Music Hello our wonderful viewers today we come your way with something special this we know is out of the ordinary than you are expecting from black community but you know we just want to give you a taste of Africa there's so much we have and we do that I'm sure you might not really have an understanding of why we do the things we do and why we cherish some cultures. Today we want to share a bit of that with you. We want to, there are stages in life and there is a whole rites of passage that one goes through on this earth. We have from birth, marriage, all of that till death of passage this is where we want to start from and today i am here with my beautiful ladies it's not a lady show anyway it's just you know this is how we started we want to give you the ladies feel yeah so my name is mary and i'm here with my sister who introduced herself sister queen elliott okay And then on my right? And Eva. And we also have... And Florence. Okay. Thank you so much for being here today. We appreciate all of you for being here and your willingness to share your cultures with Austria and whoever is watching us from everywhere. We say you are welcome and we hope you enjoy listening and learning from the African cultures. I also want to mention specifically that we are not saying everything about what pertains to the entire continent. Because, I mean, we have different traditions in different countries of the African continent. So today, we will give you a bit of what pertains in the West African region. We have from Nigeria, we have from Ghana and we also have from Cameroon. So basically from these three countries you hear something a little bit about what pertains to funeral rites. So basically we will go into what we have. Really funerals are a big deal in our part of the world. They are a big deal. They mean a lot to us. We put a lot into Funhaus not only financially but time and you know just making it happen is very vital to us. We will ask from our sisters here what goes into Funhaus. In Ghana we actually save so much to make our funeral rites happen to the point where when someone passes away it can stay as long, I mean the corpse is kept in the morgue for as long as a year and beyond in order for us to prepare ourselves for all the activities that have to go into the burial rights so I want to find out what pertains in Nigeria what pertains in Cameroon so our sister Edna will handle the situation that pertains in the Esan Esan okay in Edo. Then we also have our sister Auchi. Auchi. Ah, no. So, Auchi is another part in the Edo State. So, we also hear what pertains there. And then our sister Florence will take us through what pertains in South region of Cameroon. So, my dear ones, I will start from Edna. Can you tell us? Yes. Let me throw a little bit light to how funeral is done in my place where I came from in a ghost state, Murumi, when a man dies or a woman dies, that is different. So if a wife that is married into a family dies, then the cost, if the children were to do, as my sister Ella said, the cost would be kept in the mud, can stay there for maybe one year, two years. রেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ pay some money to the family of the deceased to enable the children bury their mother in their father's compound. Then when a man dies, an advanced man, maybe 90 and above, we have what we call first barrier and second barrier. Wow. Yes. Okay. The first barrier is the one that will take place with seven days. Yes, seven days. If each daughter that is married will come with the family of her husband to pay homage. We call it way keeping. ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋ� final barrier. That final barrier is the first song of that family that will inform the chiefs, the elders that he wants to do the final barrier of the father. Why is this final barrier important? Because without this final barrier you will not inherit your father's property. Yes. For ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ father's property. If not, if something happened along the line that the foster son died, he will shift, he will move to the next door. Okay, thank you, Edna. I mean, we will get more into detail. So, at least now we know that we don't only organize for our rights. In the Eastern tradition, only for, you know, paying last respect, but there's something you also get out of doing it and doing it well that you can be able to inherit your rights as you know someone who is living and the disease passes it on well to you. Thank you so much. Now still in Nigerian you know concept let's also talk to our sister Queen what do you want to tell us about what pertains in your, what do you invest into funerals? Is it a priority so much? And what goes into this? What makes it so valuable for the people in Edo State? Like for me, in Africa or in Edo State, funerals is a form of respect to your late parents. Because it shows that he or she have a child. തതેরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরে� you go extra mine to borrow money to take a loan to do to give them that last respect and when for example when i lost my dad years ago then i was in nador i don't have documents i could not travel so and my dad was a catholic and in catholic church you are not allowed to keep the body more than two weeks because he was really a catholic member so i called the priest and i told him i'm not in nigeria রেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀੱੀেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরের� because