ABSTRACT

This paper focuses on the burial culture of the Isoko and Urhobo people of Delta state, especially from 1990 to 2020, and the aspect of the burial culture as it pertains to returning the body of a woman at death back to her natal home for burial. With the wave of globalization came a number of changes in the burial culture of the Isoko and Urhobo people of Delta state. This paper aims at examining the changes and the continuity in an aspect of the burial culture of the Isoko and Urhobo people of Delta State. It critically examines the practice of returning the body of a deceased woman back to her natal home for burial. This practice has over the years been questioned, interrogated and called for scrutiny by both the Isoko and Urhobo people and some of their neigbours. The work argues that social factors have introduced continuous changes in the Isoko and Urhobo culture with regards to their funeral rites and the burial culture of the people have been greatly affected. This practice have been perceived as one which promotes patriarchal dominance. The work adopts the analytical method, using both primary and secondary sources of data in interrogating the practice of returning the body of a deceased woman back to her natal home for burial rather than burying her in her husband's home and maintains that if this practice is not properly handled, it could affect inter-group relations. The paper therefore concludes that this practice is posing as a serious threat to a peaceful and harmonious inter-group relationship among families that are involved in inter-tribal marriage. It recommends that the Isoko and Urhobo people should rehabilitate properly to blend with modernity in this aspect of their culture while preserving some others.