FUNERAL SERVICE BUSINESS IN UGANDA

ORIGINS OF THE FUNERAL SERVICE BUSINESS IN UGANDA

In Uganda, the funeral service business is a new  phenomenon dating back to 25 years ago which is 1994 to be exact. Several activities among which includes; body wrapping and transportation, grave construction and finishing, embalming and etc are being carried out by various funeral service companies in Uganda .  

There are several factors that led to the growth of the funeral  industry in uganda  and great accolades goes to Executive tomb finishers and contractors limited the pioneers of the industry in Uganda. Despite initially being looked  at in disdain, Many more funeral service companies have to date sprung up which has significantly tilted the market structure turning it into perfect competition.

Factors that have led to the growth of the funeral service business in Uganda

one of the factors that have led to the growth of the funeral service business is the emergency of a sizeable middle class which looks at the service as a necessity despite some sections of the society calling it extravagance/show off.

Another significant factor is the cultural orientation of influential tribes in Uganda (hima/tutsi) who do not want to see dead bodies as per there culture. These are pastoralists who used to bury their dead in cow dung and leave the place as soon as possible for a more secure place. As fate would have it, they have now built permanent residencies and they use funeral service companies to bury for them there dead.

Another factor is the Human great affection between the living and the dead which compels the living to give a flamboyant send off to their dear beloved dead ones. Funeral service companies have come up with a lot of innovations to fulfill that gap. The emerging social and cultural diversity and the influx of foreign cultures and work ethics have done a lot to boost the funeral service business. People take long to congregate and therefore they ought to preserve the bodies of their loved ones in a funeral home. Community solidarity where people used to gather and lit fire for weeks is slowly and gradually giving way. Limitations and competitions are liable for making funeral service business spread like wild fire. This is not to forget the promotional efforts of the funeral companies through advertising and publicity. All in all, funeral service business is a social entrepreneurship activity which reflects the structural transformation of the society from low income earners to middle class income earners.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A HEADSTONE AND A GRAVESTONE

A headstone is a slab of stone setup at the head of a grave, typically inscribed with the name of the dead person, his/her date of birth and death plus any other message conveyed to the living or deceased usually drawn from religious books ie. bible and quran.

 

Grave stone
Head stone

Headstones may be crafted from terrazzo, granite or marble. Headstones are spacious as compared to a gravestone which is smaller with details of the deceased and an epitaph.

Epitaphs are usually short and concise. They are a chance to sum up a persons life in just a few words and the best epitaphs are timeless and not overlay sentimental, and for this reason you are advised to wait for a considerable period before choosing so that emotions have time to settle and you don’t regret your choice.

 

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