Every tradition of a people has its origin in the ancient indigenous religion and believe of the people.
The tradition of killing cow in the name of a deceased at his funeral is practiced in most communities of the Igbo tribe. It could also be same in some communities in other tribes.
In this tradition if cow is not killed in the name of a deceased in his funeral, it will not be killed in the name of any other person that dies in his lineage until killed for him. If this is violated the lineage will suffer some psychic problems.
This tradition has root in the volitions of the early ancestors to protect their offspring and descendants from suffering the evil effect of their wrong deeds through shedding of blood.
These early ancestors believed that shedding blood for something wrong shields the wrong from having effect thereafter. Many preferred shedding blood of cow, a highly rated and valued domestic animal, for shielding the effects of wrong deeds of the deceased at their funerals, and the meat used for entertainment and for some specific obligations.
If a family cannot afford a cow, the dead body is just buried and whenever they are ready a ceremony without the body present will be performed where a cow will be killed in the name of the person. In the interim, if a death or deaths occur in the lineage no cow will be killed. The body will just be buried without ceremony.
This tradition is compulsory only for the aged because it was believed that the aged had burdened himself, while alive, with much wrong deeds.
The aged spoken of are those that have children, grandchildren or great grandchildren.
It is not compulsory for a childless aged person and married vicenarians and tricenarians with children that range from infant to school-age and even to adolescent age. But occasion had been observed when cow was not killed in the name of a married vicenarian in his funeral and was demanded at the funeral of his now aged son if same must be done for the son. This makes it indirectly compulsory.
With the Advent of orthodox religions and their large influence on tradition, a funeral can now be performed without killing a cow in the name of a deceased but tradition still has it’s force in that cow will not be killed in the name of any other person in the lineage at his funeral untill killed for the first.
This tradition had continued overtime and became so highly valued and loved that propensity for it developed in many souls to the extent that if not done a departed person becomes earthbound and avenges if done for another person in the lineage.
Igbo people’s support for occasions are based on the idea of payback. And because of this payback mentality, many friends and relations give cow to people that can payback. The poor suffers.
This tradition is wrong for the following reasons
1. It works against the Will of God.
2. It makes one earthbound if not performed immediately
3. It develops propensity in many souls that apart from being made earthbound, they hover in places of funerals where cow killing is done.
4. It calls for ostentatious funerals thereby burdening the living.
5. It creates enemies and grudges if a payback fails.
6. It connotes force and instill fear in people if they cannot kill cow or do not kill cow.
7. It does not protect the poor.
8. It is also wrong in the sense that any gathering at any future date for performing a ceremony said to be omitted during a funeral in the name of any person, draws the person’s soul that may have ascended higher close and thus reawaken its earthly perception and rebind it anew if it had made progress.
That is why we were urged in some orthodox believes not to perform a funeral twice.
The Will of God enforces the reaping of what one sowed by oneself and no other, enforces the suffering and death of a soul that sinned, enforces non transfer of wrong deeds of parents to their children unless the children were directly linked to them in their past earthlife or are now connected to them in their volitions yet to become deed, enforces that one becomes bound to that place where one’s heart is or where one laid one’s treasure. That is why we were urged by Jesus to lay our treasure in heaven.
The Almighty Father wants free human beings, human beings guided by their intuition while exercising their freedom, human beings that could recognise the Will of God as expressed in nature and obey them, human beings that walks with their healthy limbs and not with clutches provided by others.
Everyone stands alone in accounting for his deeds.
As an advice, people responsible for a funeral should offer the best their financial capacity could carry in ensuring a properly planned funeral. Funeral must not be to the detriment of anybody especially the departed soul. The purpose or objective of a funeral is to assist the departed soul to recognize that helps are around it, to perceive them, detach itself quickly from it’s earthly body and seek the right path of ascent. Any act that goes against this objective should be avoided. A funeral should be solemn, no cow should be displayed. Beauty lies in simplicity.
The idea that funeral is for those still in the flesh does not accord with the Will of God and therefore wrong. That was why Jesus urged one of His disciples who wished to go and bury his father in line with the tradition “Follow me,and let the dead bury their dead”
This is so because in the funeral people are fed with wrong teachings which they accept without reasoning ( Dead teachers teaching the dead listeners).
Killing cow for a funeral should not be for any other purpose but providing enough meat for the occasion and to save cost. It should not be compulsory in any funeral for any reason in a dynamic tradition.
