A family gathering to remember the death
of their father turned nasty when “his” ghost appeared
sending frightened members on their heels.
This remembrance gathering followed a ceremony that is
common culture practice amongst people of the ndebele
and shona tribes in
Zimbabwe, as well as other bantu tribes in Southern
Africa. Culturally, when someone dies a "mbuyiso"
(come home) ceremony is
held to bring his or her spirit home. This standard
practice amongst ancestral spirit worshippers.
The ceremony was to be performed at midnight.
It was after all the ceremonial rights had been performed at
the man’s grave and the elders of the family were moving
towards the homestead, when a ghostly figure rose up from the pit near
the grave and started following at a distance.
Meanwhile the elders kept bidding the spirit to come
forth.
Soon they realized the shock on some people’s faces
as they pointed to the ghastly scene behind them. To their
shock they saw the man’s ghost behind them.
They ran for dear life. Some were hurt in the process
as they jumped through the windows in fear of the ghost.
It later turned out it was one of the dead man’s son
who had covered himself with a white sheet so as to scare
the people.
The son, a Christian did not believe in this practice
and so wanted to prove to the family the futility of the
ceremony.
When the "ghostly" dust had settled and
everyone had realized the young man’s tricks
and he got a good scolding.
