Abstract
M.Ed.
The burden of HIV/Aids in South Africa is set to increase, and is expected to be
accompanied by an increase in the number of child-headed orphans.
I aimed to describe and explore the mourning rituals of child headed orphans.
This description is according to Daniel (2006); Leatham, Pillay and Dunbar-Krige
(2007); Statistics South Africa (2005); and Van Dyke (2005). I looked at
describing their mourning rituals in line with their belief system, how they
remained in touch with their cultural practices, and how they integrated parental
presence in their life routines, given their societal context.
The research was carried out within a post-modernist paradigm, utilizing Social
Constructivism and the Bio-ecological perspective as my theoretical framework.
However I was guided by the Indigenous Knowledge Systems and African
Traditional Religion to make sense of the mourning rituals and processes.
I followed a qualitative approach using narrative inquiry. Purposive sampling was
utilised, and data was collected through audio recorded interviews. I used the
qualitative content analysis, which followed transcription, coding, and scheming,
sorting and sifting processes. Ethical standards were adhered to.
The findings were that, depending on their belief system, the majority of childheaded
orphans did not know about mourning rituals in the expected sense.
However they had ways to deal with their loss and gained a sense of parental
presence in their life routines. Support available was mainly through school and
community organizations. Some relatives showed a tendency to exploit their
situation.