I believe Grandma will be happy and smiling in heaven right now because of the way her ceremony is going on, I never expected it this way but everything has been planned by her children who have been expecting this day to come as they want the event to be the talk of the town while honoring her burial ceremony. There are abundant foodstuffs as caterers have been hired daily from morning till night to come and cook while making sure everyone who comes to greet has something to eat before they leave.
Before now...
After the death of Grandma, the ceremony was scheduled on the 31st of August and September 1st. Immediately the date was picked, plans and preparations have been going on. It became something we were looking forward to as we were eager for the date to arrive so we could come together as a family. I have been anticipating this day to come because I knew all my relatives would be coming. There would be a fuller house as extended families would show up to honour Mama's death; I became so happy to reunite with my family including those I have seen for years. The death brought us together again.
I planned my journey and left my base for my hometown in Kwara state, the North Central part of Nigeria on Tuesday, this week.
The journey was almost a 7-hour journey and it was a stressful one at that. Sitting for such long hours on the bus was tiring and at the same time was frustrated with how the journey was especially with the way the driver was driving slowly even when passengers kept telling him to speed up so we could get to our destination on time. After long hours, I finally reached my destination. I was welcomed heartily as people came around to embrace me, especially the ones who had seen me for a long time or the ones I had seen for years. We embraced and hugged each other while I greeted the older ones among them. I felt so excited meeting a fuller house as everything was going steadily. Everyone was busy with different tasks and everywhere was bubbling with music from the speaker that was rented.
The atmosphere changed for me when I entered the sitting room, looking at Grandma's favourite chair and seeing no one that looked like her. It dawned on me that she was gone forever; I miss her so much. I was sad for some minutes while I went inside to say some prayers, thanking God for the safe trip while unloading some things I bought from the journey like bread, oranges etc. I saw my siblings as we hugged each other and before we knew what was going on, we started gisting and sharing memories of Mama as we laughed remembering the funny moments with her.
I was already too tired and weak to do anything; my younger sister had to serve me my favourite solid meal which was Amala and Ewedu soup, which is a common Nigerian food especially eaten among the Yorubas. Due to my hunger, I couldn't remember to take a picture but I took this one where it was remaining fish and ewedu soup.
I regained my strength immediately after I finished eating; food is life indeed. My eyes cleared as I was able to see everyone clearly and also took a stroll around the compound to see what was happening. I saw two cows and was told 3 more cows were still coming which makes it 5 cows to be killed for this ceremony.
I went through the other side and met the caterers at work as they were so busy making things go as planned so that no one would be left out when it comes to serving food.
I moved closer and greeted them, stayed for a while before going back inside. I got into my room and it was filled with lots of souvenirs to be shared with all the guests coming around.
Everywhere has been occupied with stuff bought and presented to us for this event and everyone just has to manage. In my room, we are 8 people and everywhere is so choked excluding the hotels that were booked for guests; we have no choice but to squeeze ourselves together with the bags and cartons of souvenirs, at least it's for the main time till the ceremony ends, by then, there would be more space for ourselves.
Since the caterers were hired to do the cooking, there has not been much work to do and this is like me being treated like a real princess who doesn't have anything to do other than eating, sleeping, bathing, relaxing etc, but it doesn't mean I wouldn't do anything so I don't get to become lazy or trying to take the advantage and leaving other tasks for the younger ones; I just have to do what I should do.
With this harsh economy, all villagers have been coming around to eat from morning till night and we never complained nor sent them away because food is surplus and this is something we are grateful to God for. Since Monday, the caterers have been cooking different food to be served to everyone. In the morning, they prepare pap and akara which is called bean cake, in the afternoon, they either make white or jollof rice and at night, a solid meal is next. Though, everyone is entitled to ordering any type of meal as they desire and the caterers are doing an awesome job in that aspect. It is not easy to keep cooking from morning till night but since they are paid for the service, they have to do their best in delivering a quality service to us.
Grandma is the reason for the celebration and I am sure she would be smiling with the way the preparation has been moving even before D-day. I still couldn't believe she was gone finally and the reason for this great event.
They killed one of the cows, fried some and added others to the stew for serving meals. I went to request meat to taste and was given two which I gave to my younger sister. Here is the bite remaining before I remembered to take a picture.
Well, the day ended so well that everyone went to sleep. The next day, we woke up, did morning devotion and everyone started moving around the house with one or two tasks to begin with. As usual, the caterers arrived and got ready for the day's work.
We ate breakfast while we continued welcoming new guests who came for the burial too. It has been a tiring day but we didn't stop doing what we needed to do. Later in the afternoon, we decided to arrange the souvenirs placing them in a customised nylon with Mama's name on it. Myself, cousin and younger sister did the packing. We started with the white towels as we removed them from where they were kept into the new customised nylon as you can see below.
This didn't take so much time as we believed in teamwork. The work got faster with more than 2 persons who were able to cooperate and achieve a desirable result. It was fun too as we played some music as suggested by my sister who believed music has a way of giving energy to things like this. At the end of the day, we were excited to achieve something better. We will be moving down to the church later in the evening for service of songs while tomorrow, we will be laying Mama at her residence as reception follows at the King's palace which is just a stone's throw from our house.
