It was a combination of shock and grief for family, friends, residents and onlookers as the body of Felicia a 42-year old woman was committed to the mother earth at the family residence, located at Rumuomoi Community, along the Psychiatric Hospital road.
Many wondered why the deceased husband had chosen to bury his late wife in a shop where she sold provisions.
At her burial on Saturday, scores of sympathizers flocked the family home of the deceased, while the burial programme was going on, it was celebration of life of the departed who bade the earth bye in March 2019, not until it was time to bury the corpse that many were surprised to know that Felicia’s body was to be interred in a shop where she sold commodity items.
Felicia, according to a close family source died from a mysterious experience when in March 2019 she attended a traditional marriage ceremony of a family relation. The source alleged that the deceased had a misunderstanding with a fellow woman which led to exchange of words and raining of curses on each other. According to the source, on Sunday following, Felicia returned from the church with her family only to sleep in the afternoon without waking up.
Meanwhile, reactions have continued to trail the way and manner Felicia’s corpse was buried in a shop, instead of the usual family compound.
Many said it was out of respect for the departed by her husband, while others attributed the choice to cultural reason.
Reacting to the development, a resident of the community, who is a commercial taxi operator, Zaccheus King described the burial arrangement, especially the place of the final rest of the late woman as nothing but dishonouring.
According to him, there is no tradition in the present age that should support the kind of burial accorded the deceased. “I want to let you know, the circumstances of the departure of the young lady were full of miseries. Fine, that has happened, but why did the burial take place in a shop.
“Some of my passengers comment when they pass by seeing the banner. I feel for the children. The place she was buried used to be her own shop where she sell items, now that she had been buried there, the children would see tomorrow and get angry”.
Another resident who witnessed the burial ceremony, Kosiso Chukwudi also confirmed that the shop where Felicia was buried was her provisions shop. She expressed anger that men would treat their wives anyhow. She said: “What happens after sometime when they rent out the shop and another person starts buying and selling on the grave of a mother? The children can never be happy seeing people threading on the grave of their mother in a shop.
In his own reaction, an elder in the community who pleaded anonymity stated that he found it difficult to understand why a shop had become a choice area for the burial.
He advised that for the sake of the future, there is the need for the deceased husband to reconsider exhuming the body of his late wife and bury her in his compound where the children would see it and be happy.
He concluded that today’s modernization does not support that kind of cultural practice, especially as the deceased was known to be a members of a prominent church during her lifetime.
