For many of us, commemorating a death is a pretty somber affair, complete with black mourning gear, sad organ music and brown wooden boxes being lowered into dirt. But in Ghana, there’s an appetite for a more personalized resting place, one that reflects all the color and joy of someone’s life. Coffins at Kwei Carpentry Workshop, Accra, come in endless shapes and sizes: A giant fish, a cigarette packet, a human-sized chili pepper. According to workshop director Eric Adjenty Anang, 33, the design is usually based on aspects of a person’s life, profession, or personality. “So if they were a farmer, the family of the deceased could decide based on which crop he farmed,” he explains. “If they were making cocoa, the coffin could be a chocolate bar.” Often, the decision-making process becomes a healing tool for loved ones. “It’s always fun discussing with them because when they show up, you feel kind of sad and stuff. So as soon as I start talking to them, I try to bring in a bit of humor, you know,” he says. Once commissioned, Anang and his small team of trainee student carpenters set about bringing the design to life out of wood and nails, a process that can take a month or more. Read the full interview here: www.vice.com/en/article/z3m7q9/the-crazy-coffins-o…
VICE
For many of us, commemorating a death is a pretty somber affair, complete with black mourning gear, sad organ music and brown wooden boxes being lowered into dirt. But in Ghana, there’s an appetite for a more personalized resting place, one that reflects all the color and joy of someone’s life.
Coffins at Kwei Carpentry Workshop, Accra, come in endless shapes and sizes: A giant fish, a cigarette packet, a human-sized chili pepper. According to workshop director Eric Adjenty Anang, 33, the design is usually based on aspects of a person’s life, profession, or personality. “So if they were a farmer, the family of the deceased could decide based on which crop he farmed,” he explains. “If they were making cocoa, the coffin could be a chocolate bar.”
Often, the decision-making process becomes a healing tool for loved ones. “It’s always fun discussing with them because when they show up, you feel kind of sad and stuff. So as soon as I start talking to them, I try to bring in a bit of humor, you know,” he says.
Once commissioned, Anang and his small team of trainee student carpenters set about bringing the design to life out of wood and nails, a process that can take a month or more. Read the full interview here: www.vice.com/en/article/z3m7q9/the-crazy-coffins-o…
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