Ghana's quaint coffins draw buyers from near and far

NUNGUA, Ghana, Aug 29 (AFP) - When Ghanaian coffinmaker Ata Owoo's grandmother died more than five decades ago, he started a trend that turned this dusty little town into one of the country's main tourist attractions.

Joseph Tetteh Ashong, who was taught the craft by one of Owoo's earliest apprentices, said: "Owoo's grandmother had never left the village. So he decided to shape her coffin like an aeroplane.

"The idea was to take her to heaven as quickly as possible."

That solitary coffin in 1950 was to spawn a cottage industry in Nungua and the nearby town of Teshie, both lying between the capital city Accra and the country's main port city of Tema.

Hordes of excited tourists, especially Americans, come every day to gawk at the unusual coffins -- ranging from brightly coloured luxury cars, planes, butterflies, lobsters, shoes, peppers and coconuts to hoes and shovels.

In short, a coffin for everyone.

Ashong, who launched his independent coffin factory in 1977, explains.

"When you die, you need a good boat to carry you to the other world. If you are a photographer, it can be a camera; if you are a cocoa farmer, it can be a cocoa pod, if you are a doctor it can be an injection.

"That way God will know who you are."

But what about the giant eagle poised to take flight?

"Traditional villagers demand them for their chiefs or for village elders. We believe that the eagle is a noble bird and the symbol of a leader."

"The lion is for a world leader or a hunter," he said but admitted that he had not received orders from any global statesmen so far.

But the bright coffin shops dotting the towns do attract an international clientele.

Paa Willie, proprietor of "Paa Willie's 6 Ft Enterprises," said he received orders from the world over.

"There are orders from the US and Europe. In Europe, it is mainly from France and Germany. I also make coffins for exhibitions. I can make a coffin in any shape you order.

"Because you are a journalist, I can make a computer coffin for you," he said.

Each of the special coffins, usually made from ebony, can cost between 1,000 and 1,500 dollars -- way beyond the grasp of the average Ghanaian -- and take about two weeks to fashion.

Paa Willie shows off a coffin shaped like a bewigged judge holding a book bearing the title "The United States Constitution." The face is that of an aged Caucasian, John Ashcroft, an American judge.

"His family heard about us and they ordered the coffin. It is ready for delivery," he said. "Many of our clients defer the funeral until the coffin reaches them."

Some other coffins are puzzling until they are explained.

"The butterfly is for a shy and beautiful person, usually a woman," said Emmanuel Adzetey Doku, who works in another coffin parlour.

"For someone who is learned and speaks many languages we have a parrot."

However, all coffin-makers agree that they do not make special coffins for children.

And there are no "mismatches" either.

"If a farmer wants to be buried in a shoe that is not possible," Doku said.

For the rich -- or those who have died in either road or air accidents -- there are Ghana Airways DC-10 jets with shades on each window and a vast array of expensive vehicles from Mercedes Benzes to top-of-the-range four-wheel drives.

The numberplates bear the ubiquitous RIP (Rest In Peace) and the legend Psalm 37:5 (Commit thy will unto the Lord; trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass).

Other designs up for grabs include giant lobsters, crayfish and other marine varieties, cannons and rifles (for soldiers and policemen), ovens (for bakers), coconuts, whales, oil tankers, ships and boats and hammers.

But the new fashion is indicative of an increasingly consumerist society, according to retired army major Tony Bentil.

"Earlier funerals were just solemn occasions. Now they are a way of indicating your wealth. These coffins just show how the new generation flaunts their money. This is not part of our culture."