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Burying at all costs: investing in funerals in southern Benin
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 May 2023
Abstract
Drawing on research conducted in southern Benin since 2000, this article explores the entanglements between grief, social status and funerals, and accounts for the conditions and the motives of the massive and multifarious investments – inextricably psychic, social and economic – in funerals that can be witnessed locally. I argue that, far from being mere ‘conspicuous consumption’, funeral expenses should be understood as the product of a number of intersecting dynamics, as the lavishness of these events cannot conceal the burden they represent and the anxieties they feed. In fact, filial duties and politics of reputation often entwine to give an existential dimension to these occasions, reinforcing one another to lead social subjects to engage important economic means and to bury their dead ‘at all costs’. In fact, as internalized norms and social pressures finally convince most mourners to organize obsequies beyond their means, the psychic and social tensions of funerals regularly constitute the all too common hidden face of the more commonly reported lavishness.
Résumé
S’appuyant sur des travaux menés dans le Sud du Bénin depuis 2000, cet article explore les imbrications entre la douleur du deuil, le statut social et les funérailles, et explique les conditions et les motifs des investissements massifs et divers (inextricablement psychiques, sociaux et économiques) dans les funérailles auxquelles on peut assister localement. L’auteur soutient que les dépenses funéraires sont loin de n’être que simple « consommation ostentatoire » et qu’elles sont à comprendre comme le produit d’un certain nombre de dynamiques intercroisées, la prodigalité de ces événements ne pouvant dissimuler la charge qu’ils représentent et les anxiétés qu’ils nourrissent. En réalité, les obligations filiales et les politiques de réputation s’entrelacent souvent pour donner une dimension existentielle à ces occasions, en se renforçant mutuellement pour amener des sujets sociaux à engager des moyens économiques importants et à enterrer leur mort « à tout prix ». De fait, puisque les normes internalisées et les pressions sociales finissent par convaincre la plupart des proches du défunt à organiser des obsèques au-dessus de leurs moyens, les tensions psychiques et sociales des funérailles constituent régulièrement la face trop souvent cachée de la prodigalité plus communément constatée.
Resumo
Com base na investigação realizada no sul do Benim desde 2000, este artigo explora os enredos entre o luto, o estatuto social e os funerais, e dá conta das condições e dos motivos dos investimentos maciços e multifacetados – inextricavelmente psíquicos, sociais e económicos – em funerais que podem ser testemunhados localmente. Defendo que, longe de serem mero ‘consumo conspícuo’, as despesas funerárias devem ser entendidas como o produto de uma série de dinâmicas de intersecção, uma vez que a sumptuosidade destes acontecimentos não pode esconder o fardo que representam e as ansiedades que alimentam. De facto, deveres filiais e políticas de reputação entrelaçam-se frequentemente para dar uma dimensão existencial a estas ocasiões, reforçando-se mutuamente para levar os sujeitos sociais a empenharem-se em meios económicos importantes e a enterrarem os seus mortos ‘a todo o custo’. De facto, à medida que as normas internalizadas e as pressões sociais finalmente convencem a maioria das pessoas enlutadas a organizar exéquias para além dos seus meios, as tensões psíquicas e sociais dos funerais constituem regularmente a face oculta demasiado comum da sumptuosidade mais comummente relatada.
- Type
- Funerals in Benin
- Information
- Copyright
- © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the International African Institute
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