Dancing at Burials – Pallbearers in Ghana ‘Celebrate Life’

As a non-traditional burial, the dancing and singing pallbearers are becoming widely popular in Ghana.

Benjamin Aidoo and his group performing at the burial procession.

(Photo: AP Screengrab)

Nana Otafrija Pallbearing Service, led by Benjamin Aidoo, is trying to transform the traditional ways in which we mourn the dead. Instead of crying over the loss at a solemn burial service, these pallbearers are trying to celebrate the lives that these people led.

Aidoo started pallbearing as a means to earn money and pay his high school fee, but later got drawn towards it and devised his own creative ways to make people smile at their worst.

People don’t want to cry anymore. Whether they want to cry or not, we cheer them up and make them happy because of what we are doing.

Benjamin Aidoo, Head, Nana Otafrija pall bearing service

Dressed in colourful clothes, the team ‘celebrates’ by singing and dancing and creating a joyful atmosphere. While the practice started as an experiment for Aidoo, it has really picked up since more and more people are concurring with Aidoo’s beliefs.

Aidoo now owns his own pallbearing company, which has over 100 employees. He puts in extra effort while selecting the kind of clothing, shoes and accessories for his team, and spends the night before the burial making arrangements to ensure everything is perfect.

We always improve on our choreography and dancing. We bring in more styles to suit the people so that they know that we are unique in our display.

Benjamin Aidoo, Head, Nana Otafrija pall bearing service

Aidoo believes that he needs to constantly improve upon his style since in Ghana. “You need to be creative to be noticed for doing something”, he says. He firmly believes that the very fact that they added colour to the otherwise solemn uniforms of pallbearers has worked wonders for them.

The concept of dancing pallbearers is spreading in Ghana and people seem to love the idea of celebrating the life of the deceased as the best way to show love.

That is the maximum respect that we can give to a person. It’s quite impressive and we have to encourage it because you have to pay your last respects for the person who has been on this earth for quite a long time with a befitting burial.

Anabelle Namartey, grand-daughter of the deceased

Video Editor: Vivek Gupta