Private Events Must Remain Absolutely Private: Nipping In The Bud The Albatross Of One-Week Observance In Ghana

Funeral celebrations constitute one of the rich cultural values in Ghana. As one of the traditional ceremonies that mark important transitional periods in a person’s life, funeral rites have been part of the African cultural heritage from time immemorial. Even though funeral celebrations differ among various religions and tribes in Ghana, the major objective of every funeral aims at aiding the deceased in their passage to the next life. In Ghana, funeral rites are not only held for grieving the departed, but more importantly, they also serve as moments of emotional realignment, inner healing, family bonding and supportive care for the bereaved family. Funerals are organised to honour the memory of the departed relative and celebrate his or her achievements in life. It is believed that funeral ceremonies bestow on the departed the needed protection and the blessings of the Ancestral Spirits as well as divine pardon from the Supreme Being. Through the burial rites, the departed receives guidance in what is termed as the final journey to the ancestral world. The process of dying is simply a movement of consciousness from one state to another which does not end existence. Every death is a transition which always results in separation of the souls from the body. It also separates a person from the living, from family members, from friends and loved ones. Separation is arguably the most difficult thing in life.

During this solemn period of pain and emotional adjustments, friends, relations and loved ones provide encouragement, companionship, and counselling to the bereaved family. Funeral rites demonstrate love and affection. This human quality of showing love, appreciation and affection is not truncated by death. The traditional African views death only as a transition and not extinction. One important aspect of funeral rites in Ghana has been the traditional “One-Week Observance” especially among the Akans. On many posters and flyers, we normally see “One Week Observation”. This is grammatically inaccurate and needs to be corrected. The other caption “One Week Celebration” is also traditionally inappropriate and questionable. It raises a question about what is being celebrated? Under normal circumstances death does not generate “celebration mood”, it rather brings along moments of profound shock, tears, great sadness, and sober reflection on life. What we are showcasing in today’s Ghana seems to be the huge amount of cultural deficit regarding the traditional one-week observance after the death of a relative. The Ghanaian social structure has undergone a lot of changes, and these seem to have affected the original meaning of the traditional one-week family gathering. Culture and traditional values have always been the victims of social change in all generations.

In the past when there was limited advancement in medicine, those who were presumed dead were not buried immediately. They were kept for some few days to make sure that those in comma returned to life and those who had just collapsed regained their consciousness. When there was certainty that the person had actually died, family members then proceeded with the rest of the traditional transitional rites. The one week was therefore a period to assess the actual state of the person. Again, in those days, there was no access to telecommunication services. Internet facilities and mobiles phones were unknown to the Ghanaian people. When someone in the family passed on, messengers were dispatched to inform relatives who lived far from home about the death of the person. In those times, the journey could take days because the road network and means of transport were totally different from what we have today. People had to walk miles for days before they got to their various destinations. There were no VIP buses, taxis, Uber or trotro services as we have today. The one week therefore served as a grace period for dissemination of information about the tragedy that had befallen the family. It was hoped that relatives and those who mattered most in the family would be around during this period before the necessary rituals were performed.

With the emergence of scientific advancements, medical breakthroughs, telecommunication services, the technology to ascertain the clinical state of the client (whether alive or expired), and the introduction of preservation facilities like morgues, the original intention or purpose of the one-week family gathering acquired a distinctive feature. There was no need to keep the body at home because there were preservation facilities in our hospitals. Again, there was no need to dispatch messengers to inform relatives who were living far from home because there were mobile phones and internet facilities. The seventh day gathering gradually became a time to plan for the burial of the deceased. The paternal and maternal families of the deceased would meet on this day to make the necessary arrangements for the final funeral rites of the departed. From all indications, such encounters were purely private family gatherings. Even during such meetings, not every family member was expected to be present. It was the gathering of elders, decision-makers, and those who matter most in the family. How this purely private family gathering metamorphosed into public event with flyers, posters, huge billboards, official announcements on radio and television is just mind boggling. Today, invitation cards are even sent out to individuals who are not family members to come for one week observance. The question is, can we keep private things private?

Currently, such private family gatherings are gradually turning into another funeral celebrations and no one seems to be worried about such recklessness. People abandon their work, family and loved ones, and travel miles to attend one week observance even though they are not family members. The risk involved, the economic, and social cost to the individuals and to the nation cannot be quantified. Ghanaians are known for their lack of preventive measures on many issues. We wait till things get out of hand before we take ad hoc measures to reduce the impact of the problem. In many instances, these ad hoc measures turn out to be ineffective and hollow during implementation stages. What we are witnessing today is that sometimes the so called one-week gathering is observed three weeks, one month or two months after the death of the person. This defeats the whole idea of one week observance and makes nonsense the original intention of such gatherings. In most cases, there are no clear-cut distinctions between one week gathering and the final funeral rites of the deceased. Canopies, chairs, food, drinks, music and decorations are all provided at a cost to the family. Donations and drinks are also received from people, and in-laws are expected to donate sums of money during the one week gathering and during the final funeral rites of the deceased. It is no longer a family gathering, but a public event to raise money from innocent people. During such gatherings, everything looks like funeral rites, the only thing that is not seen is the body of the deceased.

It is worrying that those who for one reason or the other are unable to be present during such events are accused of being unsympathetic, wicked and unconcerned about the plight of others. Why should someone be forced to attend a family meeting when that person is neither a member of that family or a stakeholder in that meeting? The one-week event is gradually becoming an albatross on all well-meaning Ghanaians, and we need to identify the “colour of such problems” in order to find antidotes to them. It is heart-warming that in some traditional jurisdictions, such events are allowed from 6am to 12 noon and no music is provided. However, they still remain public events and are held outside. I therefore invite religious and traditional authorities to provide leadership and act swiftly in addressing these anomalies in order to preserve our cherished traditional values and cultural heritage as Ghanaians. What is private and family matter should remain private and family matter.

Francis Kwabena Gyabaah.
Catholic Diocese of Techiman.