Ewes are one of the few main ethic groups in Ghana and reside mainly in the southern region in the country but also inhabit the southern half of Togo. Ewes originally came from Ketu , a Yoruba land in Nigeria .ewes have rich tradition and culture in terms of food, various dialect spoken, marriage, outdooring, puberty and traditional funeral rites.
For the purpose of this discussion, highlights will be thrown more on the traditional funeral rites by the people of Gbi ewes. Ewes believe in the Supreme Being (Mawu) but they also believe in their ancestors and reincarnation. Ewe culture inherently believes in the concept of death and life hereafter, marks a threshold that opens a door for a new and blissful life.
When a man or woman dies in the family of the Gbi ewes, the body will sent to the mortuary or preserved in the room for few days for funeral arrangements to be announced by the elders of the family. Before the funeral rites are performed for the dead body to be laid to rest, custom demands that the family goes to a fetish priest to enquire the cause of the death and to find out whether or not the deceased is witch.
According to Gbi ewe tradition, it is believed that the spirit of the dead hovers around for forty days before finally disappearing to the land of the dead. The spirit of the deceased is believed to be the one who speaks directly to fetish priest on the cause of their death and other issues. Ewe tradition does not permit for a witch or wizard to be buried in the same cemetery as others, therefore, this rite is important especially when the deceased is of old age.
After these traditions are performed, the family then sets day for the final funeral rites by inviting friends and sympathizers to bid farewell to the their beloved. Libation is poured and traditional prayers said to pave way for the rites. In the evening of the funeral, the dead body will be brought from the mortuary to the family house.
A close relation is contracted to bath the dead body as tradition demands amidst traditional libations and prayers. Funeral rites are mostly performed on Friday on Saturday amongst Ewes however, if a child dies for the first in a family, that child will be buried on the same day irrespective of time or day.
On Friday night , family and sympathizers gather in the house to mourn the dead by crying , others will be dancing and singing to traditional Agbadza or borbor music to keep themselves awake whiles the body is laid on state for viewing to those who want to pay their last respect to the deceased .
The children of the deceased are made to shave their hairs on the head as a sign of grieve and lost. Throughout the funeral rites, the children are required by custom to perform all the rites needed so that, there will be no consequence later on the family.
On Saturday morning, elders, chiefs and the other mourners troops to the funeral ground to console the family of the deceased and also take part in the final performance of the rites for the dead body to be put in coffin and sent to its final resting place.
The family and other close mourners come back to the funeral grounds after burial in the cemetery to continue with traditional rites of drumming and dancing amidst libations and chanting of the deceased name as a way of showing pain and grieve of their lost.
The family goes from house to house to greet and thank the townshtownship for supporting and thank the township for supporting.
By; Kwame Krade DCS20719
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