Abstract
Mourning rituals are an important part of grief work for Black African widows in South Africa. However, various scholars argue that the mourning rituals are harmful towards widows, which results in them feeling oppressed. Mourning rituals are embedded within a patriarchal society as men and women are not treated the same when engaging in mourning rituals (Ndlovu 2013). Most of the current literature portrays women as ‘silent victims’ (Sossou 2002) and neglects an understanding of women’s agency in choosing or not choosing to engage in the mourning rituals. This dissertation seeks to address this gap through a qualitative analysis of the experiences of ten Black African widows living in Vosloorus, Gauteng. The dissertation shows that the widows are not silent and helpless victims of patriarchal cultural practices. These rituals have deep meaning; many of the widows described the rituals in therapeutic terms and considered them as beautiful. At the same time, the study also revealed that the widow’s agency to engage in the mourning rituals is not completely divorced from patriarchy as their choices were limited. This dissertation also shows that some widows exercise agency in choosing not to engage in the mourning rituals because they hold religious beliefs that clash with traditional rites of mourning. This dissertation contributes to broader understandings of women’s experiences of mourning rituals.