Abstract:
This research work is a product of the researcher’s desire to contribute to the existing stock of knowledge on Christianity and autochthonous burial rites. The study aims at bringing out the essence of mortuary protocols in the traditional culture. The study also looked at the changes that have taken place in the performance of traditional funeral rites in Ovim and else where. The research adopted the qualitative method of data collection and analysis. Conventionally, in ethnographic research of this nature it is impossible to known before hand the people that have relevant information for the study. Therefore, in carrying out this research all the culture bearers are potential informant (sample). The instruments used for data collection are note-taking and audio cassette recorder for the interview while video recorder, still photograph, field notes are used for the participant observation and focus-group discussion (FGD) aspect of the inquiry. Therefore, the researcher recommended that people should separate between the traditional funeral customs from the western and Christian funeral customs.
