Death Rituals in Kenya cultures and traditions

Modernization, like many other aspects of Kenyan culture, continues to erode long-held traditions. Religion, particularly Christianity, has also had an impact on how things are done. Death, while unwelcome, carried some of the most complex rituals among Kenya's various tribes. The Luo were famous for having elaborate rituals that had to be performed when a death occurred, depending on the deceased's age, gender, and social standing. The wailing was one ritual that stood out.

Visitors would trickle into the deceased compound after his death was announced, wailing and crying, calling out to the dead and talking to his body (which was kept in a house in the compound). Close relatives would shave their hair a few days after the burial to mark the end of the mourning period and the start of a new life. Most of these traditional rituals have been reduced by the influence of Christianity, and modernity has made them appear 'backward.' When a person dies in most tribes nowadays, he is taken to a mortuary and buried after a few days with no significant rituals performed.