Burial rites: how some Kenyans opt for cremation

The Nairobi Hindu Crematorium on Quarry Road on the eastern fringe of the city, is the largest of Kenya's 18 cremation centers. It iwas at this crematorium that Africa's first female Nobel Peace laureate and environmental activist Professor Wangari Maathai was cremated three years ago.

Cremation is an extremely important ritual to the Indian Hindu community. Kenya has a population of 40 million of which the Hindus make less than one percent. Crematorium director Harish Rabadia says that the ancient ritual has been performed in Kenya since the arrival of the first Hindus in the early 1900s. It is now becoming more popular in the country. More and more city dwellers are now opting for cremation as an alternative to a traditional burial. "The population is increasing. The more we keep burying the more land will go. It will reach a certain time when we will not have enough space to stay around," Rabadia said.

An ancient ritual

The 66-year-old priest Kishorejina Ashai Bhai, leads me through the center. It is divided into two sections, one has an open air firewood pyre and the other a modern enclosed, smokeless diesel furnace. Requirements for cremation, include ghee, sesame seeds, incense sticks and white or red piece of cloth for covering the dead body, Bhai tells me.

Ghee, Bhai explains, quickens the burning and the sesame seeds break the body into pieces. The cremation takes about two and half hours. The bones are placed in a grinder and crushed into ash and then handed to the family of the deceased in an urn.

Rabadia explains the procedure for the cremation in the diesel furnace. "Once the body comes from the car, we put the body outside, people to view it," explains Rabadia. The family then pray for their deceased relative. "Once the body is inside the chamber, we close this door. Nobody sees inside what's going on."

Many Kenyans still skeptical of the practice

Traditionally, most Kenyans transport their dead back to their home village, the so-called ancestral home, in order to perform ritual and religious burial rights. In recent years, says Rabadia, an average of 100 African Kenyans are cremated in the country every month.

Robert Mwania, an attendant who has worked at the Hindu crematorium for more than twenty years, says that until five years ago, African Kenyans never visited the crematorium. "Now we have many Africans coming here. Some Africans don't have enough money to buy a coffin and to transport the body from Nairobi to their rural homes." The cost of transporting a deceased person is extremely high, especially for ordinary Kenyans, he explained.

The distance from Nairobi to the person's rural home can be between 300 and 600 kilometers and costs a minimum of Kenya shillings 95,000 ($ 1,065 or 841 Euros). The crematorium charges half that amount to cremate a body. In the event of financial hardship, the crematorium considers the possibility of providing the service free of charge.

When I spoke to Kenyans on the street they had varying views on the topic. 23-year-old Arafa Iddi sees cremation as very "un-African". "I think that if I burn my loved one, they would feel the pain. It is just unbearable. So as for the people who cremate, they choose what they believe in and what they feel is right. So if someone feels that's right to them, that's okay."

Barrack Muluka, an independent Kenyan commentator on social issues, believes that Africans who opt to cremate their dead relatives are killing traditions that have been in place since time immemorial. "If you look at our society. We believe that, for example where I come from, that you don't burn the body of the dead." He describes the beliefs of his own traditional roots. "If you cremate, you are trying to interfere with spirits and the ghost of the dead and normally we believe that it is persons with ulterior motives who will do that." Muluka believes that it will be some time before Kenyans to embrace the practice of cremation.