As a tribute to the deceased, the day after the funeral where those attending the service wore black or red attire, now are dressed in blue and white. This is a celebration of a life well-lived.
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Another Ghana Tradition - Blue & White Attire, the Day After a Funeral
As a tribute to the deceased, the day after the funeral where those attending the service wore black or red attire, now are dressed in blue and white. This is a celebration of a life well-lived.
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Can the Congolese Ever Sing!
The Congolese are practicing Souviens Toi (not in the English hymnbook) for tomorrow's devotional.
Please Sir, Can I Have a Cup of Soup?
This looks like a scene from the movie, Oliver Twist, but actually it is a group of missionaries going to the Ivory Coast on Tuesday. They just realized that their flight is not until 1 p.m. and they are asking if they can go to the temple one last time before they fly out.
Of course, Elder Malmrose said yes.
Dr. Kissi Examines Every Missionary Serving In Ghana
Every other Saturday, Dr. Emmanuel A. Kissi, a true LDS Pioneer in Ghana, comes to the MTC to perform a medical check-up for every missionary serving in Ghana. This is a requirement of the government, that missionaries are medically certified in order for them to renew their visas. Here is a little bit about Dr. Kissi as well as a few photos of some of the missionaries he tested today.
Dr.Kissi was born in Abomosu, Ghana. He studied medicine in England. In 1979, while completing training in surgery in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England, he joined the LDS Church.
After his return to Ghana, Kissi and his wife Elizabeth, who is a nurse, established a medical clinic in Accra which they named Deseret Hospital. The hospital at times has been aided by groups of LDS Church members from the United States. He has also been involved with trying to coordinate humanitarian medical care by other doctors in Ghana. Kissi was among those featured in the film Lives of Service about Latter-day Saints of African descent.
Initially after his return to Ghana, Kissi was a professor at Legon University medical school and was working as a general surgeon at Korle Bu Hospital.The first Latter-day Saint he met in Ghana was Priscilla Sampson-Davis who was reading the Doctrine and Covenants while waiting for treatment at the hospital.
By 1982, Kissi was serving the LDS Church as a district president in Ghana. He had also been a branch president,and in the late 1980s he was a counselor in the presidency of the Ghana Accra Mission. Then in June 1989, the government of Ghana suspended all meetings of the LDS Church and expelled all foreign church representatives. Kissi was designated as the official head of the church in Ghana, a position he held until "The Freeze" was over in November 1990. At the same time, from 1989 to 1991, he was president of the Ghana Accra Mission.
After this Kissi served the church as a Regional Representative of the Twelve, then as a counselor in the mission presidency. Kissi was serving as patriarch of the Accra Ghana Lartebiokorshie Stake[ before being called as an area seventy from 2002 to 2007.
Ghana MTC Shares Compound with Two Local Wards - And yes, they have funerals too
Ever wonder what the various colors worn to funerals in African mean? Here is a photo taken this morning of a funeral in the chapel right next to the MTC:
A local columnist, Emanuel Mensah recently wrote an article about what the colors mean:
"In this age of modernity and technology, does it really matter what colors one wears to say goodbye to the dead?
On weekends, particularly Saturdays, most streets in Ghana become awash with mourners clad in red, black, and sometimes white clothing.
The Ghanaian is very superstitious and has a strong belief in ghosts and ancestors. It is believed the dead cannot rest in peace until a befitting funeral and burial ceremony are held for them. According such courtesies to the dead requires special funeral clothes, which traditionally come in red, black, brown, and white colors.
People sometimes have to pay a high price for these clothes. But the reality is, one cannot afford to attend a funeral in just any attire without attracting criticism. According to Dr. Dan Bright, a sociologist at the University of Ghana, funerals are special occasions in Ghana because they celebrate the life of the deceased. “When a person dies, he enters the spiritual realm, and for that matter, the ordinary cloth we wear will not be appropriate. It is a special event,” Bright said.
Culturally, the black and red attire for funeral ceremonies in Ghana signifies a grieving period. Traditionally, red is associated with danger and black with grief, hence the use of these colors to communicate the passing of a loved one.
However, when a person grows to a ripe old age of seventy years and above, the belief is that the person has lived long and has been blessed, so why not rejoice instead of grieve? Traditionally, white signifies victory or joy, so on such an occasion as the final funeral rites for someone over the age of seventy, the white cloth is used to celebrate the life of that person. In most cultures in Ghana, too, the white cloths are worn on Sunday, the final day of the funeral rites, to show relief in the assurance that the deceased has made a successful transition into the spirit world." http://infoboxdaily.com/your-world/ghana/item/397-colors-of-ghanaian-funeral-attire-explained
A local columnist, Emanuel Mensah recently wrote an article about what the colors mean:
"In this age of modernity and technology, does it really matter what colors one wears to say goodbye to the dead?
On weekends, particularly Saturdays, most streets in Ghana become awash with mourners clad in red, black, and sometimes white clothing.
The Ghanaian is very superstitious and has a strong belief in ghosts and ancestors. It is believed the dead cannot rest in peace until a befitting funeral and burial ceremony are held for them. According such courtesies to the dead requires special funeral clothes, which traditionally come in red, black, brown, and white colors.
People sometimes have to pay a high price for these clothes. But the reality is, one cannot afford to attend a funeral in just any attire without attracting criticism. According to Dr. Dan Bright, a sociologist at the University of Ghana, funerals are special occasions in Ghana because they celebrate the life of the deceased. “When a person dies, he enters the spiritual realm, and for that matter, the ordinary cloth we wear will not be appropriate. It is a special event,” Bright said.
Culturally, the black and red attire for funeral ceremonies in Ghana signifies a grieving period. Traditionally, red is associated with danger and black with grief, hence the use of these colors to communicate the passing of a loved one.
However, when a person grows to a ripe old age of seventy years and above, the belief is that the person has lived long and has been blessed, so why not rejoice instead of grieve? Traditionally, white signifies victory or joy, so on such an occasion as the final funeral rites for someone over the age of seventy, the white cloth is used to celebrate the life of that person. In most cultures in Ghana, too, the white cloths are worn on Sunday, the final day of the funeral rites, to show relief in the assurance that the deceased has made a successful transition into the spirit world." http://infoboxdaily.com/your-world/ghana/item/397-colors-of-ghanaian-funeral-attire-explained
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