Image - Rapasa Nyatrapasa Otieno
About:
Project title: Liedo
In dholuo Liedo loosely translates to shaving hair.
Widow - chi liel or "wife of the grave"
Liedo is part of the mourning process performed by the Luo community of Kenya.
This ceremonial shaving of hair marks different stages of grief, purification and lifting of mourning taboos for the bereaved family. As part of rites of passage it is carried out to the spouse(s) of the deceased, her children and deceased mother if the deceased did not have children.
This process is observed in distinct stages, the first takes place within a minimum of 4 days -2weeks post-burial.
Stage 1 is thought to happen between 1-2 weeks post-burial where the spouse(s) of the deceased and children of the deceased get their hair shaved which marks the beginning of the mourning taboos that signifies home is in a state of bereavement.
The second shave is conducted between two weeks - one month post-burial for the children of the deceased, it allows children to be free to step out of the compound and resume normal activities while for the widow(s), it allows focusing with the intimacy of the mourning taboos.
The third shave marks the final cleansing stage of this process, this is done one month, a year or two years post-burial. It frees the widow from the mourning taboos. In the traditional setting it clears the way for the widow to be inherited by jaleko or brother-in-law.
Encountering death comes with complex traditions in different communities. For the Luo of Kenya this period of intense, often prolonged grief that dictates the behavior of the bereaved, involves social seclusion to keep the "spirit of death" away from the community.
Liedo is a symbolic act that marks one of rituals in the mourning process. It could require individuals or family to follow strict, temporary cultural taboos. This involves restricted movement, a prohibition on engaging in sexual activity, and focusing on wellbeing during the mourning period, this is thought to last for days or months to over a year(s) in traditional settings.
Concept
In the intersection of this work the artist’s body and the objects forms a dialogue becoming a connection point that evokes, recreates and evolves around the community's structure, it aligns individual’s experience to communal rites of passage. By externalizing internal grief and embodying loss, it facilitates transition the moments of change the ’’before and after’’, thus transforming passive suffering into active intentional statement. If shaving is a deliberate embodied action, could it be viewed as a bridge between individual experience and recreation of the community, allowing the person to reclaim autonomy and identity during the chaotic moment?
work in progress......
© 2018 - 2026 by Nyatiti NyaDala CIC. All rights reserved.