>From: Pa Fru Ndeh <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: [log in to unmask] >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Ghanaian attends own funeral >Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2000 17:34:50 EST > >Ghanaian attends own funeral > >Mourners at a Ghanaian funeral were astounded when the "dead" man arrived >for the ceremony, reports Kweku Sakyi Addo from Accra. > >There has been drama about life and death in the village of Adaklu-Dabalu >in the Volta region of Ghana, with a moral about who is more deserving of >the family's money - the living or the dead. > >It began when Cujoe Gokah, 32, who had had surgery for a hernia, could not >raise 450,000 cedi ($120) to pay hospital bills. > >After several fruitless attempts by the hospital to get the family to pool >the cash to pay the bill, surgeon Dr AK Tachie came up with a fundraising >idea bound to hit the target. > >According to the Ghanaian Times, the surgeon sent a message to Kujoe's >family that he had died. > >Prompt response > >The response was prompt and efficient. The family sent a delegation to >settle all the medical bills, and arrange for the body to be handed over >for the funeral and burial > >A few days later mourners arrived dressed in red and black chanting funeral >dirges and singing the praises of the one they had lost > >They had even bought a coffin which they brought along. > >Suddenly Cujoe appeared in the door, to the astonishment of the mourners. >The doctor explained it had been his ploy to get them to pay Kuju's bills. >Their joy at finding Kuju alive was much stronger than the doctors trickery > >Talcum powder > >Their dirges turned to songs of happiness. They covered Cujoe from head to >toe in talcum powder which is a symbol of triumph, and carried him shoulder >high. > >Instead of weeping there was dancing and singing and merrymaking all night >when they returned to Cujoe's village. > >They returned the coffin to the coffin maker who graciously took it back >and returned their money. > >Cujoe has since become a tourist attraction. Schoolchildren are playing 100 >cedi a time to see a man who once - sort of - died, but now lives. >Search BBC News Online > > > >Advanced search options > BBC ONE TV NEWS > > WORLD NEWS SUMMARY > > >See also: > > 16 Feb 00 | Africa > Bodies dumped at Kenyan town hall > > > >Internet links: > > Ghanaian Times > > >The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites > >Links to other Africa stories are at the foot of the page. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, visit: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/aam.html AAM Website: http://www.danenet.wicip.org/aam ----------------------------------------------------------------------------