Fantasy coffin some Ghanaians dey use 'go' wit swag
Ghanaians dey like to make coffin wey go show di kain life, dreams, passion and di kain levels di pesin wey die bin get.
Dia loved ones believe say di pesin wey die suppose get di best send-off, wey mean big burial. Tori pipo Fellipe Abreu and Henrique Hedler visit two Kane Kwei Carpenter Workshops, for di capital Accra and southern city of Kumasi, to meet di carpenters wey dey design dis custom-made coffin dem. Dem name dia shop afta Seth Kane Kwei, wey some pipo believe say na di first pesin wey design shakara coffins dem for Ghana. Ghana na one of di world largest cocoa producers, family dem for village dey save dia moni to bury pesin wey die for custom-made cocoa pods. Dis kain coffin fit cost up to $1,000 (£780) wey be big money for farmers dem, most of dem dey make less dan $3 a day. Di tin be say dis coffin design dey show di kain levels di pesin get before im die. Dis one "wey dey like pepper mean say im life pass di life of pesin wey be farmer," na wetin di workshop manager Eric Adjetey, wey don dey do dis business for 50 years tok. Di red colour and hotness dey represent di behaviour of di pesin. "Na pesin wey bin no dey take nonsense." Coffins wey dem design like Mercedes Benz dey very popular - dis na for big man wey get di German-made car, and di grave go get di design to fit am. "Di coffin na im dey common pass, e dey show di pesin position for society," na wetin coffin maker Steve Ansah tok. Many pipo dey call dis art fantasy coffins, but locally dem dey call am Abeduu Adekai, wey mean "proverb boxes," because of di meaning wey dey behind each of di design. Aeroplanes na anoda popular design. Dat one na for pikin. E mean say im journey go dey successful afterlife. Sometimes community members dey contribute to help with di cost to make di coffin. Recently, di real estate market dey boom for Ghana. Dis coffin na for di landlord wey pipo for im area like sake of say im build and rent houses to dem. "Generally, na im loved ones and family members suppose buy di coffin for di pesin wey die. But dem also need to pay for di ceremony, including buying food and drink, and cloth for di deceased." Di ceremony dey happun from Thursday to Monday. On Thursday di family go collect di coffin: on Friday dem go bring di body from mortuary: on Saturday dem go do di burial while on Sunday pipo go go church. On Monday di family members go count di moni wey dem don invest and donate," na wetin Adjetey tok. Carpenters dey carve di coffin, den scrape di surface so everiwia go equal, den ready for painting. One local singer na im dey go bury inside dis coffin wey dey like microphone. "We no know di pesin size so we ask di family, or even use pictures," na wetin Ansah di carpenter add put. Recently, oda carpenters don start to dey make dia own to meet di local demand. Di palanquin and queen no be coffin, na custom-made for art gallery for Philadelphia for US. Customers for more dan 20 kontris don buy di coffins over di last ten years. Di coffin design don attract interest from woodworking students for South Korea, Russia, US and Denmark, wey come Ghana to learn di trade. Local carpenters dey use simple handmade tools to sand di wood and carve di wood to coffin shape. Text and foto na from Fellipe Abreu and Henrique Hedler