when they say those things that you react they can't say they're not going to bury your husband you don't have anything to do so you just have to beg i'm sorry okay there we said many things you just okay for the sake of the children okay i'm sorry you just try to plead with them try to be the good wife if you are not the good wife just to make sure that at that moment you are able to lay your husband before anything so which they be after so many things they are good at events very my dad they gave us the list and in my own case you have to back how you have to people they don't have the money must buy the car is moose you have to buy cow you have to tie it in front of the compound you have to buy goods you have to cook and my father was the first son of the family so my father রেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋਸੋরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরের� Whether she ate with one plate or she took a shower, I was not yet. But I know when I lost my own dad, she was in a place, they have to give her own room to stay. To give her husband, they call it the last respect. You have to mourn your husband and she was on blue. Because Kathy don't like to wear black. Either you use blue or you use white to mourn your late one. So all you are saying now, this has been, I just want to get things clear, about nine years ago. Yeah. And for now, is it still pertaining? Is it still happening that you see some of these? You just mentioned about some widowhood rights. If you're a woman and you've lost your husband, some of the things that you have to go through, some of the rights you have to take, you know, just accepting fault when you are not at fault, going through some traditions. In recent times, let me just say maybe in the past two three years in now do you think these practices are still pertaining i cannot say yes or that no because tradition is tradition you have to do it you have to obey the tradition okay and even i mean viewers this is really interesting i this is really interesting in Ghana we also have a little good rights where you have to go through things especially the Ashantis there's a period of time we go through we don't good rights and these are special rights that you have to do have your hair shaved and you go bald and you know a lot of processes you don't eat some foods in this period so your husband is buried you don't take meat you know it's a whole lot of traditions that is held on to and you also talked about religion playing a factor so once religion also plays a very important factor in how the burial rights go or the female rights are conducted so let's also take note of that we have the traditional religion we have the islamic religion we have the you know the christian religion which comes in different facets and she just mentioned about catholic this is what pertains in their rights for burial i want to talk to our sister sister florence what do you want to tell us what pert contains in South region of Cameroon? Like our sister Queen just said, in the South West region of Cameroon, our funeral rites is almost similar. For example, when somebody dies, the celebration is even more than the bed or the marriage of your child they take it so serious and they invest so much finance in it they can keep the cops only the preparation is so expensive because what they will keep the cops in the mall they have to prepare you have family meetings from yet there how much money should be invested in it and then for example when a husband dies like she said when my own father died when I was a witness I was still a child my mother was supposed to she slept on the ground for seven days she sat on that ground she can get to very end just to watch just a little bit but she will not take her back for seven years until after the seven days the barrier then they will take her the women in our culture will take her to the stream then they will beg her and they will shave her head that's and it is still going on right now. It is our culture and my tradition. The woman must mourn like that. You must sit on the ground, you sleep on the ground. Everything you do there, it's only on the floor. So all of this is to show that you are in pain for the loss of this partner. Yes, for the loss of this partner. And is this also the same with the man? Does the man also have to go through these processes that women go through? That's something I have also been asking because the man does not go through the process. The man is like, okay, normal, your wife is dead, you have to just put in the finance, life course on the woman. But for the woman it's something else and also you see the family will invest so much into it that sometimes i even wonder why are we putting so much money into somebody who is already going to f only the finance the budget will give you if for example like now it was just about two months ago Like now, it was just about two months ago, we lost our aunt. The budget that they gave us, we that were not at home, I was like, what are we going to do with this? But we have to do it. Take loans. You have to take loans. You have to put in that budget. Because it's like they are showing the world that we are celebrating the dead. No, they don't say celebrating, they are honoring the dead. They are honoring the dead. They are honoring the dead, even more than they live with. Oh my God, it's a love affair. They give their last respects. And