Nwoye, A.2014-05-302014-05-302005-09Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy Volume 26, Issue 3, pages 147–154, September 2005http://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/9718DOI: 10.1002/j.1467-8438.2005.tb00662.xWestern literatures on bereavement acknowledge the tendency to pathological grieving among some bereaved persons. The phenomenon of pathological mourning, however, is rare in Africa because of the presence of coherent and transformative rituals of mourning. This article argues that such rituals and performative experiences heal by addressing four principal aspects of the memory of the bereaved individual. The article elaborates on the content, process, symbolic meanings and clinical potency of these rituals.enArticle