deaths
Ju/’hoansi Have Mortuaries Once Again
A distressing news story five months ago in the New Era, a prominent Namibian newspaper, reported how the managers of the mortuaries that serve the Ju/’hoansi people had allowed their facilities to fall into disrepair. As a result, the people had no way to care for the remains of their deceased friends and relatives until […]
Death among the Ju/’hoansi
The Ju/’hoansi are having trouble caring for their dead. According to an article in the New Era, one of Namibia’s major news agencies last week, the mortuaries in Tsumkwe and other nearby communities are more or less dysfunctional. One, located at the Tsumkwe Health Clinic, has not been functioning since 2015. A second mortuary at […]
Deaths of Pregnant Fipa Women
Stella Manyanya, the Regional Commissioner for Tanzania’s Rukwa Region, made a special plea last week for reducing the number of deaths of pregnant women. She issued her appeal to regional leaders at a meeting in the city of Sumbawanga, the historic center of the Fipa people—who traditionally had interesting ways of advancing the health of […]
Funeral for an Important San Leader
The President of Namibia attended the funeral last week for the !Kung San leader John Arnold, his wife, and his grandson, and he paid tribute to Mr. Arnold’s character and leadership. The three died as a result of a tragic highway accident in early July. Mr. Arnold, who was the Chief of the !Kung San, […]
October Birhor Tragedy Still Disturbs India
The strange, tragic deaths of numerous Birhor villagers in Jharkhand State on October 2 continue to reverberate in India, particularly since other so-called tribal peoples have also been dying of mysterious causes. Eight people died due to unknown circumstances within a few hours of one another that evening in the village of Hindiakala, and evidently […]
Tragedy in a Birhor Village
A strange series of contradictory Indian news stories over the past couple weeks have carried confusing reports about the possible causes of a tragic set of deaths in a Birhor village. It is difficult to sort out the truth, but the essence of the issue—that really poor country people don’t matter and can be used […]
Shooting Death at a Hutterite Colony
A sixteen-year old Hutterite boy was accidentally shot and killed at his colony near Morinville, Alberta, about 40 km north of Edmonton, on Wednesday last week. According to one news report, someone was cleaning a gun which discharged and killed the unnamed boy. He was rushed to a hospital in a nearby community where he […]
Buddhist Ladakhi Practice of Death and Dying [journal article review]
Dying and death are very important components of the worldviews of the Ladakhis—as they are for other adherents to Buddhism. In a recent journal article, Uwe Gielen provides a brief overview about the primary tenets of Buddhism in Ladakh: the belief that death is an integral part of life; that suffering is an essential aspect […]
