Read other parts of the African Lives series. Internet resources and recent Post articles are available on our Ghana page. The pallbearers steady the Mercedes coffin, to the relief of the sea of mourners behind them. The mourners return to quiet conversation as the procession snakes past the Victory Spot Bar and the Congo Cafe and the Step By Step Restaurant.
Bystanders crowd the roadside.
Many grow still. Others cross their arms or put surprised fingers to their mouths. And others smile. Teshi, just outside Ghana's capital, Accra, has seen such spectacles before. At funerals, children of the deceased are bestowed new parents and mourners hold long, passionate conversations with the dead.