On Tuesday morning, Wotak’s son came down to the homeschool room where I was teaching the kids. He told us without great emotion that his father Wotak had just died. He wondered if we had a white cloth to cover him with. We were so sad to hear the news as it was so sudden. He was sick only for one or two days but had visited us just a few days before that.
Yes, this is the very chief that I have written about before. He was one of the chiefs that gave SIM the plot of land to build on and has always been very welcoming. He visited us on average 2 times a week ... always at lunch time. Our kids loved giving him a plate of food and then we listened to him moan and groan on our front porch until he fell asleep.
He loved children and was always so pleased to greet ours. He called us (and the other missionaries that have lived here) his white family. I felt that I should call John Coleman with the news so that their family could pray.
We knew this was a funeral we didn’t want to miss and asked for updates on when the burial would take place. We decided to go at noon for ½ hour as the village is so nearby. There was lots of dancing and drumming outside. We briefly went inside the hut but there was so much wailing that we left after just a few minutes. There were about 20 men and women with their heads under a blanket which was like a canopy over his body. We didn’t actually get to see Wotak’s body because the crowd was so thick.
He had two wives and many children and grandchildren. I believe his youngest child was about 3 years old so it was sad to see his young children crying. It was the main thing that stood out to our own children.
Rolf and our children also went to observe the men digging the grave. They basically dig a shaft and then a cave to the side where they slide the body into. They dig into really hard ground with lots of rocks so it generally takes all day to dig a grave. The men digging had plenty of strong alcohol to consume while they worked.
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