About
Project - Chola ''The mourning period.''
Chola - Dhako machuore otho to pok oriwore/nindo gi dichuo moro amora - A woman that has lost her husband and as not come in contact with another man through sexual intercourse or sexual cleansing
Although not much is known about widower in relation to chola. This work acts as an interchange, it confronts and explores the dynamics of the chola practice. Chola is a part of the mourning process for both widow and widower within the luo community of Kenya. It marks the period after a luo woman loses the husband as such ritual and rites are observed, which marks a stage in life, it also comes with intersection in community's rites of a passage like tero chola taking the "news" of the dead by the spouse while wearing the funeral garment attire, rarely the widower, this is the ritual which ends the mourning. The surviving spouse and family members start their new life right post this ritual.
In the ladder of the tradition, there are symbolic actions that draw the line between before and after, they are thought to be embedded in the rites of passage. The weight of pain, grief, loss, body memory and submission is imposed on the widow, her body becomes a motif or structural, she has the mandate to wear specific funeral raiment, takes the news of the death of her spouse to her natal home, upon reaching she takes off the clothes and stays for a night. The following day her parents send her off with part of a goat meat called chola that she brings with her to prepare for the meal on her return to marital homestead. This is a symbolic action in the traditional setting that evokes emotions and allows restoration of continuity, stability and embodies identity of community.
Another prescribed element of cleansing process is tied to sexual intercourse constrained at sexual cleansing with jaleko, a man mandated for the process "cleanser" in some cases a brother-in-law to signify the end of mourning and allow the widow to remarry and reintegrate in the community. In the event one refuses to undergo the process, they may experience events of social sanctions and constraint/restraint, for example they are subject to intense pressure, like mocking, ostracization and excluded from inheriting family property.
Concept:
The artist is looking at the effects of cultural globalization, foreign practices that are thought to replace local traditions, cultural norms, values, and practices. What are the effects of informal social sanctions placed on by the community if someone objects to undergo the cleansing ritual process? Are there other sustainable approaches to embody cultural processes rather than a powerful pre-requisite to reintegrate back into the community? Could it be that the information is for passive referencing not functional. Or is it that time has influenced changes and shifts in value, or there is a deliberate tension in maintaining cultural identity to crossing to modern based practices that is activating the gap in social life? As for now it is thought that many widows and activists from communities now view the cleansing not purely as a purifying act, but rather as a form of gender-based violence that puts them at risk of diseases.
Work in progress..........
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