo
and Mailafiya A. Filaba. Others trace the Gbagyi to the Northward migration which has the Hamatic thesis
bent. They include, C.L. Temple, Abubakar Wodi, Ibrahim Tukara, and Nana Byanyiko. Whatever the
arguments, Gwamna (2005) is of the believe that certain facts are clear: that the Gbagyi share the Nok
culture whose history goes beyond 2000 years, and one which is considered the birth place of sub-saharan
Africa’s greatest ancient art works. Recent archaeological discoveries around Kagarko, Jere and Ushaffa and
Gbagyi’s mystery of pottery arts, confirm this position. The iron something sites at Tukushara and Taruga
are further indication of the Gbagyi historical claim of this area. The Gbagyi are strategically located in the
center of the Nigerian state, having hosted Nigeria to three capital locations; Zungeru, wushishi and Kaduna
(for Northern Region Headquarters), and Abuja, the present Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The Gbagyi
belongs to the Kura-sub-group of the Niger Congo family and the name is used to describe both the language
and the people. This explains why the Gbagyi rejected the acronym Gwari, which was used by the Hausa
derogatorily and pejoratively to refer to them (Gwamna, 2005:4). Gunn in Gwamna (2005:4) note that
‘Gwari was used to apply to a variety of non-Hausa peoples often seeming to denote “pagans or “slaves .
This point is buttressed by Sonni G.T. in Gwamna (2005) who sees this as a deliberate ploy by the Hausa to
submerge indigenous identities. He state thus:
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Traditional Burial System and the World Beyond: A Case Study of the Gbagvi Gioup of Nasai a\>a St
Of particular importance is the effort to submerge local indigenous
identities. This took the form of giving Hausa name to settlements and even
ethnic groups and nationalities. Usually, the new names of such first
settlements tend to reflect the name of the first Hausa Fulani settler in the
area, or they tended to the names of their abode from where they migrated.
Names of ethnic groups on the other hand, usually emerged from a
caricature of aspects of the culture of the indigenous or a distortive
rendering of some of their linguistic phrases. It is significant that a return to
the indigenous original names of settlement but mainly of ethnic groups is
now the vogue in the middle belt.
The Gbagyi are divided into two main dialects: the Gbagyi nge nge and the Gbagyi nkwa. These two groups
could hear and speak each other’s language interchangeably. There is mutual intelligibility between Gbagyi
nkwa speakers understanding Gbagyi nge nge. The Gbagyi regardless of their geographical location have a
general sense of national and cultural affinity. The high degree of internal linguistic homogeneity among the
people has thus enabled the Gbagyi in Kaduna, Kwara, Niger, Nasarawa States and the Federal Capital
Territory, to maintain their national cultural values regardless of where they live. Their common language
and strict adherence to their tradition constitute the unifying factors.
THE CONCEPT OF DEATH AMONG THE GBAGYI PEOPLE
The Gbagyi people call death Ofi or efi. It is the passing from or through life to the hereafter or the world
beyond called Aku. Thus the world beyond could be hell or heaven. This fact is rightly buttressed by
Adedejt, in Gbenda (2005) who states that it will not be far from the truth to say that death has something to
do with the body and not spirit. Nwala in Gbenda (2005), defines death as simply the dissolution of the flesh
°r y. n t e le o 10 ogy, death is the inability to synthesize new molecules in an integrated organized
system. In general sense, death is more or less a personal event which man cannot describe for himself,
Riley in Gbenda (2005) sees death as the cessation of life resulting from irresistible breakdown of
espiration and arrest of heart action was for along time considered a fact until recent advances made in
^'“ 'eC,hn0l°,gy- From tme immemorial man has been intrigued by death and fearful of it. Man has been
“XS I'! t°klhtmySt,ery “ We" 33 t0 Seek so,utio" t0 his anxiety. Thus, Ifesieh, in Gbenda
everywhere r/ -3 , ^ 33 a ways presented men anywhere with perennial problems which are
the T0UI^ W,th non‘rational beliefs.” Every known culture has provided some
