After Mole, my friends' drummer instructor invited us to a funeral in his village. Funerals are a big deal in Ghana. Activities had already started when we arrived Friday afternoon. It is considered incredibly rude if someone from the community does not attend the funeral, since it is the community's job to celebrate the life of the person while the family mourns. Everyone is required to wear black and red, while many people have a shirt made with the deceased's picture. The funeral all in all lasted about 30 hours. After the procession of the body a wake was held during the night with singing, dancing, and preaching.
Upon arriving in the village Johnson instructed us on the proper way to take libations, which we would take many of.
Upon arriving in the village Johnson instructed us on the proper way to take libations, which we would take many of.
The next day we visited Johnson's sister who is a high priestess in the village. These women wear white and cover themselves in chalk to show that they are training to be a priestess.
Then it was off to Ada Foah, the estuary where the Volta River meets the Atlantic Ocean. In my opinion it is the most beautiful place in Ghana (that I've seen so far).
Like many coastal villages in Ghana Ada Foah relies heavily on fishing and its an industry that involves the entire village. On our walk to the estuary we saw everyone, men, women and children involved in carrying the morning's catch back to the village.
We got caught in an amazing storm on Friday evening and were actually cold in Ghana.
An island in the middle of the Volta River produces distilled rum from sugar cane. Ali and I went in on a $6 1.5 liter bottle (to support the local economy of course).
1 comment:
Holy Cow! Also getting to go to a funeral in Ghana!? Such a big deal? Was it an Ashanti funeral - I have also studies those in some of my African culture classes. They seem really neat - I hope to experience on some day!
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