ABSTRACT
An awning has been put up over it. The deceased is dressed all in white, her hands folded over her chest. Arching over the coffin are two enormous, artificial elephant tusks. At the head end a tall oil lamp is burning. We spend a few minutes in silence in the front room. Then we move on to the adjoining kitchen where women are gathered. The presents of milk powder and sugar are placed on the kitchen table.6 A door leads to the garden behind the house. Fields with trees slope down. The house is small; the walls have never been plastered. Only extended family and close friends are present. The dead mother came originally from our village. Apart from the daughter there are several sons in their late sixties. The granddaughters walk around with trays of fizzy orange drinks.
