Que la terre lui soit légère - May the earth of our ancestors lay gently over them

(a grave in a Catholic cemetery in Bolgatanga) 

I have always said that when I started traveling that I would visit places of worship and cemeteries. This may seem odd but to me both these places are a great way to have more insight on a culture.  I can't wait to see Oscar Wilde's grave or the temples of Tibet.  So far here in Ghana I have had the chance to attend one Pentecostal service and I have seen one Catholic cemetery.  

A few words about the service first.  I was invited by my neighbour who is a fervent christian. Most of those attending the Sanctuary of Wind and Fire were in their twenties.  It was lively and there was a lot of music.  The preacher, although extremely loud, was charismatic.  He did seem to, when he got particularly inspired, change his voice in a very odd way.  His breath suddenly got short and his voice very corse.  It did not get me inspired but the crowd responded by shouting out or raising their hands to the sky or by hopping in place or even falling to their knees.  It was pretty intense but I have to admit that I felt mostly uncomfortable and wanted to leave.  

(age: 16 years)

The cemetery you see in the photos is in Bolgatanga.  It is the only one I have seen here in Ghana so far.  They do not appear on the sides of roads like those we have in Canada.  I walked around expecting to see much younger people buried there.  I'm not exactly sure why I was expecting that but it was not always the case.   The graves are really very big and made out of cement.  Some have plaques, some have the names of the deceased written by hand while the cement was still wet.  And as you can see in the photos some have elaborate sculptures on them.  

(age 70)

(large and elaborate)

The cemetery was not in very good condition and it does not seem like anyone maintains the grounds in any way.  Unfortunate really since often I find these types of places quite calming and inspire reflection.   

(There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in. - Leonard Cohen)

(a cross)

(23.11.77)

As I was walking around taking photos but also taking the time to see and breath and take it all in I was approached by three little girls.  One of them had what looked to me to be a bit of a treasure.  She wanted to give it to me but I was not about to take this little box from her.  I did offer to open it for her when I saw that she was struggling with it.  It was a glasses case and inside was truly a young person's little treasure.  Since I did not accept this gift I did offer to snap a photo of them.  Little kids love to have their photos taken and if you show them their image on your digital camera they are in heaven.  Here the three of them are...

(truly a treasure)

This entire situation made me think of the movie Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain.  In the movie she finds a small tin filled with this same kind of treasure.  She decides to find who it belongs to and return it to him.  If, when he is reunited with his treasure, he is happy, she has decided that she will actively get involved in other people's lives.  Its an amazing movie, one of my favourites, and I recommend it to everyone.  It is available in its original language, french, but also in english and with subtitles.  If you are english I recommend with subtitles instead of the voice over version.  

Here is a link to the trailer for the movie. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juuF_btrW4U

(Que la terre lui soit légère - May the earth of our ancestors lay gently over them)