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Five Cows?!!! Wow! Are those goats I saw in the picture included too? Your Grandma is resting now and Glory be to God. I have never had the privilege of being physically part of a funeral ceremony - when my Grandma died I was taking exams and couldn't leave. Thank God for the safe journey and ceremony.
Yes, 5 cows it is. Those goats are ours but won't be killed. Yours was understandable as you cannot leave exams alone for the funeral. I had to cancel my nysc service for this month so I could attend her funeral. I will just revalidate in the next batch in October. Thank you, Deraa for reading.
Are you free? Let go and eat party jollof...
Lol. George, the only Jollof I want to be eating is yours 🚶🏾♀️
This burial is well planned and loaded. Caterers cooking since Monday? I really wish to get your home address for this burial as well 😌... imagine five cows with plenty souvenirs and food stuffs. Anything for Grandma..I believe she will be happy wherever she is now. I wish you guys a successful burial
Thank God for the burial. It was glamorous and Mama too will be so happy in heaven with such celebration for her. Thank you for your comment.
Almost the same preparation in our burial tradition where we prepare food for those attending the wake from morning to night.. But we don't hire caterers.. We prepare food by ourselves.. Usually snacks during the day and dinner at night.. There are games played too..usually card games...and we usually invite someone who has a sense of humor to throw jokes for the visitors. They said that the soul shouldn't feel sad before leaving so the wake should be a little lively..
I pray for your grandma to rest in peace. For sure she will. This kind of event truly makes a family reunited again.
Oh, doing the cooking ourselves would be a lot stressful for us especially when there are lots of preparations to get done. That is why they hired caterers to be in-charge of food for all week. Thank you for sharing a little bit of your culture too.
It's fine for us. All family members are working together and each has the task to do. So the money for caterer can be saved for other expenses. ☺️
I can see Grandma Ma Lived a very fulfilling life, this types of Celebration are for people that are well loved.
My only problem now is that you did not share location, so that I can come and fill up my stomach with some delicious Party food😂
She lived a fulfilling life and a great warrior, so, she deserves this celebration. Hehehe....
Mama has spent a well filled life , nothing gives joy than having lovely kids and they are all successful.
I'm sure she will be happy in the right hand side of her creator now.
I wish you be in this party, it looks so yummy already, but the area is far from me right now.
Happy celebration and wish her eternal rest!!
Hehehe. Yes, distance could be a barrier in events like this. Lol
Mama lived a good life and we are happy for that as she left great legacies behind for us. Thank you, Dontee.
Thank God for everything , just pack a lot of meats back to Ondo.
I will have mine there
Grandma will be happy as an angel to see how she's been celebrated here.
This is a lot and the burial tells how great she spent her time on earth, I am checking for the nearest airport to your place because I need to carry some amala and ewedu.
Will there pounded yam and egusi as well? You guys are doing pretty, I pray for the success of the ceremony.
Sending a huge hug to the family.
Hahaha. Had it been I saw this comment early, I would have sent the location oo 😐😬 there was pounded yam and egusi too, not egusi.
Thank you, George.
Granma lived a long life. May she rest in peace. Seeing that a lot of people was coming for her, for sure shes the happiest.
And seeing all what everyone's did, from serving food to everyone who visits, it is really just like what we usually did here in the Philippines.
Yes, she lived a long and fruitful life too. There were lots of people and we were excited too. Thank you.
Wow, seems like you guys are throwing a burial fit to rival Obi cubanas mothers own. If only I was nearby I'd have like to turn up lol.
May mama's soul rest in peace.
!PIZZA
Hahaha 😆 no, we cannot compete with Obi Cubana oo. At least we tried our best. Thanks for your comment.
$PIZZA slices delivered:
@b0s(1/5) tipped @princessbusayo
may her soul continue to rest in peace
Amen. Thank you.
This is indeed a celebration of life, she will be happy anywhere she is at definitely.
Yes, she will definitely. Thank you so much.
Thank God for journey mercy Princess, that is a lot of celebration going on there for Mama. I pray that she continues to rest in peace.
Amen 🙏
I'm sorry for replying late too.
No problem at all, I understand. 🥰😊
how are you dear friend @princessbusayo good morning
I am so sorry for your loss, and that you had a stressful journey to get to the burial site. The good thing about the situation is that the whole family was able to get together and enjoy the abundant food, without a doubt your grandmother is resting in peace and happy to see how things happened
Oh my... I am so sorry for replying late. I thought I already replied all comments here. Thanks for your soothing words.
Don't worry dear friend, it happens to all of us, have a great day
Thank you 😊
Thank you for the support.
Woah, 5 cows? It seems like a feast but I believe your Grandma is now happy in heaven. She don't want you to be sad. 💞
Yes, she will be happy in heaven. Thank you 😊
Yay! 🤗
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That is quite a befitting burial for someone who lived a long and fulfilling life. Very well deserved and a great ceremony for her. 🙏
Thank you 😊