Coffin comes in anything-you-like shape

For the Ga tribe in coastal Ghana, Africa, funerals are a time of mourning, but also of celebration. The Ga people believe that when their loved ones die, they move on to another life. Therefore, their final journey will be leaving in style. They honor their dead with brightly colored coffins that celebrate the way they lived. The coffins can be anything wanted by relatives of the deceased such as hammers, fish, cars, mobile phones, hens, leopards, coca-cola, cocoa beans and even a Ferrari.

Coffins are usually crafted to reflect an essence of the deceased, in forms such as a character trait, an occupation, or a symbol of one's standing in the community. Such as a car if they were a driver, a fish if their livelihood was the sea, or a sewing machine for a seamstress. They might also symbolize a vice like a bottle of beer or a cigarette. These coffins are usually very expensive, as their nature means that skilled carpenters take longer to produce them compared to conventional coffins.

Prices of coffins can vary depending on the design requested. These types of coffins can fetch a price of $600. This is expensive for local families considering that certain families having an average income of only $50 a month, meaning that such a coffin would be approximately a year's wages. This often means that funerals are often paid for by wealthier members of the family, if such a member exists in the family, paying relatively substantial amounts and smaller contributions from other working members of the family. This is needed as the coffin is only a portion of the total funeral cost that will be incurred.





Source : www.ghanaweb.com

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