I talked to parents last night, which is the usual Sunday expectation and I realized that I had not spoken with them or written on my blog for a week. My mom said she was beginning to wonder, but she assumed that I didn’t have internet, which is actually the truth. I explained to her, however, that the week after break is always very busy and flies by without getting everything done, which is why my blog has been unremarkable since my return from break. That is not to say that nothing exciting has happened because this past weekend I had one of the best cultural experiences since being here in Ghana.
Because
Accra is so big and the University of Ghana is about a half hours drive from
where I live, NYU provides transportation. We have all grown close to the
drivers, especially Sammy who always goes the extra mile to see how we are
doing and makes sure we get to where we need to be on time. Anyway, Sammy’s
grandmother died recently and he invited many of us to attend her funeral in
his small village about an hour from Accra. I jumped on the opportunity to
attend because in Ghana funerals are very different than funerals in the United
States and I was anxious to experience this aspect of the culture. Plus, it is
always nice to get out of the heat of the city for a while and enjoy the fresh
air in the higher mountain regions.
I
have been to two funerals in my lifetime, and both of them were incredibly
somber affairs that brought to tears myself as well as most in attendance. In
Ghana, however, most funerals are more like celebrations. When we arrived,
there was music blaring and a band singing, the family was sitting around the
casket and as the guests of honor we were individually introduced to every
single member of this woman’s extended family. I think I shook about 60 hands.
After the introduction and a few words in Twi, the casket was moved followed by
a processional that included drums, horns and singing. I felt more like part of
a parade than a funeral. We walked by the woman’s home and then about another
mile away to the cemetery. There was not the traditional ceremony at the
burial, it was simple and loud, and then we all went back to the village square
and listened to more music and danced.
There was not a moment when I felt uncomfortable being at the funeral of a woman who I didn’t know. In fact, our presence was celebrated and for the five or so hours that we were there, I didn’t feel like an outsider. This was an incredible cultural experience that most people who just come to visit Ghana miss out on. I am infinitely grateful to Sammy for inviting us to come share the day with him. I hope that I am granted the opportunity to have other similar experiences during the few weeks I have left here. -Kalin
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