Psychological significance of shaving hair as a ritual during mourning within the Ndebele culture

Abstract

The study examined and explored the psychological significance of shaving hair as a ritual during mourning within the Ndebele culture in Mamelodi, Pretoria. The focus was on rituals performed or conducted during the mourning process that will be useful in an attempt to reach a state of healing and restoration. The study explored what meaning the participants attach to the rituals. Through this exploration; a deeper understanding of the value of rituals was developed. The qualitative research method, particularly Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used. Snowball sampling was used to identify participants who had lost their loved and who had gone through mourning for more than six months. In total, ten participants were interviewed for this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in the mother tongue of the participants in order to allow them to express themselves in the most ultimate way they know and understand. Thematic content analysis was used to extract themes that were dominant across participants. The study was useful as it could be incorporated into the study of psychology specifically from the African epistemological standpoint. Even though the rituals might be practiced amongst the black African community, there is not much literature that focuses mainly on the specific rituals and their significance. This study could also be useful in terms of exposing this knowledge to persons who might not be exposed to this specific ritual of shaving hair due to cultural differences.