Roadside Graves: Cultural and Traditional Significance of Akumadan Traditional Area of Offinso North District of Ghana

Abstract

The study investigated cultural and traditional significance of road side graves/burial grounds at the Akumadan traditional area of the Offinso North District. Inextricably linked to the human environment are burial grounds. It's been a common belief for a very long time that after someone dies, their spirit lives on in another form. The study used the Ethnological theory approach by John (2018) which takes into consideration the subculture of a group or group that has a common culture, it’s goal is creating a detailed and comprehensive descriptions of the community and then interpret the ingrained patterns. Achieving the aspirational goal of becoming an ancestor after death is impossible if one attempts to use advance care directives in Africa to request an unnatural death. This study has not been explored previously and therefore adds value to theories and realities of roadside graves or burial grounds. The inter-prettiest paradigm served as the driver to the entire research process for this study. According to interpretivists, reality can only be fully understood by the subjective interpretation of and intervention in reality, hence it focuses on the complexities of meaning as enacted in symbols, language, and social interactions. The study reviewed literature on both primary and secondary literature on culture, graves and traditions. The methods used to collect the data for this study included interviews, observation, focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews and transcribed and analysed into themes. The targeted groups was traditional chiefs, sub-chiefs, opinion leaders, religious groups, accidentally sampled individuals 40 years below and 40 years above. Key amongst the findings include: Ancestors should be kept at a place for easy access (“Akantifi” meaning edge of city in Akan). They also believe the dead are part of them (living) and they need not throw them away; hence, they must be nearer them or by the roadside. They also added that is for traditional spiritual protection of the community (either the ‘entrance’ of the town or when leaving the town) and for easy ritual performance. As a policy implication, Offinso North and for that matter Akumadan Traditional area of Ghana is rich in cultural and traditional belief systems. These cultural and traditional believe systems must be properly documented as part of the rich culture of the traditional area. A tourism hub must be created to take care of the area's rich culture.