Asante's Funeral Ceremony

Across Africa, funerals and events remembering the dead have become larger and even more numerous over the years. Whereas in the West death is normally a private and family affair, in Africa funerals are often the central life cycle event, unparalleled in cost and importance, for which families harness vast amounts of resources to host lavish events for multitudes of people with ramifications well beyond the event. Though officials may try to regulate them, the popularity of these events often makes such efforts fruitless, and the elites themselves spend tremendously on funerals. Funerals cannot be in existence without the death of a person. As a result of the death of a person, demands certain ceremonies. Some of them include:

To discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the many social facet of funeral rites in Bantama and Amakom.

1.5: RESEARCH QUESTIONS

a. What are the main structures of Asante’s funeral celebration?

b. What role does art play in funeral ceremonies in Kumasi?

c. What are the cultural facts about Asante’s funeral rites?

d. What causes these social changes in Asante’s funeral practices?

1.6: DELIMITATION

The study is limited to social changes in funerals of Bantama and Amakom but however there is not limitation to a specific period.

1.7: SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

a. This thesis will enable readers to know the social facet of Bantama and Amakom before cultural exchanges and technology changed it.

b. It will bring out the advantages and disadvantages of the many social facet in the funerals in Bantama and Amakom to the society.

1.8: DEFINITIONS OF TERM

Social facet - Are socially distinctive structures effected whether by cultural exchanges and technology.

Nnwomkorↄ - cultural song exclusively performed by a group of adult women. Originally dances were not part of nnwomkorↄ. The musical instruments used today like firikyiwa, ntↄrowa, nnawuta and prempesua were later

In adenkum, the sections vary in length from one to three bars. Immediate melodic repetition is the most characteristic feature of the songs. Songs in adenkum are folk songs. Adenkum is performed by female bands but had male drummers or instrumentalists.

Adowa – is a cultural group which was originally a female dance. It was later that songs were added to the dance. It is performed orally with body movements. It adopts the “call’ and “response” structure. Atↄfo wuo – Unnatural death. For example, death cause by hanging, death by the drank of a poison and so on

The term “social” refers to anything pertaining to the society. To a larger extent, it means artificial things which generally conforms to the society (in the form of arts, texts, structures and so on). However, the word “change” in this study means something in the process of becoming different; for example, the product is undergoing a change in order to improve it. But, in a different context the word “change” means to replace something with another. For example, a change of