The visual narrative relating to social perfomance of the Xhosa people during burial

Abstract

This study critiques the extravagant behaviour associated with burial practises of modern Xhosa people, with special focus on the Eastern Cape of South Africa. It uses human altruism, cultural conformism, and cooperative behaviour as the theories to explain why people do things they consider to be the norm or do things in a prescribed way, in order to be accepted by a cultural group or class. The artworks which form part of this study are informed through interviews with key informants who are members of the community, as well as the writer’s observations during modern burial events. These artworks portray the obsessive behaviour associated with extravagant funerals, illustrated through repetition, layering, and the multiplicity of cultural objects, such as coffins, candles, pots and other items.