Grief and Mourning for the Akan of Ghana - Annotated Bibliography Example

The paper “Grief and Mourning for the Akan of Ghana" is a thrilling variant of annotated bibliography on sociology. The Akan population in Ghana consists of several subgroups and the biggest is the Ashanti or Asante. The Akan occupy almost the whole of south Ghana. They have a matrilineal cultural system that shapes their identity, social statuses, and succession in politics and businesses (Boateng, 2012, p. 281). Their cultural beliefs and practices, furthermore, impact their death rites, including their grief and mourning rituals (Boateng, 2012, p. 283). Finally, the Akan celebrate death according to the status, achievements, and length of life of the dead, where death activities usually include elaborate and expensive funeral rites that show respect to the dead and to showcase the departed’s social status (Boateng, 2012, p. 284). Annotated Bibliography: Grief and Mourning for the Akan of Ghana Aborampah, O. (1999). Women's roles in the mourning rituals of the Akan of Ghana.

Ethnology, 38(3), 257-271. Aborampah (1999) has authority on mourning rituals of the Akan people because of his educational and teaching background as a Professor of the Department of Anthropology in the University of Pittsburgh. His intended audiences are anthropology students and teachers. For this article, Aborampah (1999) studied the role of women in conducting mourning rituals. He noted the various roles and functions that Akan women play to help the bereaved express their grief. He also highlighted the effects of industrialization on the Akan’s death concept and rituals.

The article is important in showing how mourning rituals help the bereaved deal with their loss more effectively through their individual and group resources and practices. It also demonstrates how culture affects notions of grief and mourning and how people cope with grief, and that grief has its economic implications. Boateng, A. (2012). Socio-economic transformation of Akan funeral rites in Ghana: The changing process. Omega: Journal of Death & Dying, 65(4), 281-97. Boateng (2012) has authority on the subject because she is the Assistant Professor of the Department of Social Work at the University of Nevada.

Her intended audiences are social work students and professionals. In this article, Boateng (2012) described the evolution and continuity of Akan funeral practices in Ghana. She emphasized the impact of changing social and economic factors on Akan death rites. The article is important in showing that grief and mourning are not static and that cultural and other environmental factors, including social and economic ones, affect how people cope with death. It also helps explore how death turns into a form of social and economic capital as funeral expenses contribute to the growth of related local industries. Bonsu, S.K.

, & Belk, R.W. (2003). Do not go cheaply into that good night: Death‐ritual consumption in Asante, Ghana. Journal of Consumer Research, 30(1), 41-55. Bonsu and Belk are authorities in the fields of consumer research because of their educational background and current employment status as professors in marketing and business administration, respectively. Their target audiences are business college students and similar educators and professionals who are interested in knowing more about death-ritual practices in Asante, Ghana.

In this article, Bonsu and Belk (2003) investigated the process of identity construction for the Asante and examined the sufficiency of terror-management theory in this context. They conducted open-ended interviews with 11 Ashantis who came from different socio-economic groups. The authors learned that death rituals involve economic exchanges and continued negotiations of identity because of the belief that the dead persistently affect the living’s existence. The article is relevant in showing that grieving for the Asante has economic dimensions that are intertwined with spiritual beliefs and practices.

Crentsil, P. (2007). Death, ancestors, and HIV/AIDS among the Akan of Ghana (Doctoral Dissertation). The University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. Retrieved from http://ethesis.helsinki.fi/julkaisut/val/sosio/vk/crentsil/deathanc.pdf  Crentsil (2007) has authority as an author because of her educational and teaching credentials as a Professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Helsinki. Her intended audiences are students and workers who are dealing with the health and cultural welfare of the Akan in Ghana, or who simply want to know more about African cultures.

She noted the effects of the notions of good and bad death on funeral rites. She supported the works of Bonsu and Belk (2003) and Boateng (2012) regarding the dynamic interactions between the cultural and economic dimensions of Akan life and grief and mourning processes. This resource is significant in its treatment of HIV/AIDS in the context of death for the Akan. It shows how resilience and change impact grieving and mourning beliefs and practices. Okpewho, I. (1992). African oral literature: Backgrounds, character, and continuity.

Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Okpewho (1992) has authority because he is a multi-awarded novelist in African literature. His intended audiences are students and professionals who study or teach African literature. He described how Akans express grieving through their music (especially chanting dirges) and dances. He featured songs that demonstrate beliefs about death and the continuity of the relationships between the living and the dead. He also depicted how women elaborate on these death rituals to honor the dead and to show their love and respect for the latter.

This reference is significant in providing primary resources on the songs that characterize cultural beliefs about death and grief. It is also important in capturing the meaning of performing grief.