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Ghana: The Amazing Grave
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Public Agenda (Accra)
COLUMN
7 March 2008
Posted to the web 7 March 2008
Frederick Asiamah
How do you want your grave when you die? You probably are asking what is wrong with me. Don't worry, I am very okay.
In case you want to know, there is a new kind of grave gaining popularity in far away India (see accompanying photo). It is a kind of grave with luxuries, which over 70% of the world's population can never enjoy in their life time - even if God was to double their life span on earth.
The actual size of the grave is unknown but it is far wider and deeper than the six-by-six feet graves that Ghanaians and Africans are familiar with. These days, graves in Ghana are even smaller and shallower; apparently due to competition among the living and the dead for land.
The photograph you see is one of three photos circulating on the internet about this new kind of Indian grave made for a female. Reactions to the astonishing sight have been mixed, and very much so. "This is amazing....can you believe that?" exclaimed one African receiver of this photo as she forwarded the photos to her friends.
And there are religious undertones too: "Omo! This is just too sad a thing to do. If the dead person was not saved, in the sense of accepting Christ into her life, she is still going to pass through that her beautiful bed and straight to HELL!!!!!!. People really need to get aware of God and his place in their lives," said another.
To another, there is a mental perspective: "I think craziness (madness) get different levels!"
In case you are wondering what the grave consists of, here is a clue. "Just imagine the level to which man can degenerate in the name of 'honouring' the dead. Is it the dead man that will be watching the plasma TV and enjoy all these pleasures that over 70% of the living cannot dream of? And all these in the grave? Like the Preacher would say, 'vanity upon vanities ...'
"What do you think?"
May be you are wondering what else is in there. There is a bed on which the casket would be placed. There is also a dressing mirror, a chair, cosmetics, a DVD player, two pairs of ladies shoes, etc.
Perhaps, it represents the advancement of culture and tradition. Not long ago - in fact it still prevails in some African cultures - Africans buried their chiefs accompanied by several items including regalia, ornaments, 'apotoyowa' (earthenware bowl) and even human heads.
Until grave looting assumed wilder proportions lately, the dead were buried with various invaluable items they never got to enjoy while they were alive. The difference, however, has to do with the sizes of the Indian graves. It certainly cannot be 'six-by-six.'
So could this be replicated in Ghana? We wait to see but you can be sure that no land owner will tolerate this; not when the living cannot even access land for development. Mind you, although India is far better that Ghana in economic terms, India still suffers poverty and all the ills of development arising out of trade liberalization.
In 2006, the World Bank classified India as a low-income economy though today it is described as the world's twelfth largest economy at market exchange rates and the third largest in purchasing power. Its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth is 9.6% (2006/07) with a per capita of $4,543 (Purchasing Power Parity) while Ghana is only eyeing a $1,000 per capita by 2015. Economic reforms have transformed it into the second fastest growing large economy; however, it still suffers from high levels of poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition and environmental degradation.
Wikipedia describes India as the seventh largest country by geographical area, the second most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal on the east, India has a coastline of 7,517 kilometers (4,671 mi). It borders Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Bangladesh and Burma to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Indonesia.
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Four major world religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated here, while Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam arrived in the first millennium and shaped the region's diverse culture. India is a pluralistic, multilingual, and multiethnic society.
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