Though I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone to get stuck somewhere on your travels and have to experience a funeral, (this happened to me while in Mexico) times like these can prove to be highly culturally enlightening. Take the Ga tribe of coastal Ghana for example, death is not only a time for mourning but celebration as well. Tons of time is placed in creating a coffin that matches the personality of the deceased. If you smoked a pack of cigs everyday of your life then you might find a huge decorative cigarette on your coffin or if you were a seamstress, a sewing machine. That makes pretty good sense. NPR has the tiny article – here.