School of Applied Human Sciences

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Browsing School of Applied Human Sciences by Author "Asatsa, Stephen"

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    Regulating Community Wellbeing through Traditional Mourning Rituals: Insights from the Luhya People of Kenya
    (Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, 2025) Asatsa, Stephen; Sheina, Lew Levy; Mbugua, Stephen Ngaari; Ntaragwe, Maria; Shanyisa, Wilkister; Omuchesi, Jonathan; Gichimu, Elizabeth Wangari; Nambiri, Jane
    Background and objectives: Rituals have been reported to serve as a vital mechanism for expressing grief and fostering communal support worldwide. Despite these benefts, use of rituals in Indigenous communities is threatened by missionization, globalization, and westernization. This study sought to examine the relevance of traditional mourning rituals in community morality and well-being. Anchored in cultural evolutionary theory, the study employed an ethnographic research design. Methodology: Data were collected from 45 community elders, 30 bereaved adults, 30 bereaved adolescents, and 8 religious leaders through focus group discussions and interviews. Results: The study established fve mourning rituals practiced by the Luhya people, each potentially serving an evolutionary function for community survival and well-being. Our fndings show that Luhya traditional mourning rituals play an important role in community well-being, though not all members may beneft equally from these efects. Conclusions and implications: The study established confict over rituals with difering viewpoints from religious leaders, cultural leaders, and the western biomedical approach to mental well-being. Yet, the bereaved reported that both Luhya and religious rituals helped them process their grief. To address mental health issues fully, it is important to establish collaboration between western models, religious approaches, and cultural approaches. Lay Summary Rituals are important practices that help people express their grief and provide support within communities around the world yet in most indigenous communities across the world, yet these rituals are being replaced by western biomedical approaches. This study focused on the signifcance of traditional mourning rituals among the Luhya people of Kenya and how these practices contribute to community morality and well-being. The study interviewed community elders, bereaved adults and adolescents, and religious leaders. The fndings revealed that traditional rituals are crucial for the community's health, although not all members experience the same benefts. There were difering opinions about the rituals from religious leaders, cultural leaders, and those who follow western medicalapproaches to mental health. Despite these conficts, many bereaved individuals reported that both Luhya and religious rituals helped them cope with their grief. To efectively address mental health issues, the study suggests a need for collaboration between western mental health models, religious practices, and cultural traditions. This approach could create a more comprehensive support system for those experiencing loss.