just as Sister Queen also said, in my own culture also, it goes also, if the person is a Christian because they're okay really yes religion also place in fact the day they will remove the cops from the mark they'll either take it to the church and they will do the religious rights then from there they will take it to their house if you see the way they would correct now only the decoration of the house is something that is also included in the bottle then they will take it there at first the cops used to sleep throughout the night in the family home in the family home that was first time but recently they said it will not sleep but it will be in the hope for some period of time it can be from more um let me say from 10 to 4 p.m they bury because in my place they don't bury before when the sun has not gone down yeah it's always in the evening like this is regardless of your religion this is regardless of your religion yeah that's when they always do so they leave the mark let me say by 10 they put it in the house, that decorated house, about 3, 2, 3, then they take it out to the burial site. Wow, interesting. They can bury it in the compound or we also have general burying grounds that you can take it there. If the person is not like, the person is not like the person does not have landed properties then they can take it to the general or underground or anything if then and most of the cases you see somebody might die in the city they will say oh we have to take that person back to the village when the person originally comes home okay so my viewers you are watching after TV weddings and funerals and as I said we start with funerals which is actually the last rite of passage in our you know living on this earth it's really interesting we've seen how religion plays a role We've also seen that even the process of announcing the death of a person is a whole process altogether. It takes one step to the other. Who announces that someone is dead? How do you even go about the procedures? I have another question. In Ghana, let me just say this. In Ghana, especially the Ashanti tribe, which is where I come from, we have this that when there's a difference on how funerals are conducted for a child when a child is dead and for when someone who is all grown is also dead. Is it that different in your cultures or in your countries of origin as well that the rights that you do for a child who has passed on is quite a bit different from what it is to what, you know, we talked about the aged who have passed on. Now what about the young ones? Is it the same thing? Do they invest so much money and time and you know all these processes? It depends on what you mean by young. Okay. invest so much money and time and you know this process is okay well let me just broadly say someone who is not so like is not dead out of old age so edna just tell us since you want to say something yeah depends when uh a young younger person died and uh the person is still having ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ They are going to buy a casket, they will give burial and the rest, they will also cook in the morning. We will get to the eating part of the funeral. They will also cook and invite, especially if the, no matter how young the person is, if the person is married, they are going to be buried. ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরের� to nobody so in africa you are not allowed to bury your own child it's a book so nothing they are going to put the corpse which is in a casket in the ground as a parent from my place i don't know after that says you cannot bury your own child is it something like not too friendly okay yeah i also lost my dad and i remember i was quite young but i remember child. It's something like not to train the girl. I also lost my dad and I remember I was quite young but I remember my mom wasn't allowed to go to the burial ground where they are putting the body into the ground. It's the same thing with us. When a woman lost her husband, the last minute the man is giving up, you have to leave the home. You are not allowed to see the corpse. In Cameroon what happens? No, in Cameroon it's not like that. In Cameroon you are allowed to see, you are allowed to be there, even because when the corpse is in the mall, to go and dress the corpse after all, you are allowed to go there. But the difference is when the younger person dies, it's a bit like, okay, now we are mourning. We are not celebrating. That's the typical. We are mourning. Even though there will still be that expenditure, it will not be as much as when an elderly somebody dies, yeah. It's like, okay, now this person, their life has been cut short most of the time you see that people go black that's when you really see black but when an elderly person dies you see they will remove all kinds of materials you see they call it ashwabi they will sew every kind these people will decide to wear white the other will show another kind of African style and people will dress so well they will like an elder or a high society profile person passes on? Is there something different? together when they go to the point of having to when i say sacrifice we sacrifice in terms of they use a human being you know they cut the head of a human being the blood of a human being to appease the gods and this is because a chief has passed on so there's a whole lot of you know taboos that you don't have to break and when you are found wanting at a certain time of the