Attend a festive Ashanti funeral? This had to be carefully explained to us. The person for whom the funeral was held, actually died some time ago. It could have been years before. The family saves up their money and plans a major send-off when they can afford it.

There are “funeral scouts” who do nothing but smooze around to find out when the next big send-off was being held, where and for whom. The funeral, important to Ashanti culture, is a major social event. The participants dress in accordance with tradition. The immediate relatives dress in red while the others wear black cloth and every piece of gold jewelry their bodies can support. There are many rituals: giving offerings to the spirits of the ancestors, food, drinks and the women perform lively, traditional dances.

The “funeral scout” found a top-of-the-line funeral for us. The former ???? (can’t remember but he was a major big-shot) – perhaps you’ll recognize his photo.

photo of the deceased in Kumasi, Ghana

We dressed in our very best (which is our case wasn’t exactly the “best”), received behavior instructions and set off to the funeral.

immediate family and mourners at a traditional Ashanti Funeral, Kumasi, Ghana 

Ashanti paying respects at the traditional funeral, Ghana 

guests arriving for Ashanti funeral in Ghana
After the important guests payed their respects, we lined up, extended our condolences, took a seat along the sidelines and watched the constantly changing comings-and-goings of guests… dancing…View image…were served refreshments…and jumped up every now and then to take more pics. Very, very interesting and a chance to be a part of ancient Ashanti culture.