Representations of mortuary beliefs and practices in Akan literary works
a focus on Edwin Efa’s forosie
Keywords:
Akans, death rituals, Ghana, mortuary beliefs, mortuary practices, suicideAbstract
Akan mortuary rituals and practices are undergoing rapid transformation due to the combined influences of colonization, modernization, westernization and globalization. For researchers interested in Akan beliefs and customs related to death and bereavement, it will be useful to be cognizant or aware of the nature and forms these practices and beliefs assumed during earlier epochs in Akan society and history. For both the scholar and the inexpert on this subject, Edwin Efa’s fictional work in Twi, Forosie, provides a worthy introduction to the subject, offering important insights into mortuary beliefs, burial customs, funeral rites and other rituals associated with death and bereavement among the Akan. A major theme that runs through the book is the Akan worldview that failure to properly send off a deceased relative can incur ancestral wrath through sickness, misfortune, or death. A major strength of the book is that it covers some of the rarely discussed topics on Akan mortuary rituals such as funsua, samantoa, owufo aduane, and human sacrifice. Readers of the book will also find it especially useful for the important insights it offers on beliefs and attitudes toward altruistic suicide in pre-colonial Akan society.
Downloads
References
Aborampah, O. M. (1999). Women's Roles in the Mourning Rituals of the Akan of Ghana. Ethnology, 257-271.
Adinkrah, M. (2004). Witchcraft accusations and female homicide victimization in contemporary Ghana. Violence against women, 10(4), 325-356.
Adinkrah, M. (2008). Witchcraft themes in popular Ghanaian music. Popular Music and Society, 31(3), 299-311.
Adinkrah, M. (2011). Epidemiologic characteristics of suicidal behavior in contemporary Ghana. Crisis.
Adinkrah, M. (2012). Better dead than dishonored: Masculinity and male suicidal behavior in contemporary Ghana. Social science & medicine, 74(4), 474-481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.10.011
Adinkrah, M. (2015). Witchcraft, witches, and violence in Ghana. Berghahn Books.
Adinkrah, M. (2016). Suicide and mortuary beliefs and practices of the Akan of Ghana. OMEGA-Journal of Death and Dying, 74(2), 138-163.
Akuffo, B. S. (1964). Kontonkrowi: Ahemfi Adesua. Bureau Of Ghana Languages.
Amponsah, K. (1977). Topics on West African Traditional Religion: For GCE" A" Level Religious Studies, General Paper and African Studies (Vol. 1). Adwinsa Publications (Ghana).
Arhin-Sam, E. E. (2014). Death rituals in the new diaspora: Funerals in the lives of Ghanaians in South Florida.
Arko-Achemfuor, A. (2011). The place of songs in Akan funeral celebration. Muziki, 8(2), 123-130.
Asante, M. K., & Mazama, A. (Eds.). (2009). Encyclopedia of African religion (Vol. 1). Sage.
Atuobi, P., Boamah, A. O., & van der Geest, S. (Eds.). (2005). Life, love and death: conversations with six elders in Kwahu-Tafo, Ghana. Het Spinhuis.
Benefo, K. (1980). Owuo safoa. Bureau of Ghana Languages.
Boadu, K. A. (2012, February 1). Wailing, a silent but lucrative profession in Ashanti. Daily Graphic, p.22.
Boadu, K. A. (2013, December 23). Expensive funerals: Ashanti region loses battle. Daily Graphic, pp.48-49.
Boateng, A., & Anngela-Cole, L. (2012). Socio-economic transformation of Akan funeral rites in Ghana: The changing process. OMEGA-Journal of Death and Dying, 65(4), 281-309.
Brokensha, D. (1966). Social Change at Larteh, Ghana. Oxford, Clarendon P.
Brysiewicz, P. (2007). The lived experience of working in a mortuary. Accident and Emergency Nursing, 15(2), 88-93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aaen.2007.03.001
Byrd, B. F., & Monahan, C. M. (1995). Death, mortuary ritual, and Natufian social structure. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 14(3), 251-287. https://doi.org/10.1006/jaar.1995.1014
De Witte, M. (2001). Long live the dead! Changing funeral celebrations in Asante, Ghana. AmsterdamAksant Academic Publishers.