night you are caught that hey we'll use you as a sacrifice you know so basically there are some rules not in the village or in the town at a certain time you are not supposed to step out we it's like a curfew until the chief is buried all of this goes on it's a whole lot of things so when it comes to chiefs when it comes to high society people is that something different about the burial celebration or how does it go in your place for me i don't have an idea okay let me রেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরের� chief or king died in the olden days. They don't marry that much now. That was in the olden days. In Cameroon, is there something special for chiefs? In Cameroon, it depends on the region. To start with, when the chief dies, they don't make an announcement like any normal person. They can just say he has gone on a journey. That's what is normally said. The king has gone on a journey. That's what it's normally said. The king has gone on a journey. Like when my uncle died, because I'm from the royal family, they said he has gone on a journey. And then when they are making their rights, there are these king makers, these special people in the village who are there and who are responsible for that. It's not like open to the God of the king. It's not open. It's something very hidden. Even when they are going to put him at the last rest, not everybody is to be there. Only these special people that will take care of him. They can do the normal way keeping because like in Cameroon we have this way keeping that we do in the night. Everybody can be there, but to see the corpse, it's a no-go zone it's just for the uh the what they say the red the caps the the how the king makers or these people who are really in that their society who are taking care of everything of the children sometimes even even the children of the chiefs are not allowed to see them and there are other parts of Cameroon that the chiefs they don't even put them in the morgue yeah you don't see yeah they don't put them in the morgue they don't stick them so how do they preserve these crops because some of the chiefs are really kept for a long time all in the name of planning how things has to go i mean maybe this is from my tribe but i don't know what pertains there how is it done in cameroon they have their traditional way of preserving cups before the market they used to have a certain way yeah there was a way so that's where they'll make like one particular room okay and put it there and the room will be closed nobody is to go inside then they will do their traditional things, everything inside there. But I mean this is just in passing, this also comes with some health and environmental consequences. That's why the room is being shut, nobody is allowed to enter there. But eventually someone will open the door anyway if they have to go and conduct some rites or something like that. I mean this is just interesting, really interesting to know that all these things go. And the corpse don't usually stay there. You might think that it is there. Maybe people even think that the corpse is there, maybe they have to already bury the corpse one time. Maybe sometimes before they even bring out the information that the king is no more, they have already done their burial. So, it's interesting. We have lots of practices when it comes to funeral rites. Now, we also, all of us have mentioned that there's a bit of financial investment that goes into this. Frankly speaking, money is a big deal back home. I mean, where we come from, money is a big deal. Sometimes people cannot even afford a day's meal. But when it comes to phone house, we can all bear witness in our stories that there's a lot of investment people are willing to put into this, that going to the point of taking a loan from a bank or you know boring from a friend that I have to do this so there's the cost is it you get a point in your submission that if you are the first child of your father or your mother you have to take responsibility how and what do you have to say about all this financial burden that comes on the family? Because we don't just, we do it big. I mean the celebration is big time. A lot of food, a lot of, you know, renting of a place, the canopies. from is a whole weekend you start on Friday you end on Monday so every day there's something and there's eating there's dancing there's a whole lot of costuming and all of that who bears the cost of all these things how long does it take in the full on right in the process how many days is it similar like what I have with Ashantis from Friday going down on to Monday how does it work ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরের� So who is the owner you don't know they just okay you have given them their own So they believe on tradition they say give to them that is their own So but the money is this shared across the entire family members? Okay, you pay a portion that person pays a portion or one person has to carry all this burden of you know having to bear the cost of every Finance that has to go into this is it left for one person or you share the cost as family? ਸੇরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋরੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে রে In the Shanty tribe, when a parent dies, the children have to take care of the cost of the casket. That is really a must that when the children are at the point where they can afford it, they take responsibility of the casket, the cost