News

CHRONICLE 7: Obituaries and the Art of Telling the Story of a Life

by

Egara Kabaji

Let me make a confession in this chronicle. I am an avid reader of obituaries in the media in Kenya and pay close attention to tributes in funeral programmes. I read them with considerable interest. This fascination is not morbid. I am not a witch. I am simply fascinated by how we construct narratives about those who have departed this world.

I have read dozens of obituaries and tributes this year and I can tell you one thing: we have a problem with obituary writing. Most of the obituaries published in our newspapers and tributes appearing in funeral programmes are unimaginative, repetitive and, frankly, poorly written. They even shame the dead they are meant to exalt. They often read like photocopies of one another. Let me explain before you hit me on the head.

The common lines in a typical Kenyan obituary are well known. "The deceased was hardworking, God-fearing, loving, generous, humble and a pillar of the family and community." Every person appears to have been a saint. The language is predictable, the descriptions are recycled and the accounts lack individuality. You could remove the deceased's name from some of these accounts and replace it with another without anyone noticing the difference.

I think we keep deceiving ourselves. Not everyone is capable of writing a creative obituary. Obituary writing is a specialised form of writing. This is not simply an exercise in announcing someone's death. You do not just need to list the deceased's educational qualifications, family members and surviving relatives. This is hardly an opportunity to string together flattering adjectives. An obituary should be a literary account of a human life. It is a work of narrative nonfiction that demands research and imagination. It cannot be done without good writing skills.

A good obituary requires structure. It should have an engaging beginning, a coherent development and a satisfying conclusion. The opening lines are particularly important. They should capture the reader's attention and establish what made the deceased distinctive. Instead of beginning with the predictable announcement that so-and-so was born on a particular date, a smart writer introduces a memorable incident or a defining contribution. Such an opening gives the reader a reason to continue reading. I rarely see this.

I get embarrassed reading the body of most obituaries that do not develop a story. A good obituary is not merely a chronological record of someone's life. It should identify the defining experiences, relationships, struggles and achievements that shaped the individual. Where did the person come from? What circumstances shaped their character? What did they contribute to their family, profession or community? What will people remember about them? These are questions that should guide the writer. This should be done with precision. Sometimes one is expected to tell the story in just about 225 words.

That is why obituary writing is both a science and an art. Rather than simply describing someone as generous, tell us about an occasion when that generosity changed somebody's life. Instead of calling someone humorous, recount an incident that illustrates their sense of humour. A carefully selected anecdote can reveal more about a person than a dozen complimentary adjectives.

One thing I have noticed is that most obituaries are constructed from hearsay. A good writer needs to establish facts, consult people who knew the deceased and verify important dates, events and accomplishments. Family members, colleagues, friends and professional associates may offer different perspectives. These accounts help reconstruct a fuller picture of the individual. The writer, however, must exercise judgement in selecting what is relevant and interesting.

Let me turn to the question of honesty. Death seems to have a curious capacity to transform ordinary human beings into saints. People who had weaknesses and made serious mistakes are suddenly presented as flawless individuals. A meaningful obituary does not require the manufacture of perfection. It requires a fair and compassionate representation of a human being. It is possible to celebrate someone's achievements without pretending that they never failed.

In any writing, language matters, and the same applies to obituary writing. It should be engaging and economical. There is no need for exaggerated praise and tired expressions. A good obituary writer must understand that the objective is to help the reader encounter the person whose life is being remembered. Every sentence should contribute to the portrait being created.

Let us always remember that an obituary also has a life beyond the funeral. It becomes part of the historical record. Years after the burial, somebody may read it to understand a parent's contribution or the circumstances of a particular generation. In this sense, obituary writing is also an act of preserving collective memory. It rescues individual lives from the anonymity of history.

Reflecting on this craft while serving as a Cluster Chronicler at the University of Bayreuth has made me appreciate how the writing of African life stories connects with the core theoretical framework of the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence. By documenting individual African experiences and preserving their memories, we contribute to reconfiguring African Studies and reimagining world-making from African perspectives.

For me, composing an African matriarch's life story from Bayreuth demonstrates our globally entangled lifeworlds. Sitting in Bayreuth while managing funeral communications in Nairobi and Kakamega illustrates that Africa and Europe are not isolated categories. As a chronicler, I operate across multiple, co-existing spaces. This demonstrates how global entanglements continuously shape memory, identity and narrative.

I think we have to critically examine our own positionalities as researchers and writers. Writing across continental distances forces a chronicler to interrogate the power dynamics of memory: Who gets remembered? How are lives framed? How do we rescue local African lives from institutional anonymity and historical erasure?

Ultimately, an obituary possesses a life far beyond the funeral day. Once published in a newspaper or printed in a funeral booklet, it enters the public archive, becoming part of the historical record. Decades later, future generations will read these texts to understand the contributions, struggles and socio-cultural contexts of their ancestors. In this sense, writing a creative obituary is an act of preserving collective memory, rescuing individual lives from the anonymity of history.

Because I believe the departed do not deserve a hollow collection of flattering clichés, I have taken a step that often surprises people: I have already written my own obituary. I intend to place it alongside my will so that when my time comes to meet my Creator, no well-meaning writer will publish recycled lines proclaiming that I was an infallible saint. A fair, honest and creative narrative is the highest tribute we can pay to any human life.

END