The Hadzabe community of Tanzania is renowned for its rich cultural heritage, drawing tourists and researchers eager to explore their unique traditions, lifestyle, and history.
Visitors to Hadzabe settlements near Lake Eyasi experience first-hand a society that has preserved its customs for generations.
Those seeking deeper insight can also visit the Ngorongoro–Lengai UNESCO Global Geopark Museum in Karatu District, managed by the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority.
The museum offers detailed accounts of Hadzabe beliefs, practices, and cultural values, providing context for their daily lives.
Following recent features on the role of the baboon’s head in courtship and traditional punishments for infidelity, this article explores the Hadzabe approach to death, mourning, and burial—a testament to their enduring cultural identity.
Contrary to popular myths that the Hadzabe “disappear” or do not follow burial customs, the community observes detailed funeral rituals.
Like all humans, Hadzabe men and women die, but their passing is understood through the lens of faith in their God, Hepeme or Ishoko.
The Hadzabe believe this deity resides between the sun and the moon, providing blessings, protection, and sustenance in daily life.
Elder Shagembe Gambai, a Hadzabe leader from Eyasi village in Ngorongoro, explains that death is seen as a transition to Hepeme’s care.
“Our God is merciful,” he says, “and when a person dies, they return to Him. We honour this belief through our burial practices.”
Unlike conventional burials, the Hadzabe lay the deceased beside the home they occupied during life. Following this, family members and mourners enter the forest to hunt a large animal such as a buffalo, zebra, kudu, or antelope which is then placed alongside the body.
After this ritual, the family temporarily relocates for more than a month, a period believed to allow the deceased’s spirit to reach Hepeme.
Once the mourning period ends, they return to their home and resume daily life, confident that the soul has completed its journey.
During mourning, the community demonstrates solidarity, offering support and comfort to bereaved families.
Death is viewed not as an end but as a continuation of life under Hepeme’s guidance, a belief that reinforces communal bonds and respect for ancestral traditions.
Despite modernisation and global influences, the Hadzabe remain steadfast in preserving their culture, living by the customs inherited from their forebears.
Their adherence to traditional practices continues to earn admiration, highlighting a society that balances continuity with respect for the natural order of life.