Not another Peace Corps blog: Social Life Post

As a fan of urban life-style with its never-ending socialization during after-work drinks, festivals, concerts, birthday parties and pub crawls, it can be somewhat shocking to live in a small village in West Africa (although I was born in a small island town in Russia and studied in the Pennsylvanian boonies). But, upon closer look, rural living can still provide some social opportunities.

So far the most popular social event around here is…a funeral. While in the US, Russia and Kazakhstan it is a fairly private family affair (with an exception of an obituary published in a local newspaper announcing the memorial service for friends and close relatives), Ghanaians see a funeral as a chance to socialize with relatives from other villages, meet local chiefs and raise funds for further arrangements.

Overall, a typical funeral or a memorial service looks like this: a canopy is put up on a village football field, where hundreds of plastic chairs are placed. There is an MC who plays pop music and makes announcements through giant speakers. In the middle of the field there is either 1) a tent with a coffin where a deceased is laid to rest), or 2) a big photograph of the deceased festooned with black and red ribbons and plastic flowers. People, dressed up in their funereal best (either black-and-red dresses and shirts, or black-and-white robes, depending on the type of funeral and the age of the deceased), walk around the field from right to left, wave at other guests and pay respect to the deceased. They also give money to the funeral committee that would cover various expenses – the biggest one being a fee to a mortuary where a body is stored, sometimes for months. Here in the region of cocoa, where there is some extra money after the harvest, a lot of funerals are held in February and March.

Despite the somewhat morbid occasion, people regarding these events as great opportunity for socializing, dancing, eating and drinking. Many times they pay an MC a little extra to request a certain song for their village or a certain person (one time a song was requested for me, “an American woman”, where I had t stand up and dance a bit).

A family of the deceased is usually responsible for feeding the guests, but as far as drinking goes, many simply go to local spots and have shots of apeteshi or beer. I did not see too much crying and mourning – Ghanaians hardly express their grief in public. However, based on the family’s church affiliations, there is some room for mourning through dancing and singing. One funeral, organized by the Divine Faith Church, had women criers around the coffin.

If a departed was an old and well-respected community member, their funeral is attended by local chiefs who make quite an entrance with their interpreters, bodyguards and umbrella-twirlers. They display their chieftaincy through big golden rings, head bands, bracelets and tribal marks. It is quite a sight.

From an outsider’s point of view, it seems like a mortality rate is pretty high – my fellow villagers go to funerals every weekend. But one must take in the fact that it is a more social occasion here than in the US. The mood is usually festive, and the entire event looks like a combination of a festival, a diplomatic visit, an auction and a discotheque. MCs make announcements of each delegation from every village, vendors walk around to sell groundnuts and bofrut (a Ghanaian donut) women chat and occasionally stand up and dance in the middle of the field. People dress in their best attire: both men and women order new dresses and shirts; women weave their braids and buy new kerchiefs.

I was told that another good way to socialize is at a wedding if a couple decides to organize one (as usually the ceremony of a husband taking a wife is done privately, only in the presence of their families). So far there were no weddings around here, but I will let you know what they are like once I’m invited.

Here are some pics (and a video!) from the festivities: