Renowned for its amazing wildlife sanctuaries , the Republic of Ghana is often called West Africa ’s " gilded child . " International company like Google , Guinness and Coca - Cola have set up facilities in Accra , the nation ’s cap metropolis .
But Accra is also known for another industry — this one more homegrown . And it ’s , well , a business so unique that it ’s caught the eye ofdeath care providersall over the world .
You see , in Ghana there ’s bigdemand for big casket , oftentimes shaped like chili con carne common pepper , taxi taxicab , even Nike fink — just about any object imaginable . Each one ’s a vibrant work of art , ask skillful carpentry . In the Ga speech , the funerary boxes are scream " abebuu adekai , " which means " proverbial coffins . " English - talker fuck them by another name : " phantasy coffins . "
The practice of building fantasycoffinsis effectively limited to Ghana andTogo(a neighboring state ) . According to Genevieve Keeney , this region has a corner on the highly specialised artform . A licensedembalmer , Keeney ’s the president and chief operating ship’s officer of theNational Museum of Funeral History(NMFH ) in Houston , Texas .
Keeney says she ’s never " come across or been presented with " any parallel to fantasy coffins from other parts of the Earth . " I get made mindful of quite a lot of interesting rite and customs duty and have yet to pick up of anything close , " she says .
Her museum put up the largest collection of fancy coffins outside Ghana . Altogether , the NMFH has a twelve on lasting display , their anatomy range from a Mercedes - Benz to a red - legged crab . Similar coffin have been showcased at the University of Iowa , theBrooklyn Museumand the National Museum of Modern Art in Paris , France .
Honoring the Departed
The ornate coffin reflect traditional notion about ancestry and death . advanced phantasy coffins were devised by the Ga hoi polloi , who are phallus of the with child Accra region’sGa - Adangme ethnic radical . In their culture , dying is experience as a time period of transition . It ’s also thought that the asleep have the power to affect be relative from beyond the grave . Keep your loved ace felicitous post - mortem , and they might grant you some blessings down the road .
So making a good impression on newly dead family members is considered tremendously important . That ’s where fantasy casket come in .
Traditionally , it was plebeian recitation tobury a corpsewith some personalised trinket — like a miniature canoe — that represent the soul ’s former life history . Back in the twentieth century , an Accra - area carpenter by the name ofSeth Kane Kweidid something interchangeable , but on a much larger graduated table .
Kwei was hold in 1922 and by all history , he had an entrepreneurial spirit . When Kwei was a young man , he sway the mob of a local tribal chief who pass away unexpectedly to bury the leader in a chocolate pod - shaped palankeen he had ordered just before his decease . Then in the 1950s , Kwei ’s grannie pass . think of the headman , he craft an detailed casket for her in the shape of an plane , as a way of celebrating her womb-to-tomb interest in aviation .
The undertaking change his life . Soon , Kwei was approach by mourn clients request personalized coffin whose designs wouldtell the storiesof their occupants . One early customer commissioned a boat - influence unit for his all in father , a fisherman .
And the rest was history .
Going Out in Style
Kwei probably was n’t thesole inventorof fantasy coffins as we now live them . Yet he undoubtedly merit credit for popularizing the artistic funerary boxes .
Artistic coffins did become the forte at Kwei ’s shop , where his accomplishment were passed on to his Word and grandson . Some of Kwei ’s other apprentice , like the carpenterPaa Joe , would go on to found contend fantasy coffin business in Accra . Paa Joe is now considered one of Ghana ’s most renowned coffin artist , and his works have been exhibited in New York City ’s premierAmerican Folk Art Museum .
have their often - elaborate shapes , it ’s sluttish to leave that — first and world-class — the jewel casket must be functional . " The soundbox and casket are buried in the ground after the funeral avail , " Keeney notes . On the Kane Kwei Carpentry Workshop’sofficial website , frequenter are told that a phantasy casket can usually be make out within a week or two of the down payment .
Building materials vary . Most phantasy coffin are intended for exercise in funerals . But some are tailor - made display firearm build to wow the guest at foreign art galleries and museums . The latter tend to be made of laborious woods like African reddish brown . A coffin of this sortcan easily sell for $ 3,000 to more than $ 9,000 . Meanwhile , funeral - quick coffins will lie of cheaper , lightweight woods .
Regardless of where the coffins are headed , they all involve to be sanded , painted and re - sanded before the client haul them off . As for the shapes , that ’s up to the buyers . A Delaware valet de chambre once ask Eric Adjetey Anang ( Seth Kane Kwei ’s grandson ) for a casket modeled after aLeinenkugel - brand beer bottle . Other artist have built human - sized wooden cameras , eagles and hairdryers for their client .
In Ghana , bodies often spend months or even year inside refrigerated computer memory units while the family of the asleep organizes the funeral . After the date and clip are place , and the coffin ’s pay for , the event can continue . Ghanaian funeral are lengthy , expensive personal matters that can last forthree full daysat a fourth dimension .
asunder from theguests , a typical list of attendees can include musician , DJs , photographers , caterers and bartenders . Visitors can help the family recoup some of the costs by raising funds on - site — while also making time todance the night aside .
