The High Cost of Farewell: How Lavish Funerals Are Deepening Economic Woes in Northern Ghana

In recent years, a growing trend has taken root in Northern Ghana, particularly in the Upper West Region, where funerals are increasingly becoming extravagant social events. Families now go to great lengths to organize expensive funerals for their departed relatives, often spending far beyond their means. This development raises serious concerns about the economic strain it places on already struggling households and the shifting values surrounding death and remembrance.

Understandably, families wish to honour their deceased loved ones. Paying respect to the dead is deeply rooted in Ghanaian tradition, symbolising love, gratitude, and kinship. However, the growing obsession with displaying wealth at funerals has begun to take a toll on many families. Ironically, many of those for whom these expensive funerals are held may have lived in poverty or battled illnesses that drained the family’s finances before their passing.

Unlike in the southern parts of Ghana, where funerals have become a commercial enterprise—complete with professional mourners, vendors, and opportunities to recover some expenses—the funerals in the North remain largely the sole responsibility of the bereaved family. The little contributions from friends, extended family, or community members are rarely enough to offset the heavy costs incurred.

Today, graves are tiled with imported ceramic designs, funeral grounds are decorated with lights, floral arrangements, canopies, and high-powered sound systems, while stages are built to host mourners. The question, however, remains: What do we seek to achieve with all this?

An even more worrying practice is the increasing tendency to keep bodies in mortuaries for several months, sometimes close to a year, just to “prepare” for a grand funeral. While it is good to plan and organize a decent farewell, doing so at the expense of pressing family needs—such as school fees, health care, and food security, raises questions about priorities.

In a region where unemployment, poverty, and limited access to social amenities persist, the pressure to hold glamorous funerals is misplaced. These ceremonies, often driven by social comparison and prestige, end up pushing families deeper into debt and hardship.

It is time for families to be prudent in their planning and spending. Funerals should be moments of reflection and unity, not occasions that leave relatives financially crippled for years. The true honour of the dead lies not in the display of affluence but in the preservation of their values—education for the children they left behind, care for their dependents, and efforts to strengthen the family’s wellbeing.

As the culture of expensive funerals continues to grow, families in Northern Ghana must rethink their priorities. Mourning a loved one should not lead to years of debt repayment. Prudence, modesty, and dignity should guide funeral planning so that the living do not suffer long after the dead have been laid to rest.