Sowu To Be Burnt

Contrary to the expectation of most Ghanaians, the late Squadron Leader Clend Mawuko Sowu (Rtd), one of the country’s finest Air Force Officers, will not be buried in the Ghana Armed Forces Cemetery adjacent to the Osu public cemetery in Accra.

According to his junior brother, Captain Joel Sowu, the deceased made arrangements for his body to be burnt (cremation) and where his ashes should be kept, and this will be respected by the family.

Captain Sowu made the announcement last Wednesday when President John Evans Atta Mills visited the East Legon residence of the retired military officer in Accra to mourn with the family for their loss.

Capt. Sowu expressed strong belief in the Biblical resurrection, and said that his brother lived and died in the Lord.

Cremation is the practice of disposing of a corpse by burning which often takes place in a crematorium or crematory.

Along with burial, cremation is an increasingly popular yet controversial alternative for the final disposal of the dead.

Those for cremation argue that it is less expensive and environmentally friendly than burial, and in Ghana where burial grounds in major cities are now exhausted, cremation has been suggested as worth considering for the disposal of the dead.

Those against cremation say it is non-Christian, and that Cremation is devil worship by profanely desecrating the human body, which is a good gift from God, and that, on the day of resurrection, it will be difficult for the all-powerful God to resurrect a cremated person from the dead.

Until his death last Saturday at a rather surprising age of 78, Clend was a staunch member of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Board Chairman of the Electricity Company of Ghana and ex-Member of Parliament for Anlo in the Volta Region, who was ousted from the seat by diplomat Victor Gbeho, an independent candidate.

Although members of the same political party, Mr. Gbeho and the late Squadron Leader had not been on speaking terms since.

His defeat, the first time an NDC Parliamentary candidate lost his seat in the Volta Region, was mostly blamed on his strong albeit wrong choice of language on his constituents.

He contested NDC Parliamentary primaries for the 2004 elections and was humiliated by Clement Kofi Humado who went on to beat Victor Gbeho in the main election.

He is also remembered for challenging the result of the 2004 presidential elections that gave ex-President John Kufuor and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) a second term in office, from the High Court all the way to the Supreme Court.

He did so with the Deputy Minister of Health, Rojo Mettle-Nunoo and Kofi Portuphy, the current NADMO boss.

He was onetime Minister of Works and Housing under the presidency of Flt.-Lt. Jerry John Rawlings.

He hailed from Tegbi, near Keta, in the Volta Region, and had some Togolese connection. He was a former student of Mfantsipim School in Cape Coast.

President Mills paid tribute to the late Squadron Leader Sowu “as someone who served his country well”, describing him as “knowledgeable, forthright, fair and objective”.

President Mills said the late retired military officer, politician and social commentator was someone who fought for what he believed in until the very end.

“He was a friend, brother, father and patriot; always bold”, he said, and added that he left an indelible mark in the path he trod.

“We must take pride that it delighted God to choose to give such a person to us”, President Mills said, and extended the condolence of Government to the family.

Rev. Dr. Nii Amo Darko, Member of the Council of State, offered a prayer for the departed. President Mills signed the Book of Condolence.

An Insight Into Cremation

Burial and cremation are the two most common ways to honour the deceased. While there are other ancient methods such as burial at sea and modern methods such as burial in space, cremation and burial are still the best known and most widely available.

Cremation

Cremation is thought to be more environmentally friendly than burial, largely due to the amount of chemicals generally used in embalming. Artificial materials used in coffin construction have also been said to be causing pollution.

Historically, even those who have objected to it have made use of cremation for various reasons: either because burial was infeasible (as during the Black Plague, when having too many bodies during the burial process would spread disease to an already dangerously depopulated Europe) or as punishment (heretics especially were known to have been cremated). Other cultures have had different views.

Burial

Most of the Western world is more accustomed to burial rather than the alternative. Christianity, Judaism and Islam strongly prefer burial over cremation.

The burial process varies from culture to culture, but with few exceptions, they share certain commonalities: the body is placed in a casket (it may or may not go through embalming, a preservation process) which is then placed in a cemetery.

The funeral itself, generally, takes place before the burial, although there is often another ceremony when the body is interred.

Cremation Controversy

Since the Holocaust, cremation has been associated with Nazi Germany’s concentration camps, as this was the preferred method of dealing with bodies. Indeed, the term “holocaust” explicitly refers to burning.

A more recent controversy happened in Georgia in 2002, when a number of human corpses, which had supposedly been cremated, were found intact; the crematory responsible for these bodies had taken the bodies and returned falsified remains.

Space Considerations

Many countries, especially in Europe and Asia, are facing the prospect of simply running out of places to put bodies. Since cremated remains take up much less space than coffins, many countries (especially Japan) favour cremation. The United States, having a rather larger amount of area and a smaller amount of history than Europe and Asia, does not have that problem in most areas of the country, so burial is more popular. It is worth noting that, although space is less of an issue now, it may become one in the future as it has in other countries.

Price

One reason to choose cremation over burial is price: cremation tends to be less expensive than burial, although this will vary depending on the service requested. As noted above, space is an issue in some areas, meaning that burial plots can become prohibitively expensive. On the other hand, people living in areas where cremation is not as popular, are faced with the difficulty of finding a crematory; for example, there were no crematories in Israel for many years.

Religious Concerns

Some religions frown on or explicitly ban cremation, while it is very rare that a religion forbids burial. Hinduism is an exception; cremation, especially open-air cremation, is much preferred over burial. Exceptions can be made, however. For example, burial in New Orleans would be exceedingly difficult, as the city is below sea level, therefore almost all bodies are cremated, despite the population being overwhelmingly Catholic. A religion’s view on the body will usually inform their opinion on burial or cremation:

Hinduism and Buddhism favour the view that the body is temporary and has little meaning, so cremation is preferred, while Catholics (among others) believe that the body is a holy object and, therefore, should not be destroyed, if at all possible.