to the Dractitionf^T^0 7^ 7 7re 3re ceremon'es associated with it, but those activities are rational
^ 3nd“al th°Se Wh0 d0 not understand them. Whatever the case may be, the
answers
destinv In some 6 °f buman sP'r’t 3X1provide meaning to human life as well as
£ h in the fol oww’w^ 'V00^ T" *" 3 neS3tive Omergbe in Gbenda (2005:37), described
aoDear mirooseless and ^ • 7 t 16 worst.evd lbat happens to man, an evil that makes human life
world of mortals m that^ntT*8 ^ x m?S' A^Cans’ the>’ desire death as the agent of transition from the
life The Brief felt at th h th !-Plnt3' To dle Africans, death is not an end to life but part of continuum of
£ Le oTthonl h ,™’S USU3lly due t0 lhe sense of loss his physical presence, it is from
ife 1 S £ °be" (2005;37) described death and burial as the last in the list of man’s
uLforlatiln frnli puberty and marnage. To Gbenda (2005:38), death is simply a transition and
people that death is inevitable 2 unching^bre0'^ ^ ^ ^ 11,6 understandin8 of 016 Gbagyi
CAUSES OF DEATH
live longH^To many Gbagyi pltpll llfoX eto'c m 3 marTy- have several offspring, and
not arise from natural causes but from human causationTh^ 'n N'®ena and Africa ln genera1’ death does
is witches that are responsible for the death oflnvT'JT? 7* therefore lllumina,es the ideology that it
wicked, unpatriotic witches who cause dttJ 12 l \ ™ ^ M°St 3ttn'bute de3th l° ***,
belief in African therefore that th» eases, accidents, and even death. There is however, a genera!
that there must be a cause. Thus OpokuTn Gbendf QOol ToTh ^ ^ Which 'S death* 'S 3" indication
as regards death by asserting that ft has physical S ° bnngs ou,.clear|y this philosophy of Africans
The Gbagyi’s belief that these are the Uses of death and °h phyS'° og\cal and Psychological causes,
something greatly feared in many African societies. The Gbag>7pire7ke%n;%oluMni "nAfrta ha"
80
mythological explanations for how death first came into the world. Man has since accepted death as part of
the natural rhythm of life; and yet paradoxically, every human death is thought to have external causes,
making it both natural and unnatural. People most find and give immediate causes of death. By far the most
commonest cause is believed to be magic, sorcery and witchcraft. This is found in every African society,
though with varying degrees of emphasis and someone is always blamed for using the method to cause death
of another, (Mbiti, 1969:155).
CATEGORIES OF DEATH
Death among the Gbagyi people is believed to be caused by an enemy, either spiritually and otherwise, that
means the enemy through mysterious means can cause the death of his enemy or his victim. This enemity
could be as a result of envy or vengeance of some sort or when the enemy (victim) is prospering thereby
pushing the enemy use so many means to harm or kill his victim, some go to the extend of consulting a
medicine man to cause the victim to die. These are some of the causes of death among Gbagyi people.
Nature (Sickness): These are believed to be sicknesses that are incurable by whatever means, either
traditionally or through modem medical means. Since no death in whatever form it occurred that is
without a cause in Gbagyi land, when one falls sick his relatives tries to investigate the cause of the
sickness or illness, which is generally magic and witchcraft, and to take preventive measures against
it. This is because they are of the believe that most, if not all sickness or illnesses are always
externally induced or inflicted.
Accidents: This is an acceptable death that is known among the Gbagyi people, though, atimes such
deaths are also attributed to some mysterious forms of death.
Cultism: It is a general belief among the Gbagyi people and among Africans generally that a
syndicate steals relatives or friends; the enemy catch his victim and sale to the person who wants to
buy the victim. These victims are sold out to the enemies or cultic members or to those who wants
human parts for cultic or ritual purposes. The Gbagyi people called this type of cultism nirwnalo.
There is another form of cultism in Gbagyi land called Aguzyenyi, (dabo) in hausa language, they
operate as syndicate with cultic powers to harm it victims. It is believe that they eat the flesh of their
victims either physically or mystically by transforming their target into animals and killed.
