‘Living Rugged, Dying Brutal’: Understanding Gang Lifeworlds through Death

Abstract

This study examined death rituals as a frame to understanding the meaning of life and the afterlife from the perspective of gang members, and how these meanings frame the violent sub-culture of gangs. Utilizing a case study analysis of the Iceland and Deebam gangs, the two leading gangs in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, we identified a collection of material and non-material deathrituals which are separately embedded in the ideological orientations as well as practical activities of both gangs. Our findings showed that the meaning of life and death is drawn from a belief system that holds a promise of ‘life after death’ or of ‘dead gang members having lasting feasts with their gods’. Such post-death privileges are believed to be a reward for gang loyalty often manifestedthrough the ‘ruggedity’ or ‘brutality’ of the deceased gang members while alive. This implies that upon demise, membership and social status of gang members transcend to the afterlife. We argued that it is these belief systems amongst gang members that frame the forms of death rituals that are usually characterized by swearing by the gods, promise of revenge and other forms of rugged or brutal show of violence that incentivizes/sustains the violent sub-culture and precarity of the gang life