By M. D. W. JEFFREYS [Originally published in African Studies, Vol. 20, no. 1 (1961): 61-65.
Sometime before 1920, Bakweri historian ESASEA WOLATAE made very detailed notes about Bakweri funeral customs. Around 1946 he handed over these notes to M. D. W. Jeffreys (pictured). Spurred by the realization that "old customs and manners are disappearing [along] with the generation that still remembers how the old customs were performed", Jeffreys submitted these notes to the African Studies Journal for publication in 1961. Today, some 45 years after its first publication, and close to a century after Mola Wolatae jotted down his notes, Bakwerirama offers its readers this unique "refresher course" on Bakweri funeral customs from the perspective of a master of pre-colonial Bakweri culture.
The notes refer mostly to the burial of married persons.
As soon as a spouse dies the survivor is stripped of all clothing and then clad in barkcloth (enjinja) while round the head are tied some leaves of the lisafo plant from which are suspended some seeds of the malaguetta pepper (Aframomum melegueta). The mourner must now also carry a small knife. These protect the mourner from the spirit of the deceased which for the next three days is believed to haunt the house where he died.
The person whose duty it is to see that the mourner is then properly protected against the deceased is one who has already been a widower or widow, according to the sex of the mourner.
The corpse if that of a man, is washed by male relatives; if that of a woman, by females, and prepared for burial. While the corpse is being buried in the house, in accordance with Bakweri custom, the mourner is taken to the back of the house and kneels on one knee....
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