Self Caused Death: This may be referred to as suicide or the victim delving into some cultic
practices beyond the victims capacity which this might result to the victim’s death. The victim in
question might also out of frustration either because of societal failure to meet his or her
expectations; this might lead to self cause death.
Forefather and Shrine Cause of Death: The spirit of the shrine may cause the death of a victim. That
is the spirit the shrine inhabits, that is the community shrine can kill any person who is deviating
from the norms of the community. For this reason, whenever someone is seriously sick, relatives
will ask one (victim) to confess his or her offenses, such as the offence of adultery, theft, cultism,
witchcraft etc, so that the relatives can beg the gods to forgive the victim possibly by making
sacrifices to appease the gods. This is mostly applicable to women who have prolonged labour at
childbirth. The belief is usually that the victim might have committed some offences, but after
consultations with the gods and no offence is being committed by the victim and the victim finally
died, the Gbagyi people termed such death as accidental death, since no offence was committed by
the victim. This could be misarrange leading to the death of babies, and other complications leading
to the death of mothers. The Gbagyi people called it doknunu-gbmi (stumbled).
Ancestral curse is some thing feared in many African societies and a powerful curse is
believed to bring death to the person concerned. The living-dead and spirit are another cause. This
applies to those of a given family, particularly the living dead who may have been offended before
they died, or may not have been properly buried, or may have a grudge against someone. Although
people may fear that the living dead would cause them to die, there is little evidence of the belief
that they actually cause death. In most cases, some African families feels that the spirits of the
living-dead are dissatisfied, it immediately takes measures to harmonize the situation, and avoid its
deterioration to the point of actual death.
“ Environmental/Endemics Outbreak of Environmental Diseases or Epidemics^ In such
cases, the Gbagyi people will change their settlement because they are of the believe that, that
environment therefore it’s no longer habitable. They are also of the believe that some environment
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Traditional Burial System and the World Beyond: A Case Study of the Gbagyi Group of Nasarawa StaM
are evil resulting to incessant sicknesses resulting to death. In these circumstances, the Gbagyi
people look at such situation as either human induce or naturally incurred sickness or death. The
Gbagyi people also believe there are bush spirits (aljanu), animals with bad ornament and objects
(i.e. trees) with bad or evil spirits could cause the death of a victim when the victim come in contact
with such objects or tress-pass their territory.
THE BELIEVE IN THE WORLD BEYOND
Death in the African point of view is most at times not seen as natural and therefore never blame on God but
rather causative agents like witches, sorcerers etc. From both the Christian, Islamic and traditional religious
perspectives, there is the belief that there is life after death. This belief has over the years troubled the minds
of thinkers and scholars. According to Gbenda (2005), life and death are contraries since life is followed by
death, it is expected that death intum will be followed by life. This is with the belief that the soul is said to
have pre-existed before coming into the world. Where did it exist? Is a question unanswered. To some, the
soul lives in heaven, the next question is, where is heaven? Up there, but up there is the sky. To the
traditional religionists, the souls leaves to the next world, to the land unknown to the common man. If the.
soul can be shown to have existed prior to its union with the body; it follows then that it can also continue to
exist after its separation from the body at death. For people who think that hereafter is another world or a
distant place, food, weapons may be buried with the dead to sustain and protect the person in the journey
between the worlds or places. For the majority of peoples, however, the next world is infact geographically
“here”, being separate from this only by virtue of being invisible to human beings. But even then, these
living dead would keep in touch with their serving relatives through visiting them or receiving libation and
offerings from their families. For the majority of African peoples, the hereafter is only a continuation of life
more or less as it is in its human form. This means that personalities are retained, social and political statuses
are maintained, sex distinction is continued, human activities are reproduced in the hereafter, the wealth or
poverty of the individual remains unchanged, and in many ways the hereafter is a carbon copy of the preset
life. Although the soul is separated from the body, it is believed to retain most, if not all of the physical-
social characteristics of its human life. Once again, we see that although death is a dissolution and
separation, man does not accommodate these radical changes and African peoples both acknowledge and
deny the disruption of death. The hereafter in Gbagyi language is called Aku, where all the dead go and stay.
