Cultural Interpretation of Dying and Death in a Non-Western Society: The Case of Nigeria

Using Western theories and perspectives as models, this chapter discusses the cultural interpretation of dying and death in a non-Western society. Also discussed, based on the historical, political, and cultural history of Nigeria, are the implications of dying and death for death preparation, the problem of deathcausation diseases without external symptoms, and the special plight of widows. Suggestions are made on how to change current practices to alleviate the conditions of widows. The Nigerian experience provides a model for other non-Western societies with similar historical, political, and cultural backgrounds. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. This article is available in Online Readings in Psychology and Culture: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol3/iss2/1