“The dead are dying of thirst” is an African saying that explains the spiritual belief that specific rituals must be performed before the departed can join the ancestors peacefully. Many of these rites of passing on involve beer. For centuries, beer and Black spirituality have been intertwined.
When spirits transition and families gather and prepare their send-offs, it's said that the deceased spirits are dangling between worlds. It's believed that they're searching for something to quench their thirst. And beer was the answer.
Passed-on folks would gather at the vats of fermenting beer to take a sip before moving on, while the living believe that they imparted the brew with their divine energy, giving it its intoxicating qualities.
To properly honor the deceased, libation, sometimes beer and other times fermented wine is poured and passed among elders to help ease them to the other side. When we "pour one out for the homies," a popular rite that Black Americans have long done to honor their dearly departed, it is believed to have derived from these African dying rituals.
In this life, we will lose much we love, especially people, but we will never forget who we come from. Rituals and traditions help keep us close to the people and places that make us who we are.