funeral

as i said in my last post, i want to show you some pictures from a funeral in a house of a neighbour of mine.
if a person dies, people are shooting, so that everybody can know what has happened. and its a way of showing respect. at special times during the funeral, which takes some days, many people from the community gather to dance, to sing, to show empathy with the family of the dead person. it is also tradition that you give money if you attend a funeral. since the families are big, and often people die, a funeral is an important part of life in my area.

women and men arive, acompanied by drums and singing

women in traditional clothes...

...and men

dancing is a vital part of a funeral - but actually vital in any circumstance!

me, giving a donation

where we were seated - in front of us some of the elders. the man with the spear is the warrior of my village.

who is a good dancer gets some coins on the forehead

the head of the family in the center, surrounded by some of the elders. the 2 white girls are our new volunteers

one of my neighbours!

the new volunteergirls magdalena and lisi, as well as some chiefs

but of course there is more going on than just a funeral.so see some more pictures about my life up in the north (as i would say, or down in the south, as you might think!)

all our children recieved new school bags. the room on the left is our social workers office, the door on the right hand side is my office

kids in the village i live

some more houses from the village

as i said we have some new volunteers, and due to that i see some things for the second time.

on a crocodile - again!

it lies around and you think its carlm...

...but if you go there you also bring some chicken. and if you throw the chicken in the direction of the head, it just moves it a bit (VERY fast), and the chicken is gone. so even though it seems safe, you have to be a bit careful

almost everything on the road is overloaded!

last week i had a big honour - i was allowed to meet the king of mamprugu. he is the most influencial king in the whole of ghana, and if all ghanian kings meet, he is the head of them. his kingdom has nothing to do with the borders drafted by european conquerors, and lies in the north of ghana as well as in big parts of burkina faso. it was really interesting to greet him, to see the people who enter the kings palace, to see how they are dressed and especially how they behave. and since i have never met a king before it has been a really good experience!

king, next to me, surrounded by some of his elders

ok, now you know about funeral, king and so on. and as you might see i am posting this on a sunday morning, before eight! so my rhythm of life is a bit different compared to home . which is good!

have a great sunday, and i really hope you are all doing well!

take care, severin