of that. If they are not in the capacity, when my dad died, I was so young, I hadn't even started working, I was still in school, all of us. So it happens that my mom had to take that cost as well, of having to take care of the casket cost, which was actually not supposed to be her cost, but, you know. So there are some particular things that, as a mother, you are supposed to take, I mean, as a wife, you are supposed to handle as a husband, you are supposed to handle as a child. You know, there's that questioning of who takes care of what in this funeral right anyway this is really interesting do you want to say something in regards to what happens in Cameroon yeah like what happens in my side of in our region when a man dies they will come up with the budget and if the man has a child who is married, the husband is supposed to take care of the casket. So wait, the in-law of the dead person is supposed to take care of the casket. Or even if it's like a woman, the in-law is supposed to take care of the casket. If the wife dies and the man is still alive, the man is supposed to take care of the casket. But the budget is shared. Everyone. Everyone. Both families. The husband's family and the wife's family. It is shared. Sometimes it is shared with grandchildren. Everybody who can chip in something, they share the burden. It's not like on somebody alone. But when you live abroad, there's more responsibility. Sure, because you have to be fully like, for example, my aunt died. I have to pay my mother's share, pay this before you leave here. So you have to take, but it's something that they make it to be like everybody should have a, it's not like a burden to one person. Everybody must participate. Yeah, everybody is interesting. And let me just tip also this one in that funeral rites are not only limited to being invited. It's open to the entire society. Even though we make invitation cards, lately invitation cards are made, these rites are open to the entire society. Anyone can just walk in, take a drink, eat, and you need to make sure there's enough provision for everyone. So you can imagine if you are having a funeral right for burying your parent or your dad or a child and over 500 people that have to be catered for with drinks, water, where to sit, you know, music, all of this. It's really a lot of financial cost. But mind you, let me say this, all of us sitting here, we are saying this, talking about how expensive it is, but when it happens, tradition goes on. We go back and perform these, right? We go back and perform these, right? and this is what culture is about. It's the beauty of the culture. And to be frank with you, it's not only about mourning in our funeral rites. It's also about gathering, coming home, being together. The oneness where family comes together, where we share with each other. So apart from all the rituals that goes on there's also the factor of oneness where we feel like it's an opportunity to come together and have a family time so yes we mourn but we also celebrate and enjoy being with each other africans are warm and lovely people we try and after that we encourage one another we discuss what is happening what is happening in your life and this is also another part where in Austria I would say I have to go for this funeral I have to be there I expect her to be home to you know be with the entire family, support each other in the morning times. I also want to ask this question as we go on. Colors. Colors play a role. I know in Austria, black is used for mourning. And where we come from, let me specify that in the Ashanti region of Ghana, when the person who is dead is a child normally you wear black and white and not entirely black during the funeral rite. I don't know but if the person is elderly we wear black for the burial day then the Sunday which is more like a thanksgiving service where we go in black and white. Can you also tell us a bit of the role of colors in the funeral rites? For us, like when a younger person died, we were put on black. Mostly black. But when an elderly person dies, you see them, like for example when my grandmother died, the children were white. All of them were white. Then the grandchildren, like us, we had another color. We had with like a uniform the uniform that they made it's african fabric multi-color that the general public can so just because as you said it's not like something you give invitation is for the general public so there is this ashwa be this uniform that for the general public and sometimes like for us my grandmother lived her life and she had grown up children So it was not like we were not mourning. We were celebrating her passing of death and it was really powerful Really? Yeah, the children were white and so colorful, the headscarf That one of them brought from America. All of them. Then you see the younger grandsons, they had good coat suits. I see. So just one person who is dead, but there will be a diversity of the colors depending on the relationship of that person with the one who is going to be buried. Do you want to share something with us? with the one who is going to be buried. Do you want to share something with us? Yeah, like what Dr. Florence said, it's similar to when a younger person died in my area, in my place where I'm coming from, Eson, in mere black. When it's an elderly person, they use white for the Thanksgiving and we have different, they call it ashebi. Ashebi. Yeah, ashebi. We have for the children, they have