Cultural religions and death in Zimbabwe

In the cultural religions of Zimbabwe, life does not end with death. Life continues in another realm. The ideas of “life” and “death” are not mutually exclusive ideas. There are no clear dividing lines between them. Human existence is a dynamic process involving the increase or decrease of “power” or “life force,” of “living” and “dying,” and there are different levels of life and death. Every misfortune that Africans encounter is seen as “a diminution of vital force.” Illness and death result from some outside agent, a person, thing, or circumstance that weakens people because the agent contains a greater life force. Death does not end the life or the personality of an individual, but only causes a change in its conditions. This is expressed in the concept of “ancestors”: people who have died but who continue to “live” in the community and communicate with their families. Ancestors are seen as “The living dead”.