 After a death , the body of a prominent member of society is placed on a stool in a sitting posture and is clothed in the deceased 's finest garments . Animal sacrifices may be offered and the dead person is well perfumed . Burial usually follows within 24 hours of death . In the 21st century , the head of a home is usually buried within the compound of his residence . Different types of deaths warrant different types of burials . This is determined by an individual 's age , gender and status in society . For example , children are buried in hiding and out of sight ; their burials usually take place in the early mornings and late nights . A simple untitled man is buried in front of his house and a simple mother is buried in her place of origin : in a garden or a farm @-@ area that belonged to her father . In the 21st century , a majority of the Igbo bury their dead in the western way , although it is not uncommon for burials to be practiced in the traditional Igbo ways . 