their own uniform. The grandchildren have, the great-grandchildren have. The extended family have different ones. Friends and they have. When Queen lost her mother, the one we have, the family is different from the general public. And we have different colours, you see this one is coming, we say, oh where is this one coming from? So which colour are you talking about? Is it still black but then different? No, no, no, different as shepe, just all colours. Yellow, blue, red, all colours. So you can be at a funeral and see a diversity of colours, red and only black? No, no. Like in Oceania when they are having a funeral you see only black? No, not black. Early die we don't use black. We use colourful. Ok. Interesting. Interesting. Ok. So, anything you want to add? No. Ok, so anything you want to add? No, like other cases also they use t-shirts with the picture of your parents. Ok, oh my word. This is another question right? Anyway, coming from the mall to take him to church or service of song. So most times they use the t-shirt with a picture of the deaf person of your father or your mother so these are like the modern dress you know modernity they breaks the picture the picture of this dead person and we see that okay this is really interesting apart from the colors let's look at the coffins in Ghana and if I say coffin I'm talking about the casket yeah so in Ghana what happens is that it's not so famous that it depends on who is being buried or who is dead okay the normal one is the rectangular coffin that's the the normal one that we see but there are some times where people are buried in specially crafted caskets in the form of a fish a cocoa pod um sometimes you know cooking pot cars and not i don't mean the cars that we sit in to drive the wood for this casket is shaped in this form so there is a reason to this the reason is as a result of the person's profession when the person was living on earth was the person a fisherman they craft this and they put the person in it to give a recognition that all the person was a fisherman when you craft this and they put the person in it to give a recognition that oh the person was a fisherman. When you see this you know this. A cocoa farmer, then you see the cocoa board. If the person was a renowned musician, you know microphone, that kind of thing. So this is one of the things that is now trending to bring a sense of you know attributes to who is being buried okay it's really interesting but what financial environment the family is. Oh wow. Yeah, they go for work, they can even, you can even bury somebody with gold. With gold? Gold plated casket? Gold casket, yeah, silver, the design depends on your financial standing. So Florence, you are telling us that in Cameroon is not really so much about your profession? No, it's not so much. It's what you can afford. It's what you can afford, not your profession. Okay, okay, okay. Queen, what do you have to say? It's the same thing like what Auntie Florence said. Because when you lost your parents, like in my own place, when you lost your parents or when you lost your mother, because when my daddy died, I was not really aware of most of the things, like when I lost my mom. So when I lost my mom, I got more information from my family. ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸੇ ਸেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরের� of 30 billion depend your money well anyway there's another interesting thing I'm also in Ghana we have the power bearers where they dance you know they actually make a choreography with their casket that is going to be very they hold it and does the same thing oh wow we have the bearer but not advancing for normal. That's why like when I say when my grandmother died they had to dress in suits. They took back their grandchildren. Okay. But I mean in Ghana it's now a whole business that these people are, they prepare themselves, they train, they rehearse themselves to be able to deliver some accurate moves in carrying the casket. And to be frank with you, it's so amazing to see how orderly they do this. It doesn't have any special connotation but if the family can afford, they bring a bit of entertainment into all the mourning phases of the process of burying an individual. So there's professionalism to our female rights as well. And now, in the Ashanti area, what I know, people are paid to come and cry. People are paid to come and weep, wail so loudly because we see that, oh no, we've lost a great thing. And the children might not be in the capacity to cry to that extent for people to feel that we've lost a good thing. People are paid, as someone's profession, to come and cry at the phone number. What happens in... Oh my God, it's so interesting for me to be here. In Nigeria, in Cameroon, what happens? Not yet. In Nigeria, they do. I think Ghana has taken it to another level. In Nigeria, they do. But it's not too popular. Yeah, it's not like that. Sometimes, even if they are not paid they have some. They pay them to come and cry. You see them rolling on the floor crying. There's a nice moment they have some joss right there. With plenty to take away. And they have a fee. You pay us this amount of money and we are crying. Oh wow, my word. Seriously, Africa is wonderful, full of fun, full of a lot of ceremonial stuff. This is us. We love to make joy even in our sad moments. So this is another part I want to ask. There is also the bit about whether being buried in the ground, cremation, what