#HTE

Unusual Coffin Designs from Ghana

There’s a book called “Going into Darkness: Fantastic Coffins from Africa,” written in 1995 by photojournalist Thierry Secretan, which revealed the following:

“Funerary art has many expressions, but seldom is it as eye-catching and surprising as among the Ga, the dominant people of Accra and the surrounding region. Here a remarkable folk art of coffin-building has developed, combining remembrance, respect, humor and celebration. The coffin may take almost any form or shape, from eagle [sic] to Mercedes Benz, reflecting the occupation, status or character of the deceased.”

I found this African e-commerce site that sells Ga coffins, and they’ve got some pretty unusual models:

My favorite is this one, which requires an explanatory caption:

COF030 Kente seller’s coffin. This amazing coffin looks exactly like a pile of kente cloth from a distance. You have to touch it to realise it’s just an illusion.

There’s more to see here.