The Fantasy Coffins of Ghana

Nov 13, 2010 7 comments

For the Ga tribe in coastal Ghana, funerals are a time of mourning, but also of celebration. The Ga people believe that when their loved ones die, they move on into another life -- and the Ga make sure they do so in style. They honor their dead with brightly colored coffins that celebrate the way they lived.

ghana-coffin (1)

The coffins are designed to represent an aspect of the dead person's life -- 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 -- such as a bottle of beer or a cigarette. On the hot and crowded streets of Accra, the capital of Ghana, one can find numerous coffin vendors. Coffins crafted as hammers, fish, cars, mobile phones, hens, roosters, leopards, lions, canoes, cocoa beans and elephants. It's a huge industry in Accra — and expensive. A coffin can cost $400 dollars, which is equivalent to one year's salary.

Ghana’s relatively new tradition of Fantasy Coffin has now become a tourist attraction for the country.

ghana-coffin (2)

ghana-coffin (3)

ghana-coffin (4)

ghana-coffin (5)

ghana-coffin (6)

ghana-coffin (7)

ghana-coffin (8)

ghana-coffin (9)

ghana-coffin (10)

ghana-coffin (12)

ghana-coffin (13)

ghana-coffin (14)

[via Ghana Web]

Comments

  1. That definitely changes my image of the old woman who lived in her shoe! Though, if I wasn't planning on cremation, I'd want something cool like that too!! :o)

    Rhyme Me a Smile

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow! That's given me an idea............. I'm going to convert my car, then, when I've had enough, I am going to drive straight into my own hole, where they can then bury me and say a few words.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I want to be burried in a pine box. Just build a pine box, put me in it and nail it shut. Then just throw me in the ground. Do you actually think a dead man would know the difference? Save all that money for the living.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The person who posted these images is a STINKING THIEF. He has STOLEN my photograph of the chile pepper and yellow fish photo from MY website.

    ReplyDelete
  5. @Robert Burch: I apologize for posting your pictures without your permission. These were collected from another site and I was not aware these were yours. Please contact me at admin[at]amusingplanet.com and I will have your pictures removed.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is so awesome! Thank you who ever posted them.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Still cremation is the best think about it

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

More on Amusing Planet

{{posts[0].title}}

{{posts[0].date}} {{posts[0].commentsNum}} {{messages_comments}}

{{posts[1].title}}

{{posts[1].date}} {{posts[1].commentsNum}} {{messages_comments}}

{{posts[2].title}}

{{posts[2].date}} {{posts[2].commentsNum}} {{messages_comments}}

{{posts[3].title}}

{{posts[3].date}} {{posts[3].commentsNum}} {{messages_comments}}