Visiting large-scale gatherings

It is practically impossible to stay away from, if not ‘to rush to’ (kubutukila), the Cililo of a relative or a friend, or of someone whose farm is not too far away. Not attending is rude and insulting to the next of kin of the deceased and a possible sign that one is involved in the death. In former days, this also held for not visiting someone’s Ipupo. The Ipupo has changed less than the Cililo, and therefore many christians do not visit it.

List 48: Visiting large-scale gatherings with music in the 1980s and in the 2000s.

In the 1980s, with the exception of the Cililo, the large-scale gatherings, however influential, were regularly attended by less than half of the population over fourteen years of age. By the 2000s, these visiting frequencies had dropped. Christian cult meetings were visited more often and there remained a strong desire to attend a Cililo, but it is less so than in the 1980s. Sandauni, now facing competition from bars and tarvens, were visited less frequently but still drew an audience. The Ipupo and Cibombe were visited far less often than in the 1980s. This decline is attributable to a trio of factors: the decrease in spirit possession, an improved economic situation, and the further rise of christianity.