Hallowing The Death, Despising The Living!

Death is an existential reality: it is not a figment of imagination, as some mystics would want us to believe. In traditional African society, death is not annihilation; it is a transition to the world of the ancestors. The Akan word for the dead/ghost, samai , a contraction of the expression wa se sa ni man to wit, ‘he has changed his state of existence,’ adduces evidence to the immortality of the human soul and the inability of death to terminate life at the metaphysical level.

In Christian theology, death, which is inevitable, marks the Christian’s transition from an old sinking world to a blissful world. Much of what is known about death is highly speculative, precisely because apart from near-death experiences, which throw dim light on the realities of death, the experience of the metaphysical world cannot be subjected to an empirical test. Death, therefore, remains an enigmatic social reality: A gruesome reality, whose ontological origin has defied the best of minds.

In traditional African society, the notion of an ancestor is so strong and charged that care is taken to ensure that the dead is given a befitting burial so that he or she can join the ancestral world. So, while birth is gives life to the human family in the profane world, death is gives life to the ancestral family in the metaphysical world. The general understanding, therefore, is that if care is not taken in sending the dead to asamando, the dead is likely not only to be denied entrance into the metaphysical world, but also become a haunting ghost (saman twentwen). In Ghana, it is, therefore, a common cultural practice for the dead to be given a high level respect: an old building that has not seen painting for decades is given a new facelift when death occurs.

Several cultural anthropologists have investigated into the preeminence given to the dead in Africa. The first reason, as I have pointed out, is the fear that the dead or the living-dead, to use John Mbiti’s expression, is likely to haunt the living if the living fails to give him or her a befitting burial. Second, there is the understanding that since the dead has permanently severed physical relationship with the living, it was necessary for him or her to be given a befitting burial that would facilitate his or her entrance into the world of the ancestors.

What is of interest to me in this short article is the quantum of resources, and huge sums of money that are expended when someone dies. Usually, we pay little attention to the living, especially if the person is poor. When a poor person is sick, little care is provided to him or her, and yet when the person dies, relatives from far and near all congregate; contribute money to ensure that the person is given a befitting burial. When one is alive, one is likely to don tattered clothes, and yet when one dies, one is donned a three piece clothe, special Kente cloth and so forth. What sort of mentality is this? We fear the dead more than the living. The logic that the dead could do harm to the living underscores level of attention that is given to the dead. But should we fear the dead more than the living?

What accounts for this mental disposition of the Ghanaian towards the dead and the living? First, the commodification of funerals in Ghana is one of the reasons for the attitudes Ghanaians have developed toward the dead and the living. Funerals have become a very lucrative business, where relatives invest heavily in order to recoup later. In recent times, there are special organisations that provide professional service to funeral rites. The solemnness of funerals is lost to the grave of our ancestors. Funeral in Akan, eyie, which is a contraction of aye yi ye, roughly translated as ‘to praise,’ has lost its essence and relevance in ‘modern’ Akan society. In traditional Akan society, funeral time marked an important moment in social life, where stock is taken of the life of the deceased person, while the living also reflect on the inevitability of death as they organize their lives well to transition to the transcendental world. The occurrence of death served as the rallying point for the living to gather to carefully think through life. Unfortunately, the solemn environment that the occurrence of death provided has succumbed to hedonism and epicurean indulgences in the Akan, and the larger Ghanaian society. It is now a common practice to have the living having fun in a practice known among the Ga people of Ghana as Gbonyo party. What happened to the traditional dirge that featured prominently during funerals? What happened to the traditional mourners? What happened to Akan conceptualization of death?

In traditional Akan society, immediately one dies, one is buried the same day or the following day if the one died in the late hours of the day. The absence of contemporary embalming of the death necessitated that the dead was buried immediately. For the benefit of relatives of the deceased who might be away and so might miss the burial ceremony, there was the eighth day (nnawotwe) celebration, which functioned to bring to memory the burial ceremony of the dead. The practice of immediately burying the dead is still in vogue among some of the ethnic groups in Uganda, East Africa. In most cultures in Uganda, one is buried the same day; this is irrespective of one’s religious leaning. Thus, while it is the practice among Muslims to bury the dead as quickly as possible, in Uganda the practice has a cultural and less of religious significance.

The modern funeral industry in Ghana has radically transformed the performance of funeral rites in the country. Usually, in contemporary Ghana, funeral rites are used to express wealth and opulence. The longer the deceased remains in the morgue, the higher the perceived status of the deceased family. This is largely because to keep the deceased in the morgue for longer weeks/months, which attracts significant amount of money, means that the relatives of the deceased are financially well to do. It is a paradox as well as ludicrous that death is now used as the benchmark to determine the wealth of a person or group of persons. This ‘vulturous’ culture is a blot on our intelligence. It shows how little we care about the living.

The economy of Ghana has taken a nosedive, which means that a lot of Ghanaians live on shoestring, and yet these same Ghanaians, who complain of the harshness of the economy, would be able to pull resources to organize extravagant funerals to ridiculously sever relationship with the dead. I am aware that funeral rites are increasingly becoming a business venture. People invest in funerals in order to reap some benefits, but my experience, following my father’s death, has taught me that largely investing in funeral is an unproductive venture.

Our disdain for the living and deference for the dead is expressed in the glowing tribute we pay to the dead. It is as if we are against life: when one is alive, one is never praised except to be criticized, and yet if one dies, one receives tributes that projects one as an angel. This reminds me of Kojo Baah Wiredu. When he was alive, the National Democratic Congress, then in opposition, never said anything good about him. And yet when he died, Hon. E.T. Mensah and some members of the NDC claimed that Ghana had lost a giant and stalwart economist. The same applies to the late President J.E.A Mills. When he was alive, he was insulted; and all malicious and vituperative words were used against him, and yet he suddenly became a saint after he had died. Lest, you think the two instances are political expression masked in culture. These attitudes toward the dead and the living are deeply engrained in the psychology of the Ghanaian. Possibly, we need to do an empirical research to unearth the negative and positive attitudes of the Ghanaian towards the living and the dead respectively.

In conclusion, while I subscribe to the Ghanaian cultural sensitivity that the dead should be treated with deference, I must state that the living should also be respected. We should not spend so much on funerals, while children are not able to pay their school fees, receive quality healthcare care, and decent accommodation. Our intelligence as a people will be questioned if we love the dead, but despise the living.

Satyagraha!!!
Charles Prempeh, Makerere Institute of Social Research, Makerere University, Uganda.

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