The dead cannot speak, but our traditions still whisper. Why do we position the feet of the deceased toward the road and the head toward the compound?
In many Igbo communities, when a deceased person is laid in state, the feet are positioned facing the road or the exit, while the head points toward the family compound. The same arrangement is often maintained when the body is brought to the church before burial.
Have you ever stopped to ask why?
Some elders say it symbolizes a final departure. The deceased is leaving the world of the living and embarking on a journey from which there is no return. By facing the road, the body is already set toward that final path.
Others believe it signifies that the spirit should continue its journey and not turn back toward the household. Some even say it was intended to discourage the dead from spiritually returning to trouble the living.
Yet there are those who argue that it is simply an ancient custom handed down through generations, with its original meaning long forgotten.
What is particularly interesting is that neither the Bible nor Christian doctrine gives instructions on which direction a deceased person should face during burial. Yet this tradition remains firmly rooted in many Christian homes across Igbo land.
So, who established this practice?
Was it symbolism? Spirituality? Ancestral wisdom? Or merely a tradition that survived the passage of time?
What were you told growing up?
Let us discuss.
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