De Witte, M. (2011). Of corpses, clay, and photographs. Body imagery and changing technologies of remembrance in Asante funeral culture. In Funerals in Africa: Explorations of a social phenomenon (pp. 177-206). Berghahn.
Dolnick, S. (2011). Dance, laugh, drink. Save the date: it's a Ghanaian funeral. New York Times.
Donkoh, A. E. (1993). Owuo agyaa. Bureau of Ghana Languages.
Efa, E. (1944). Forosie.
Fosu, K. A. A. (2000). Funeral Celebration by Akans. KA-A. Fosu.
Gilbert, M. (2008). The sacralized body of the Akwapim king. na.
Iswanto, I., Riana, I. K., Simpen, I. W., & Ola, S. S. (2018). Supernatural signification system amuf on death ritual speech nen fen nahat neu nitu in boti society. International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Culture, 4(2), 46-57.
Jindra, M., & Noret, J. (Eds.). (2011). Funerals in Africa: explorations of a social phenomenon. Berghahn Books.
Kuijt, I. (1996). Negotiating equality through ritual: a consideration of Late Natufian and Prepottery Neolithic A period mortuary practices. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 15(4), 313-336. https://doi.org/10.1006/jaar.1996.0012
Newton, P. (2014). The Long Goodbye: Why Funerals are Big Deals in Ghana. Tuesday March, 11.
Nketia, J. K. (1963). Folk songs of Ghana. Legon, University of Ghana.
Opoku, A. A. (1973). Obi kyere. Ghana Publishing Corporation.
Osafo, J. (2021). Conducting a qualitative research on suicide in Ghana using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA): A reflection after a decade. New Ideas in Psychology, 60, 100836. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2020.100836
Parkes, C. M., Laungani, P., & Young, W. (Eds.). (2015). Death and bereavement across cultures. Routledge.
Pinto, F., Suwiyoga, I. K., Widiana, I. G. R., & Yasa, I. W. P. S. (2017). Health behavior and status related to mother's death in Timor-Leste. International Research Journal of Engineering, IT and Scientific Research, 3(4), 57-65.
Pitman, A. L., Stevenson, F., Osborn, D. P., & King, M. B. (2018). The stigma associated with bereavement by suicide and other sudden deaths: A qualitative interview study. Social Science & Medicine, 198, 121-129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.12.035
Rattray, R. S. (1969). Ashanti law and constitution. Reprint.
Stahl, I. (2013). Sudden death memorials in Bucharest: Mortuary practices and beliefs in an urban context. Procedia-social and behavioral sciences, 92, 893-898. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.08.772
Straka, L., Novomesky, F., Krajcovic, J., & Macko, V. (2009). Ritual suicide of Japanese girl in the Slovak Republic. Legal Medicine, 11, S506-S507. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.legalmed.2009.02.059
Tainter, J. A. (1978). Mortuary practices and the study of prehistoric social systems. In Advances in archaeological method and theory (pp. 105-141). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-003101-6.50010-X
Van der Geest, S. (2000). Funerals for the living: Conversations with elderly people in Kwahu, Ghana. African Studies Review, 43(3), 103-129.
Van der Geest, S. (2004). Dying peacefully: considering good death and bad death in Kwahu-Tafo, Ghana. Social science & medicine, 58(5), 899-911. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2003.10.041
Yu, C. E., Wen, J., & Yang, S. (2020). Viewpoint of suicide travel: An exploratory study on YouTube comments. Tourism Management Perspectives, 34, 100669. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2020.100669
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2021 International journal of linguistics, literature and culture
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Articles published in the International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Culture (IJLLC) are available under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives Licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Authors retain copyright in their work and grant IJLLC right of first publication under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Users have the right to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles in this journal, and to use them for any other lawful purpose.
Articles published in IJLLC can be copied, communicated and shared in their published form for non-commercial purposes provided full attribution is given to the author and the journal. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
This copyright notice applies to articles published in IJLLC volumes 6 onwards. Please read about the copyright notices for previous volumes under Journal History.
