Beyond solidarity and mutual aid: Tension and conflict in burial groups in rural Uganda

Drawing from ethnographic data collected between 2012 and 2014 and January and June 2018 in Luwero district, Uganda, this article questions the romanticised depiction of burial groups as a means of enhancing social support, a sense of solidarity and mutual aid. We found that the felt sense of identity and belonging for members is not shared across community members, and that solidary relations between members and non-group members in the community are fraught with tensions and conflicts. Beyond the romanticised view of burial groups, we need to study burial groups as a model of solidarity in disunity and diversity.