Traditional Burial Reinterpretation Centre in Katima Mulilo: Investigation of Vernacular Burial Practices in an Urban Context within the Zambezi Region

Abstract

As with most cultural groups, the people of the Zambezi region have burial practices unique to them. These practices have been passed down through the generations. In recent years these processes are less practiced, predominantly due to the influence of conventional Christian burials which have resulted in traditional methods becoming taboo. This has caused tension around the allocation and use of burial spaces in the Zambezi region. This thesis aims to understand the ritual typology brought about by opposing beliefs affecting existing grave spaces and contemporary cemeteries in the Zambezi region and how this could inform an intervention aimed at improving the cemetery space in Katima Mulilo. The intervention will aim to create a space where traditional burial practices are represented in relation to conventional methods. This will be achieved through reinterpretation of traditional methods in a proposed architectural intervention. It will showcase traditional methods in a gallery space and provide a memorial for the countless buried in unmarked or forgotten graves.