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Have coffin, we'll dance

Light refractions by Lucien Rajakarunanayake Some communities of economically disadvantaged people sing and dance at a funeral, and all the way to the burial or cremation, as they consider death a final escape from the burdens of life.

I recall the story of a Negombo funeral many decades ago, where the man who hired the brass band to lead the cortege was in his cups and did not like the slow tempo of their music. He asked them to play something brighter and they broke into "He's a jolly good fellow", and so they jolly well went all the way to the burial.

Some Back to the Bible fundamentalist Christians, discourage any weeping or mourning for the dead at their funerals, as they believe that the one departed has gone to eternal happiness with one's Maker, so there's no cause for sorrow but only greater joy.

None of these compare with what took place in Colombo last Monday, when the Anti War Front, and those who support it, decided to have a protest demonstration at the Town Hall Grounds and Vihara Maha Devi Park over the assassination of Jaffna District TNA MP Nadaraja Raviraj.

Those at the vanguard of the protest, who were carrying the coffin with the remains of Mr. Raviraj inside, had obviously forgotten what their burden was or the declared purpose of their rallying. Though there were no drummers present to set a beat, they stepped to their own crazed rhythm, heaving the coffin, swinging it about and shouting themselves hoarse with slogans.

There were times when some bystanders feared the coffin would open throwing the remains of Mr. Raviraj out. The swing and sway of the flag draped coffin in their hands was so big as to make Mr. Raviraj literally turn many times over inside it. Had he been able to break open and speak, up he would have put all those rowdy protest-mourners to shame with some strong words of contempt for their ugly behaviour.

Dead bodies and coffins are very much the staple of politicians and protests. We often see symbolic coffins being carried in protest demonstrations, and even being cremated to drive home the point of protest. There are politicians who are glad for an opportunity to go round one's electorate, district or even the country carrying a coffin, or weeping about a death to gather as much political capital as possible. The politics of the coffin is very much part of our political culture, as much as the "manaapey" and the liquor licence.

But last Monday's spectacle of contemptuous disregard for the dead was a descent into the lowest depths of cheap politicking of the grave digger type.

Many were surprised to see how people who talk with such an aura of importance about them, when speaking of about human rights, respect for human life and the dignity of man, peace, and conflict resolution, were shouting and dancing about without the least respect for the dead; heaping insult on the memory of the man whose killing they claimed to be protesting.

Raucous worn-out Marxists, strident activists for women's rights, politicians from the ranks of the green and blue, those always on a dubious alert for profitable conflict resolution, and peace wallahs who see violence only on one side of the armed divide, and many political upstarts made up this motley collection of protest-mourners; so eager for a chance to have their great day with a coffin.

At the end they all showed the pulpy stuff they were made of, when sans any feeling for the bereaved family of Mr. Raviraj, they all faded away, leaving the remains of the deceased to be taken back to the funeral parlour by the grieving family members and a few close friends. It was a far cry from respect for the dead and the traditional practices of community participation in the final rites of a deceased.

Those who did that macabre dance of the dead, carrying Nadaraja Raviraj's body on their shoulders, have easily made their mark among the ranks of political ghouls. Next time you want them to dance, just throw them a coffin; they'll do a spot dance to their own graveyard beat.

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