What tradition did I learn about?:
Why does the community have this tradition?:
For funerals, there is a week-long preparation and prayer session before the actual funeral service for the grieving family. This is where members of the community can come and give prayers and help the family prepare for the funeral, usually by helping them with cooking and/or dishing food. Funerals and weddings are always held on Saturdays, so people do not have to miss out on work to attend, as they are all-day events.
Then, it moves into a reception-like event where people eat food, blast music and dance throughout the evening. At this point in the day, many people from outside of the family will come and join, eat the food and dance. This is a major difference between funerals in the U.S. and funerals in Botswana. In the U.S., it is typically only close family and friends of the person that passed away who attend the funeral reception. In Botswana, many people who do not know who died will attend the funeral reception, as they are seen more as group activities.
