Abstract
Supported by historical analysis, ethnographic research conducted in Braamfontein and Brixton cemeteries, and extensive archival work, this dissertation examines the complex transformation of death and postmortem practices in Johannesburg. It explores how mortuary rituals and funerary practices have evolved since the mid-19th century, tracing the shift from communal and familial responsibility (Boret, Long, and Kan, 2017) to increasing state and institutional control (Stepputat, 2014). The study begins by investigating the ‘traditional’ and religious approaches to death among Sotho-Tswana speakers present in Johannesburg between the 15th and 17th centuries (Maggs, 1976), as well as Afrikaner settlers who inhabited the region in the 19th century (Thompson, 2001). I trace at how these communities conceptualized and handled death prior to industrialization of the 19th century. Then, I explore how discovery of gold in 1886 (Gray, 1937) led to a massive influx of people, rapid industrialization, and a sharp spike in mortality rates. It is against that backdrop that I argue that this period marked a shift in death practices as the state began to assert increasing control over death, mortuary rituals, and funerary practices, driven by public health concerns (Stepputat, 2018) and a broader legitimization of power by the city authorities (Kearl and Rinaldi, 1989), but also reflecting a deeper, and wider reinvigorated ‘carnal fetishisation’ (Bernault, 2013) of bodies. The dissertation argues that the state's official takeover of mourners' responsibility to treat the dead (Dennie, 2010) led to the institutionalization of death, as it eventually became the domain of deathcare experts such as medical personnel, funeral parlors, and stonemasons (Howarth, 1997). Lastly, I conclude by tracing what has changed and yet, persisted with regard to ideas and practices surrounding death and postmortem management of a corpse. And how these changes and continues reshape and reconstitutes new way of living and dying in present day societies (Birenbaum‐Carmeli and Inhorn, 2009).