Bachelor Masiolo's burial

​For 31 years, Masiolo lived and worked in the bustling streets of Kawangware, Nairobi. A hardworking and generous man, he was well-known and deeply respected by his neighbors. Yet, Masiolo lived his life as a bachelor, never marrying or having children of his own. When he suddenly passed away, his relatives gathered to transport his remains back to his ancestral home in Ekamuli village, Kakamega County, for a final send-off.
​While the village mourned his untimely death, Masiolo’s bachelor status meant his funeral had to follow strict traditional protocols. According to Luhya customs, an adult man who dies unmarried is not granted the burial rites reserved for a family head. To honor the deceased while protecting the living from his wandering spirit, village elders invoked ancient rituals.
​When the hearse arrived at the Ekamuli homestead, it was barred from entering through the main gate. Instead, a section of the perimeter fence was torn down to allow the vehicle access from the rear.
​The unconventional customs continued at the main house. Because Masiolo had no wife, his coffin was forbidden from passing through the front door. Instead, elders carefully broke a hole through the back wall, sliding the casket inside. Every action was meticulously designed to disorient the spirit, preventing it from haunting the homestead.
​Following these somber rites, Masiolo was laid to rest at the edge of the compound, away from the traditional resting place of family heads. Afterward, the community swiftly repaired the wall and the fence, sealing the rituals, restoring peace to Ekamuli, and bringing a quiet closure to a life well-lived in the city.