Death and funeral rites of the Dagara people of Ghana in the celebration of the Roman funeral liturgy

Der Stamm der Dagara im Nordwesten Ghanas ist durch einen starken Glauben an ein Leben nach dem Tod gekennzeichnet: Tod, Schmerz und Trauer sind das geheimnisvollste Phänomen der menschlichen Existenz; andererseits aber markiert der Tod den Aufbruch in die Welt der Vorfahren, unsere Heimat und damit das Ziel unserer Sehnsucht. Aus diesem Grund entwickelte sich ein komplexes Bestattungssystem, das sich aus dem Leichenbegängnis, der eigentlichen Bestattung des Toten und dem einige Zeit danach folgenden Geleitritus für den erfolgreichen Weg des Verstorbenen zu seinem Ziel, der Heimat der Vorfahren, zusammensetzt.The Dagara tribe located in the north-west part of Ghana like many African religions strongly believe in life after death. Death with its pain and grief is the most mysterious phenomenon in the human existence. However, on the other hand, it marks the beginning of a journey into the world of the ancestors, our real home which is the dream of every Dagara. Thus, they have developed an elaborated funerary system: the burial funeral rite, a rite to bury the dead and the post-burial funeral rite, a rite to usher the dead into ancestral home, so as to attain this goal. Through the activities and encounter of the early Christians Missionaries and different cultures, the Dagara family today is experiencing the situation where Christians and Non-Christians (traditional worshipers) alike are living together. This reality also affects their funerary practices which in the view of the traditional Dagara is not the kind of funeral practice handed over to them by their ancestors. Thus, in time of death arise always conflicts and as such there is the urgent need for inculturation as a way out and this is the focus of this work