Durban - Human composting, a new way to rest in peace which is considered environmentally friendly, is gaining traction in some parts of the world.
It is a process in which the body of a dead person is turned into compost, which is used to improve plant growth.
South Africans contacted by the Independent on Saturday reacted with shock, outrage and laughter when canvassed for their opinions on the matter.
The trend has taken off in some parts of the world where the body is placed into a steel container with substances like wood chips and alfalfa, and in 30 days, it has morphed into compost.
New York recently became the sixth state in the US to legalise human composting. It costs about $7 000 (R117 600) to have a loved one turned into compost and used in the garden.
For South Africans, this was too harsh an option.
“I can’t believe that something like this can happen; you can’t be serious now,” said politician and pastor Vusi Dube this week.
He said it was “totally unAfrican” and something that people shouldn’t even contemplate.
“I just pray that our government will not even begin to think of it,” said Dube.
In addition, the body of a person was regarded as sacred. “We are so conservative. How do you grieve for someone if the body no longer exists and has been turned into compost?”
He said that even when the family did not have the full body of a loved one who had died, they would “rather bury a bone” than nothing at all.
“We can lose everything but to lose our Africanism and respect for the dead is unacceptable,” said Dube.
Similar views were echoed by Maulana Mohamed Tariq, from the Islamic Burial Council.
”For Islamic purposes, we can’t do anything to the body; that’s not permissible for us to do.
“Islamically they won’t allow us to keep the body for 30 days. We have to bury it into the ground and we won’t be able to use the body for anything else,” said Tariq.
African culture expert Professor Sihawu Ngubane said South Africa was not ready for unusual customs like human composting, because of the rituals that accompanied African burials.
He said cremations only came about because of the lack of burial space in South Africa.
Ngubane said the body of someone who died had to be in its proper state so the spirit could leave the body after a few months.
“The belief is that there is an afterlife so if the body is not properly buried the spirits can become aggressive.”
He said the deceased became the ancestors and took on the role of mediator between the living and God.
Human composting is not available in South Africa.
The Independent on Saturday