Aku, is arranged along line tribes, clans and families, if one is good here on earth and was occasionally
sacrificing to the fore-fathers spirits, when he died he will be taken to the community of his family. Aku
simply means groups. But if one is bad while alive, when he died, he will miss his family in the hereafter
and be taken to the group of the bad people where they are judged and punished with burning flame. Here
again, the imagination of the hereafter among the Gbagyi is vague. Some people assume it’s like our present
earthly setting - some assume it is a new community, which might never be on this earth. It is again believed
that if one is terribly bad, the hereafter will refuse his body and spirit will come back frightening people,
which Gbagyi people call nyasnubwi (patalwa). Some people come out after burial, normally after three
days as nyasnubwi, if he had many charms and belonged to cultic groups before his death. Metuh in Gbenda
(2005), asserts that “most writers today admit that all African societies believe in an afterlife, but with
varying degrees of emphasis.” The belief in the continuation of life in the spirit would leads to burial rites to
ensure a place in the invisible world.
GRAVE DIGGING AND BURIAL RITES/CEREMONIES
There are two types of graves used in which the Gbagyi believe is traditional to them, while the second is the
popular six feet valley type of grave, which came probably with the introduction of coffins in the colonial
era. Graves of traditional designs are most difficult to dig because they required “scientific” knowledge of
soils and accuracy of measurement, which are acquired over the years with practice and experience. This
type of grave is dug by first of all digging a shallow grave then borrowing tunnel of about two feet in
diameter into the ground at the center of the shallow grave and from that point enlarging the opening to
create a larger space as an interior chamber or ground bunker and in which has laying room to the east. In
some cases, the large room provides accommodation for more than one corpse, each buried after an interval
of at least three years, by which the previous corpse would have decayed and left behind parts of the
skeleton. Oral tradition has it that some traditional graves might have more than one chamber to
accommodate their members of family. Burying a body in this type of grave, one elder of the clan enters the
“inner chamber” by stretching himself into it, feet first and handout stretched upward. Once he is inside, the
corpse is “pushed” in like manner into the inner chamber. The elder underneath receives the body and lays it
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properly in a sleeping posture facing the east and women facing the west. No one seems to know the reasons
for the positioning, yet it is never neglected or overlooked. For chiefs and titleholders, atimes stools are kept
or placed in the chamber and the corpse is positioned on the stool with food and anything considered
necessary for the use of the deceased. According to Awolalu and Popamu in Gbenda (2005), interpreted the
practice of washing of the corpse, and burying a person with material things as signifying getting ready for
the joumey to the next world; “the deceased is expected to use them on his journey and in the world of
spirits.” It is also pertinent to mention here that in Gbagyi land there are professional gravediggers. Also
there are laws to be observed or adhered to when participating in grave digging, such as preventing those
who have slept with women the previous night or that day from participating in the grave digging; or if one
is known to have been an enemy of the deceased is not allowed to participate. All the dead that occur as a
result of some dreaded deceases like spinal cerebral meningitis (cms), cholera, snake bites etc are buried
outside the settlement. Also, those who were suspected to be witches and wizards are also buried outside the
settlement and the bones of the limbs would be broken if accepted by their children. This they say is to
prevent them from coming back as ghost - nyasrtubwi. The kings are believed to rule after death. Thus their
burial ceremonies are different. The Gbagyi people have kings’ grave houses where all kings are buried, and
their corpses are buried adorned with jewels, food etc. In fact, death in Gbagyi land is seen as traveling. So
burials are adorned with sacrifices, gifts etc, one give befitting burial to the beloved with many clothes, coins
etc. A goat/sheep is slaughtered with the believe that the blood washes the evils/mistakes of the deceased so
that he would meet with his families in Aku. The grave of all Gbagyi adults is 5 feet deep, round hole, and a
chamber to the east where the dead is kept. The gate or mouth of the tunnel is covered with a large stone,
sealed with mud as clay or broken pieces of pots. Children’s graves are like rectangular shape but just three
to four feets deep covered with broken pots, mud and clay. There is always a graveyard outside the proper
settlement called Avnigo-ta. The aged could be buried inside the house, and risen to form a sit. They are
decorated with cowries, designs with monies. A stone of about 1ft is pegged on top to signify a grave. The
calabash used in packing the sand is put on top of the stone. The stone grave could have piece of cloth tied
round/turbaned. The stone could be sacrificed to anytime a member of the family deem fit One could go and
speak to the stone in prayers to the dead. The cowries and other decorates could be removed later by
grandchildren. But those buried inside the chamber are believed would be the deceased luggage to Aku.
