I sent this query when I was in Ghana and finishing up my first assignment for this editor. I typically would have waited to write and submit the first piece before pitching the second, but I knew this one would be right up his alley and didn’t want to waste any time because I was leaving the country soon.

**

Dear X,

Hope this finds you well. I’m putting the finishing touches on the (previous) piece and should have it to you within the next couple of days.

In the meantime, I came across a very fascinating concept here in Ghana, and since I’m only here until [date of my departure], I thought I’d run it by you in case you’re interested.

Here’s a brief:

A large fish. An over-sized Coca-Cola bottle. A hammer. Even a mobile phone.

They could be art exhibits in a gallery in Paris. Instead, they’re coffins. Handmade, very detailed, and created to carry a deceased Ghanaian to his afterlife.

In the West African country of Ghana, funerals are as much a time of mourning as they are of celebration. The significance of symbols is strong, and hence a person, in the event of his death, is placed in a coffin that symbolizes his life. So a farmer may bid farewell in a cocoa bean coffin, a pilot in an airplane, and a cell phone salesman in, what else, a Nokia cell phone.

Death is taken very seriously, and the body of the deceased may have to be preserved for months while the coffin is carved out. The coffins themselves cost about $400 and up, in a country where a majority live on less than $2 a day. A death ceremony can send families into several years of debt-paying. All so that their loved ones can leave in style and find peace in the other world.

Near Accra, the capital of the country, skilled craftsmen have their stores and are open to the public to come view them at work.

I think the concept is fascinating on many levels, and the primary appeal I see for Spirituality & Health’s readers lies in the concept of celebrating death. Seeing the positive in what appears to be a negative. Finding joy in moments of pain. A sad event, a death is a colorful celebration, so much so that coffin-makers are a tourist attraction. And a minutely-carved piece of art is buried making it special and impermanent, just like the body that lies inside it.

What do you think? Let me know if you like the idea, and I’ll hop on over and get my research, interviews and photography done.

Thanks X. I look forward to hearing from you.

Warm Regards,
Mridu

**

The published piece: Going Boldly Into That Good Night