To the Grave and Beyond:
A look at funeral rituals and traditions from various West African cultures

Ga Continued

Preparations:  Once lineage elders are informed of a death, and permission is granted to mourn, wailing, crying, rifle shots and the pouring of libations announce the death to the community. Then the family begins preparing the body. According to tradition, it is the job of the oldest woman of the family to cleanse and dress the corpse. She shaves the head, cuts the finger and toenails, and then washes the body.  It is typical for the body to lie in state for one or more days, depending on the status. During the wake keeping phase, the body is laid out in fancy imported linens and is adorned with gold ornaments. The body is placed on a bed decorated with bright colored cloths, jewelry, gold ornaments, and state swords. Gold dust is sometimes placed between the lips to ensure continued prosperity in the next world. The level of decoration is again dependent on the status of the deceased and the family.

 Mourning and Burial: Columns of mourners walk around the funeral bed to praise the deceased, to sob and vent anger, or ask him for help once he is established in the next life. The house is open for a week and wine and rum are provided for visitors. While the body lays in state, mourners file by offering gifts such as money, soap, gold and cloth. The deceased are said to cross a body of water to the land of ancestors. Therefore, they must be properly equipped to make a successful journey.

Outside the house, crowds of family and friends greet one another, dance and eat. After the friends finish paying their respects, the corpse is transferred to a basket or wooden coffin and is carried around town for a final good-bye As the coffin is carried through the village, libations of palm wine are offered on the ground in front of the procession. If anyone is responsible for the death either by witchcraft, poison, or bad medicine, the coffin will "plunge toward the house of the offender and refuse to pass it". Finally the coffin is brought to the cemetery and buried. The burial is quick with little ceremony. This concludes the collective mourning period. (McClusky 247).

 Once buried, the dead are believed to wander many days before crossing a river to a place where they can observe the living and intervene as they please. When a person dies, their soul remains closely linked with the body for three days. The soul then wanders freely for a year until the celebration of the final rite, faafo, when it crosses the river into the afterworld.

Reference Maps

Imagery of the Afterlife

Yoruba

 Ga

African Art  Homepage

Ashanti

LoDagaa

Kongo-style in the US

 Works Cited

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