Yemeni cemetery rituals and customs [Archives:2008/1142/Last Page]

Almigdad Mojalli
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Like people in any nation, Yemenis have their own customs, rites and rituals that they observe at grave sites.

In some northern rural districts of Yemen, the relatives of a deceased person will go on the third day after his/her death to visit the grave site, bringing with them as many poor people and children as possible. The relatives also bring with them large quantities of food, which often includes bread, soup, meat, 'aseed or hareesh (a popular porridge made of wheat) and many other dishes.

They bring children and poor people to eat the food for charity in the name of the deceased. The relatives, poor people and children come to the cemetery in the early morning at half past six and stay there for about two hours before the entire group leaves the cemetery. The poor people and children eat the food until there is nothing left. The idea behind this is that the relatives of the deceased give to charity so that the poor and the children will pray for the soul of the deceased. Afterwards, the children leave the cemetery praying for the dead loudly in chorus while the older people pray with quiet voices.

When they finished eating in the cemetery, the relatives of the dead pour ghee (clarified butter) on the children's heads. “People used to pour ghee on the heads of children as an indication that ghee