GOING HOME BY FIRE- MARCIA ABDUL-KORAH (RADIO UNIVERS)

Body in the fire

For many Ghanaians, the final resting place for a departed relative is the cemetary. However, in recent times, cremation has waxed in Ghana notably among the elites. Cremation is the application of intense heat on the human body of about 800 degrees Celsius.

Wondering how a body is cremated? Godfried Otu, the general manager of the Lashibi Funeral Home and Crematorium says,

‘‘It is done with applying intense heat of about 1,500 degrees of heat. As you know, the human body is made up of 70% water,” he further explains that, “during cremation we do not collect the ashes immediately. We advise the ashes cool overnight.

“When collected, the pulverized bones are crushed into powder and given to the family of the deceased.

Ashes of a cremated body

Cremation could be done in two forms, the open pyre or close form.

The open pyre involves the use of firewood and other combustibles to cremate the body openly whilst the close cremation is the use of an electrical furnace called the cremator to do same.

After cremating the dead body, the ashes are kept in a special container called the ‘‘Urn’’ and these are of different sizes, shapes and prices.

The ashes can be sprinkled over flowing water; it can be buried at the cemetery usually based on the bereaved family’s preference. It can also be kept at a special ‘‘wall of remembrance’’ or a columbarium at the crematorium for a fee.

Averagely, it costs GH₵4,500.00 to have a loved one successfully cremated.

This cost covers documentation and casket.

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QUICK FACTS

The first crematorium in Ghana was established in 1950 in Cape Coast.

In 1986, the Ghana Cremation Society was formed and currently it operates on a core membership of over 1,500.

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Opinions, however, differ as to whether cremation should be encouraged or not.

“For me it is not a good thing because you are condemning and punishing the deceased…I feel only God has the power to punish. It is not a good act to burn someone when dead,” a lady said.

A gentleman who shared his opinion on the matter said, “it should be abolished because when someone dies and is buried, the body decomposes to enrich the soil which is important for agricultural purposes’’

While the two suggest it be discouraged, some others believe its worth considering.

“it should be encouraged because land these days is scare and as a result, it will help to manage the scarcity of these essential resources,”

Every year, the number of cremations performed in Ghana increases, probably due to the more information on the process.

At the Lashibi Funeral Home and Crematorium alone in 2012, 18 bodies were cremated, however in 2014 the number increased to 50.

Interestingly, more than 30 bodies have so far been cremated at the Home just 7 months into the year.

Religious Beliefs

But what is the stance of the various religious bodies on cremation? I set out on a journey to find out the position of religion in cremation.

Sheikh Taahru Swallah, the Deputy Imam for the Madina Central Mosque, tells me the Islamic religion abhors cremation.

He further explained that “the hadith as instructed by the Prophet Mohammed makes it clear that the pain a human being feels on earth when he is been burnt is the same pain the human being feel when he dies,” he added, “he (Prophet Mohammed) continues to say that as a human being, the pain that you feel when any part of your body is hurt or a bone is broken is the same pain you feel when the person dies the bone is being broken’’

The Islamic religion, eastern orthodox churches, Judaism and some charismatic churches out-rightly forbid cremation as a way of disposing the mortal remains of the dead.

To the Christian faith, does cremation have any biblical grounding? A search through the Bible does not reveal and explicit acceptance of cremation, however in the book of first Samuel, Saul and his son Jonathan were recorded as to have been burnt after they died. Some Bible scholars to some extent relate this to cremation.

My next stop was the Saint Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church located on the main campus of the University of Ghana, Legon where I met Rev. Father Wisdom Larweh, the parochial administrator for the parish. He tells me the Catholic Church does accept cremation however with a caveat.

“Yes it is accepted but the preferred option of the church has only been burial because of the special dignity accorded the human body.“Now in the case of choosing cremation in order to deny the Christian belief and the resurrection of the body, the church would not allow. The Catholic Church is against the indiscriminate scattering of the ashes.’’

Industry players posit that cremation has come to stay in Ghana. In my next report, I will explore the environmental impact of cremation on the environment.

 CREDIT: MARCIA ABDUL-KORAH/ univers.com.gh