ABSTRACT
Death is accepted as part of social life, but interpretations accounting for death vary from one society to the next. The Swazi share with other South-eastern Bantu death is imposed on man by the arbitrary and fickle nature of Umkhulumcandi or Umvelamcandi and the laziness and greed of an animal. Swazi burial rites reflect: status of the individual in the nation his position in the homestead, and his clan membership. It is probable that before the clans were welded into the nation, mortuary ritual varied mainly from clan to clan, but nowadays national officials receive special treatment. The Swazi approach to the spirit is essentially practical. The spirit is powerful for good and ill and must be correctly handled. Ancestral spirits are not worshipped. The cult is directed both to ancestors of each family for the welfare, and to the ancestors of the rulers on behalf of the nation.
