For the Ga tribe in coastal Republic of Ghana, funerals are a time of mourning, but also of celebration. The Ga citizenry believe that when their loved ones die, they move on into some other life — and the Ga make sure they do so in style. They honor their dead with brightly colored coffins that celebrate the way they lived.
The coffins are designed to represent an aspect of the dead person’s life — such as a car if they were a driver, a fish if their livelihood was the sea — or a sewing machine for a seamstress. They might also represent a vice — such as a bottle of beer or a cigaret.