| Ghana - The Gold Coast |
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The Ashanti nation, now estimated to have a population of about 23.9 million started to become a mass trading market that attracted countries like Britain and France who came and took over the coastal regions and named them according to their resources. British merchants impressed with the gold resources named the area the Gold Coast. The French impressed by the ivory trinkets took over the west coastal region and named it the Ivory Coast. Ghana’s Ashanti region is rich in gold deposits; it’s also one of the few places that’s still ruled by a king today. Though the monarch is a ceremonial figure, he does have a big say in regional development and is perennially celebrated. The country has twice the per capita output of the poorer countries in West Africa and has been enjoying calm political leadership over the years. Even so, Ghana remains somewhat dependent on trade and international assistance as well as the investment activities of Ghanaian diaspora. The country has about 30% of her population living below the international poverty level of $1.25 a day. Besides the gold gem, the country is blessed with a rich of mixture of cultural and traditional practices. Tourism and agriculture are one of the backbone sectors of Ghanaian economy. But with Ghana facing immense competition from other African countries on the tourism business, a part of Ghana is helping the country leap above competition by making eye-catching coffins which have become popular with tourists visiting the country which blazed the trail for independence in Africa. Meet men who makes them unique. So obsessive are the extraordinary coffins that many Ghanaians are preferring to be buried in a coffin-replica of the things they loved most while they were still alive. The coffins are thus as varied as people’s choices and preferences. They range from, drinks like coca-cola bottles, to fruits like bananas, gadgets like cars, vegetables like pepper and animals like lions and cattle. The coffin preferences also depend on one’s lifetime occupation. That is, a hammer coffin will be made for a carpenter, a shoe for a shoemaker, a giant uterus for a gynecologist or wrought in the image of their most prized possessions, a Mercedes, a boat, a large rendition of the Holy Bible and et cetera.
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