African death rites

Africa, from its north to south, from east to west, has huge number of different traditions associated with death.

The Ga or Ga-Adangbe people live in Ghana. Most of them are in great Accra plains. They founded Accra, the capital city of Ghana, in the 1500s as a trading port. They believe that when a person dies, he moves to another life.

The Ga carpenters became world famous for the coffins they make. Some even call them “fantasy coffins”. The coffins they make have shapes which symbolically represent interests, activities of the deceased when he/she was alive. Coffins in the shape of plane, shoe, beer bottle, car, animal etc. are made.

fantasy coffin by the Ga people

The best place where you can see such coffins is the high street in Teshi, Eastern Accra where there are many carpenters in this line of business. Such coffins are very expensive and their price can be equal to what average family earns in a year.

In Uganda the Baganda people prepare a grave for each individual when they are still children.

Mourning dances are often preformed. The Kenga people of central Sudan perform mourning dances called “Dodi” or “Mutu” on burial day. The Yoruba of Nigeria have a dance wearing a likeness of the deceased. The Dogon of Mali perform masked dances ask kind of confrontation with death. For the Lugbara people of Uganda and the Angas of northern Nigeria dance is an important part of death rites too.

Majority of people in Gabon are Christians. But, different animist (spirit) beliefs are still being practiced by many. People believe in evil spirits and sorcerers who can call and use them. Death is often explained as act of an evil spirit or some bad neighbour who can cast a spell.

For the Urhobo of Nigeria death is not the end for the person and his relationship with family. The ceremonies performed are organized to show the everlasting relationship between the living and dead.

Before the burial the Urhobo communicate with the spirit of the dead and the gods. They want to know the causes of death and according to them organize appropriate burial. This tradition still exist despite the fact that most Urhobo people are Christians.

For the Urhobo death can happen because of old age, witchcraft, accident or illness and abomination. But, generally speaking the Urhobo think that there are only two kind of deaths – good death and bad death. Good death is associated with people who are 70 or more years old, had a moral life and are not members of some secret cult.

Urhobo mask

People died in bad death, are those which died a prematurely, members of witchcraft, evil people, those that died an abominable death. Such people are not given what is called good burial. They are thrown into the evil forest to be eaten by wild animals. This is done to prevent the reincarnation of their spirit. Some criteria that differs good and bad death can be changed, like for example that good death means among other having children.

The Urhobo people believe that burial rites and ceremonies are needed because without them the spirit of the deceased won't be able to join the ancestral spirit. Good people are buried in traditional ritual to the ancestors and gods of the land. There are prayers for the dead to protect and bless the living.

A young person who died prematurely, but lived a morally right life is buried, but without death festivities and rituals. In the coffin of the deceased people put some “weapons”, such as for example cutlass, knife, broken bottle etc. These objects should help him to fight and avenge his death.