Among the Bassa and the Ebira, foods and beer are placed outside for a week, and it is believed that the
spirit of the deceased adults, only men, could follow his relatives in the nearby villages to announce his
death, telling his offences to the community, and pleading for forgiveness so that he might be able to join his
fore-fathers’ community in the hereafter. As earlier mentioned, the Gbagyi fear death very seriously just like
any tribe or ethnic groups does. In order to make burial rites and ceremonies entertaining and colourful, the
Gbagyi people have kinds of music and dirges, some fearful, terrifying, some entertaining like aka-nyi.
Some of the songs are stories about the cause of the death of the deceased, his deeds, good or bad, some are
lamentations, some are pure metarphoric loaded with imageries, proverbs etc. These ceremonies also show
us the great religious importance of marriage and procreation in African societies. An unmarried person is
not given the final ceremony which in many ways is the most important and most meaningful in man s
attempts to symbolize his conquest over death. This would mean that the unmarried is in effect conquered by
death, he is not recalled, nor is he ceremoniously invited back into the human family. This also goes along
way to say the Gbagi people believe in reincarnation. In Gbagyi land, a night vigil is kept over the dead,
particularly in order to look out for the witch or sorcerer who might come to see the result of her (his)
wicked doings, neighbours and relatives bring beer (burkutu) and foods, some play musical instruments,
others sing funeral dirges and dance. This they claim is intended partly to please the spirit of the dead person
and partly to comfort the bereaved family.
people «*«!* .11 form, of Ido**. .nd believed the, «.
every sickness is normally taken to soothsayers who tries to mace the ca^« ^ js by God as the
avert or to treat it. They are also of the believe that theres is h y J e Qr a splrit is the
way Christians and Moslems would look at it. They often believe that either one s living-deacL
cause. Like in many African societies, the Gbagyi people and men, and
because they believe the living-dead occupy the ontologica P? language of human beings whom
between God and men. They also believe they in effect sPeak,® ^ J or of God to whom they
they recently left through physical death, and of the spirit“q J 0f this unique position, the living-dead
are now nearer than when they were in their physical
83
constitute the largest group of intermediaries in Gbagyi culture, this is exemplified in the elaborate rituals
and ceremonies that accompanied the dead among the Gbagyi people. Great changes have been observed in
Gbagyi culture. These changes have come through Christianity, Islam, westernization, urbanization,
globalization, etc. These changes have exerted much pressure on the Gbagyi traditional practices. The
resultant effect of these changes is that there are continuities and discontinuities. According to Gbenda
(2005), “it is extremely difficult for any culture to be completely destroyed and replaced by another”. The
core value system, which forms the bedrock of the Gbagyi traditional beliefs and practices, remains
unchanged. Gbagyi traditional beliefs and practices are therefore very important to the contemporary Gbagyi
people, it enables them to live a good moral life and prepare for the world beyond (Aku). It is also pertinent
to mention here that, despite the use of wrong nomenclature, and negative attitude towards African culture
by the influence and triumph of Christianity over indigenous religion and culture, some elements of the
African culture are still being retained and practiced in most African societies side by side with the western
cultures and religion. Surprisingly though, Africans themselves brand their cultures devilish, which must be
discarded to pave way for a new religion, Christianity and Islam. These groups of religious fanatics are more
or less apologetic thinkers concerned with defending their new found religious faith.
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