Ashanti Death Ritual Essay

673 Words2 Pages

There are many countries with different cultures, religions and community with various behavior and ritual rite that often guide their action and belief when their loved one expired. African culture is often regarded as a tribe with rich culture. Ashanti tribe displayed some of the rich culture in Africa. This project will focus on Ashanti’s death ritual process and involvement of different group during the process. More insight will be given on this tribe belief, mourning and grief process during the funeral period. In Ashanti tribe, family and the mother’s side are most important to this particular group. This tribe believe that child often inherit their father’s soul while flesh and blood is received from the mother. “Instrument such as talking drums are used for learning the Ashanti language and spreading news and used in ceremonies. This instrument is very important to the Ashanti and there are very important rituals involved in them”. (Vollbrecht, Judith A., 1979). The community embraced the burial customs and death rituals as a whole not only family of the deceased. It is a significant event to whole community regardless of the family involved or affected. This tribe regard mourning as a way respecting the position held by the deceased among the family. “The female members of the family are with the individual while he is about to pass, in order to pour water on his throat for the journey that he is about to embark on. The kra, or undying spirit, needs this water to “climb the mountain” into the world of the ancestors”. (Vollbrecht, Judith A., 1979). All elderly person within the community of the deceased begin eight days fasting as soon as the whole community is aware of the death. This eight days fasting is a way the eld... ... middle of paper ... ...ced eight days after death and burial. Mourning and the grief process to the Ashanti are supposed to be emotional. “When someone is upset, they do not obey the rules. If they do, that shows they’re not really upset. If someone who is wailing and crying greets you or smiles when you greet them that shows that they are not really sorry”. (Vollbrecht, Judith A., 1979) As soon as the public funeral end, the community will end their fasting and return to normal life when the gong drum is beaten while the deceased family continue grief for another forty days and continue to wear the funeral cloths during this period. Deceased’s family meet again at the end of forty days to select the best person to inherit the deceased’s material belongings and take over the deceased’s duties, after this selection, then drink is poured by the family as honour to the deceased once again.

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