happens? In Ghana it's not so common to have this, you know, the cremation process. They are not so fond of doing that in Ghana. Some people still do it But it's not so common. Normally the common one is to have the person in a casket and you go down, you know six feet What is the Cameroon is six feet six feet, but there are some people who still do the combination. I've never heard of it or seen it in Cameroon Okay In Nigeria I've never heard of it. Oh really? Six feet. It's six feet রেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরেরের� gone, that's to announce to people that somebody and a hero has followed. Just like defending a hero has followed. That's how they do it. But to be frank with you, with Ghana, if the person stays in his or her will or tells a family member that I want my body to be cremated, it's allowed. There's a place we do all of that there are places you can have your body committed and so they are there the opportunity is there if you want this and it's not so a stretch Because like you come around, even those who die in the city, you see, you take them back to the village and then you leave that six feet. Interesting. I mean in Ghana too, it doesn't matter where you live, even if you are in Austria and you find yourself passing or you die in Ghana, I mean, you are in Austria and you die in Austria, the family members would want your dead body to be brought to Ghana. You know, this is how far it goes. I don't know, I'm sure some of you have heard where airlines make provision for cops to be taken back home. These provisions are in the form of a cargo. These things are also. We do PTA. Like, for us Cameroonians in Oshawa, we have this policy that anybody who dies will be sent back home. Okay. It's normal in our meeting. And if a meeting member, because we have sent two or three like that... And when you talk about meeting, you are talking about the association of... The Cameroonians. The Cameroonians. We come together, we put in the finance, And when you talk about meeting, you are talking about the association of children. Yes. We come together, we put in the finance and we send the coffee back to your family. That's what we have been doing. My viewers, you will not be left out. There will be some pictures, there will be some videos that will be shown so that you just get a glimpse of what we are talking about. There's been a lot of talking. So when the video moment gets there also you know just be more attentive look at what is happening uh sister queen will share something with us from her personal you know from her family situation what happened when she went for a funeral back home in nigeria what exactly pertained there there will also be some pictures for you to see what the taste in ghana especially the ashanti tribe what I'm talking about if you also have the church you could also go online there's a whole lot out there on the social media you could also view it for yourselves and know what we are talking about now let me just also keeping this two stones two stones we know that there is this trend that it has become a whole big business to tombstones some are building houses some are building you know special things to mark the tombstones what do you have to say yeah it's the same in cameroon we have tombstones we have like it depends on the family the family wants they can even put a house where the person is buried some you don't make so it's so decorated and that one comes like they put it itself so an after celebration it can come like one year after all for example I when my father died I was really a child but before I left them we had to do that and I went back to the village and we made all those decorations and the graffia, the tombstone, everything. We built, it's really like a good building. Yeah, in Ghana, we do this to mark the one year after burial of this person, the one year celebration. Celebration, yes, there's a party there too. So the one year celebration after the celebration, after the Thanksgiving service you have in church, after your party, all of that you go and you unveil a tombstone which you have done in memory of this person with all the details. So it's interesting that it pertains everywhere. This is really really interesting. My viewers, if you are watching us and you have a video to share, kindly send it in. The Afro TV, you see the information down there. Just look at the description. Send it to our Able production team and we would love to share what pertains in your home country, in your village, you know, where you come from. Share your tradition with Austrians. Share your tradition with other Africans who do not know what pertains in South Africa, what pertains in Malawi. We would love to learn from each other. in the cultures of one another so please this is very interesting and we would love to have your videos your you know share your views put that comment there if what you think you know it's not true that no ghana now they've stopped this in nigeria it doesn't happen comment you know let others also know that maybe we are not so informed but we hope we've informed you well enough thank you so much for being with us. Thank you, Quinn. Thank you, Edna. Thank you, Florence, for being with us. We really hope to have some more sessions to inform you on African weddings and funerals. Thank you so much. Nå er det en av de fleste stående stående i landet. In five, Rob of Asia's Cleverly. Let me hide myself in thee. I'm sorry. Thank you.