And the Oscar for best funeral goes to....

Yesterday, Accra was clothed in red and black. I mean literally what I am writing; cars, shops, streetlights. humans and even some dogs were dressed in the attire. For those who are unaware to Ghanain customs, the colours red and black are worn to funerals especially if the person who passed away was perceived to be young or died unexpectedly. On the other hand, white and black is worn to funerals where the person died at an old age due to natural causes.
Well, in this case our Pres. Atta Mills though sick and who had been rumoured dead on countless occassions was honoured with a massive funeral service.
It was a three day event. On wednesday he was laid in state for public viewing and it continued till Friday. There were long snaking queues of people desperate to have a glance of their President.The lines spun from the Parliament building to The State house; where the mortal remains of our passed president was laid in state.  The number of people there did not reduce during those three days. Whether it was morning,afternoon,or evening the crowds were still there.
Most tv stations had representatives lined all along the territory either conducting interviews or snapping photos of celebrities present.  On friday the number of paparazzis covering the funeral service quadupled. All tv stations showed live footage of the president's burial service.
The burial sevice was gargantuan! In attendance were seventeen heads of state from Africa and elsewhere, even Hillary Clinton was present. The mortal remains were transported by horses, the navy,police,army were there to ensure security, there were doves that were released into the sky(umm dunno what for), the army gave twenty gunshot salutes and to crown it all three planes sprayed the country's flag colours.
My big brother said a funny but truthful statement as we watched the funeral service live on tv. He said "I knew Ghana would not dissapoint when it comes to funeral, we have done the best funeral ever. Even, Princess Diana's funeral does not come close to this" I burst out laughing, but on a more serious note what he said is so true. How much money did this funeral cost?
I am a proud Ghanaian. But. Ghanaian  funeral rites and services are in my opinion our most wierdest custom. I do not understand why people dance,eat and look for potential marriage partners at funerals. I do not understand why we pay chief mourners to cry for the dead person. I do not understand why the whole funeral service takes several hours. I just do not comprehend.....

N.B here is an article written by the New York Times on Ghanain funerals.
      These are articles on Atta Mills Funeral.