Ghanaian Funerals In The Diaspora: Profit-making Motives?

Organising funerals for the dead has always been an important part of our culture in Ghana. This trend has continued in recent times. When a person dies, his or her funeral is celebrated at only one particular place and time. For example, if a person dies in Kumasi, the funeral may be held there. Mourners, including relatives, loved ones and well-wishers all over Ghana and even outside Ghana, will all converge at Kumasi to attend the funeral. It is traditionally not allowed for a funeral to be held twice for the same dead person anywhere in Ghana.

A trend that is going on in the diaspora is remarkably interesting. Ghanaians abroad now organize funerals for loved ones who did not live or die abroad. For most of the time in the diaspora, wake-keepings are held. As it is done in Ghana, one week after a person's death is also celebrated in the diaspora before the actual funeral rites

It is obvious that not all loved ones, well-wishers and sympathizers are able to accompany a person living abroad who has lost a relative in Ghana. On her return, a default funeral is organized for those who were not able to be at the funeral in Ghana. A hall is rented, a deejay is hired and food and drinks are made available for all those who will attend the funeral. As the guests eat, drink and dance to the rich cultural songs, they are asked to dip their hands into their pockets and make cash contributions to the bereaved.

There is no doubt that the purpose of these funerals is to make profit. When funerals are arranged abroad, for example in London or in Hamburg or any place where there are large concentrations of Ghanaians, invitations are sent to all relatives, friends and well-wishers all over Europe and America. The idea is that even if the invitee is unable to honour the invitation, he or she will send a contribution. As we say: “Se odwan annko a, ne nwoma ko” (if you are not able to make it there yourself, your money can be there).

Adwoa Manu lives in London. In order to maximize profits, she attends every funeral in Britain. She is also a member of five different associations and clubs: Asantemankuo, Kwabremmakuo, Destiny Club, Kotokokuo and Daakye Abusuakuo. The interesting part is that Adwoa Manu has lost both parents before coming to Europe. She therefore uses her uncle and aunt who were in their eighties as her parents. She will only have to wait for a few more years to reap her profit. It can become a dicey situation when your parents are old but are "refusing" to die so that you can make a funeral for them abroad especially when you have been attending other peoples' funerals.

Another woman, Afua Serwaa, whose father died in Ghana neither lived abroad nor even knew where Kotoka Airport is. He had three children living abroad. He seldom heard from his children. He never received monies from them. According to the children, their father never took care of them when they were growing up. He left the entire burden on the shoulders of their mother. The children never forgave him when they grew up. When the father died, they ordered the corpse to be kept in the freezer while they prepared to return home to bury their father.

The first child lived in London, the second in New Jersey, while the third born lived in Manchester. Each of them organized a funeral in his or her respective area. The three funerals were held in grand fashions concurrently. The only thing that was lacking was a video-link of the three "shows". After the funeral, the two ladies together got eighteen thousand pounds (£18,000) in contributions from well-wishers who attended the default funeral as well as those who could not be present physically. Their senior brother in New Jersey also cashed in eight thousand five hundred dollars ($8500) from funeral contributions. These were the sums they got after all expenses had been deducted. Part of the money was spent on the burial and funeral expenses in Ghana and the rest was profit – pure profit!

Either due to the love for the dead or the love for profit, this phenomenon of funeral celebrations abroad is gradually spreading to many countries including the Scandinavian countries, namely Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark. The funeral celebration originally began in Britain, Germany, Holland, USA and Canada. Now, they are celebrated everywhere a number of Ghanaians are living. It was said at first that it was Akans who liked such funerals. Now, Ewes, Gas, Nzemas and other ethnic groups from Ghana living abroad are copying their Akan countrymen and women and performing funerals abroad.

Certain social norms have developed around these default funerals abroad. If you do not attend other funerals, nobody will attend yours. You will have to eat your food alone and dance alone. The chief mourners study the contributions carefully and reply in kind when it is your turn. It is also the norm that when your parent dies, you must go home to bury him or her first before coming to perform the default funeral abroad. Those who just perform the default funeral abroad without ever going home are looked down on.

The default funerals have also become important occasions for especially the women to show off their latest dresses and 'ntoma'. Since one cannot wear such dresses on ordinary occasions in Europe or America, the funeral presents a great opportunity to bring them out. The women who are daring wear these dresses and take public transport to the funeral locations, proudly oblivious to the stares around them on the bus or on the train. This is easy in the summer. It is more difficult in the winter and the men will have to carry their cloths and traditional sandals in bags or in their cars and change into them when they arrive at the funeral. The food that is served is often kenkey, waakye, fried plantain, rice and some others, making sure that there is something with less pepper for white palates too. The chief mourners sit at a decorated high table holding assorted drinks (often gins and common whiskies since many Ghanaians don't know, or care about, the quality differences between blended and single malt whiskies). There will be a framed picture of the deceased, whom almost nobody in the hall had ever met or seen before, conspicuously displayed in the centre for all to see. There is a funeral announcer who may inform the gathering that no contribution is too small while intentionally inflating the contributions of some people in order to make others increase the amounts they had wanted to contribute. The children are brought along too, some of them black and white, and they are often seen running around in the corridors while the elders mourn, eat, drink, dance and contribute (or rather pay) inside. The default funeral can also be an occasion to meet some friends you may not have seen in ages because of the aburokyire abrabo (hustle in a white man's land). But through it all, the profit motive is never forgotten by the organizers.

Some years ago, a Ghanaian man who held an executive position in a company in Pennsylvania died of cancer. The woman, without the knowledge of the man's relatives in Ghana, Europe and the USA, cremated the body. Soon news went out that the man was dead. Relatives, well-wishers and sympathizers converged at the deceased man's house. The wife hurriedly bought a coffin and decorated it. She laid two wreaths on the coffin. She began to weep and informed the guests that the doctor had warned strictly that the coffin should not be opened since what killed him could infect everyone there. Some of the friends who were a bit drunk were not satisfied with the explanation. They pushed the woman aside and forced the coffin open. To the surprise of everybody, it was empty. The bereaved woman's shame and embarrassment was total. All her hopes and plans to hold a grand funeral with a view to making profit were dashed.

Our attitude towards funerals abroad must change. Spending heavily on the dead, rather than the living must be discouraged. Opanin Appiah Kubi had six children who were all living abroad. He lived in the village with his wife in a one room apartment. He pleaded with his children to join their strengths together and put up a self-contained apartment for them. His plea fell on deaf ears. It happened that both parents died in a lorry accident. You can imagine the glamour of a funeral that was held for them by their six children both at home and abroad.

Dear reader, do you think it is necessary to spend huge amounts on the dead rather than the living? Must funeral celebrations in the diaspora be boycotted or tolerated? Let's see your comments on the comments section.

Written by: Stephen Atta Owusu
Author: Dark Faces At Crossroads
Email: [email protected]