Nigerian filmmaker Chinney Love has expressed frustration over the challenges of organizing burials in eastern Nigeria.
In a series of posts on Instagram, she lamented that conducting a traditional Igbo burial often leaves those involved physically and emotionally drained. She questioned why cultural expectations make the process so difficult for grieving children trying to lay their parents to rest.
The award-winning filmmaker described herself as sick, frustrated, angry, and exhausted, suggesting that some individuals use burial ceremonies as an opportunity to assert power and create unnecessary complications. She characterized the experience as both overwhelming and draining, warning that such pressures might eventually discourage families from returning their loved ones to their ancestral homes for burial.
She wrote that it feels almost impossible to go through an Igbo burial without falling ill afterward, and wondered why such a sensitive period is made even harder. According to her, the added stress during a time of grief is unfair and deeply taxing, and she admitted she is eager for the process to be over.
Earlier, Chinney Love had shared news of her mother’s passing on Instagram. On what would have been her late mother’s birthday, she reflected on the emotional difficulty of the day, noting how strange it felt not being able to call her. She added that she is still learning to cope with the loss, describing her mother as her everything.