Cultural practices of the Zulu ethnic group on the body and their influence on body donation

Cultural practices in the African continent have been thought to impact negatively on body donation. Thus, most African countries continue to rely on unclaimed bodies for dissection programs, or bequests from the white population. The latter situation is dominant in South African medical schools. Since South Africa is multi-cultural with nine main ethnic groups of the Black African population, it is important to seek the reasons behind lack of participation in body donation. This report represents a move in this direction with its qualitative study of the cultural practices of the Zulu ethnic group in the province of KwaZulu-Natal from the perspective of a variety of participants, with emphasis on their treatment of the human body after death. Four themes emerged from interviews: (1) Death is not the end; (2) Effect of belief in ancestors; (3) Significance of rituals and customs carried out on human tissue; and (4) Burial as the only method of body disposal. Each of these themes is discussed in relation to the likelihood of body donation being seen by Zulus as an acceptable practice. It is concluded that this is unlikely, on account of the need to preserve the linkage between the physical human body and the spirit of the deceased person, and the perceived ongoing relationship between the spirit of the dead and the living. In view of these conclusions, a number of options are canvassed about the manner in which anatomists in KwaZulu-Natal might obtain bodies for dissection. These possibilities have implications for anatomists working in comparable cultural contexts.