Meanwhile I want to be tossed into a hole bare naked with a tree planted on top of me.
I would like to be embalmed and placed at the end of a dark corridor in a run-down guesthouse, in a crouched position. Seems less wasteful.
Many African families spend fortunes burying their dead
191–200 of 245 posts
Re: Many African families spend fortunes burying their dead
#192Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ha, have you been to an indian wedding in India? Now that’s big big money. And the societal pressures to make it so are huge .. American weddings are so tame and sensible by comparison. Far better to spend those $$ on weddings rather than funerals though !
> Far better to spend those $$ on weddings rather than funerals though ! Is it though? Can you elaborate why you think that? To me, they seem to serve basically the same purpose. They are both, at the end of the day, a way for family & friends to get together and bond over a person/people.
In my experience (60 yrs, almost equally in India and the US) are that weddings are typically more suited as social occasions with fun, cheer, enjoyable music, food & drinks. Funerals also bring folks & families together, but its a sombre and more disciplined/rigid vibe. I know which one I prefer ..
Re: Many African families spend fortunes burying their dead
#193Earlier quoted context omitted.
Personal anecdote, having lived in a few very poor countries and a few relatively very wealthy ones: 1) In the poor countries, I find people are generally quite happy living their day to day lives but rate their happiness low - because they think people in wealthy countries have it so much better. I.e. they underrate their happiness because they think wealthy people must be so much happier. 2) Vice versa in the wealt…
So basically, you dont believe people when they talk about how they feel and what they think, because you think you know them better. That is not how it works. If you ever had someone else project feelings they think you have on you while ignoring what you say, you would know how absurdly missing the mark they are.
Please don't twist my words.
I've lived in these families and communities on both sides. I clearly said it was anecdotal.
I think you missed the whole point of my comment.
Re: Many African families spend fortunes burying their dead
#194I am Ugandan. These kind of burials are unheard of in my country. The Author is labeling this an “African” thing which is just the usual daft nonsense. A number of Ghanaian and Nigerian tribes bury their dead like this , it is more a celebration of life. This is like taking something a small town in Louisiana does and declaring it an “American” tradition.
> The Author is labeling this an “African” thing which is just the usual daft nonsense > This is like taking something a small town in Louisiana does and declaring it an “American” tradition. I've mentioned this issue on HN a ton but it gets downvoted to oblivion. It truly is a hivemind.
It's a hivemind of a certain culture who are only taught there exist only 9 countries in the whole world: USA, Canada, South America, UK, Europe, Japan, China, Asia, Australia.
What do you mean that Africa is a continent of great diversity in cultures, languages and history? They all look poor and black to me.
Re: Many African families spend fortunes burying their dead
#195I am Ugandan. These kind of burials are unheard of in my country. The Author is labeling this an “African” thing which is just the usual daft nonsense. A number of Ghanaian and Nigerian tribes bury their dead like this , it is more a celebration of life. This is like taking something a small town in Louisiana does and declaring it an “American” tradition.
My wife is Sotho from South Africa. While there were certainly a bunch of, to me, very strange practices when my FiL died, it was nothing like what was mentioned in the article. That said, funeral insurance is extremely common in SA, as even normal burials can be pretty expensive.
Funerals are a big thing in South Africa. It can be often to the same level as a wedding, where families will take out loans to host the event. Hence the funeral insurance being common.
You go to an ATM and get advertised Funeral Cover, offered by your bank.
Re: Many African families spend fortunes burying their dead
#196I am Ugandan. These kind of burials are unheard of in my country. The Author is labeling this an “African” thing which is just the usual daft nonsense. A number of Ghanaian and Nigerian tribes bury their dead like this , it is more a celebration of life. This is like taking something a small town in Louisiana does and declaring it an “American” tradition.
My wife is Sotho from South Africa. While there were certainly a bunch of, to me, very strange practices when my FiL died, it was nothing like what was mentioned in the article. That said, funeral insurance is extremely common in SA, as even normal burials can be pretty expensive.
> That said, funeral insurance is extremely common in SA, as even normal burials can be pretty expensive.
This is off-topic, but how does funeral insurance even work? You're guaranteed to die at some point, right? To me, insurance is there to hedge against something not very likely, but expensive. The odds are you're going to pay money in, and never see it back (if you don't get sick / crash your car / whatever).
Is funeral insurance just some form of forced savings?
Re: Many African families spend fortunes burying their dead
#197Earlier quoted context omitted.
My wife is Sotho from South Africa. While there were certainly a bunch of, to me, very strange practices when my FiL died, it was nothing like what was mentioned in the article. That said, funeral insurance is extremely common in SA, as even normal burials can be pretty expensive.
Funerals are a big thing in South Africa. It can be often to the same level as a wedding, where families will take out loans to host the event. Hence the funeral insurance being common. You go to an ATM and get advertised Funeral Cover, offered by your bank.
Might depend on the tribe, and on personal circumstances. The biggest/weirdest thing for me was the whole night vigil and brewing (Umqombothi) and cooking/roasting of the lamb to honor the elders, which had several guests, but not on a wedding level.
Re: Many African families spend fortunes burying their dead
#198[dead]
Re: Many African families spend fortunes burying their dead
#199>Kinship societies are actively hostile to economic growth, because economic growth undermines the basis of kinship: that is why kinship societies demand constant, visible sacrifices of wealth—funerals being the most spectacular—that make it extraordinarily difficult for any individual to accumulate capital, reinvest their assets, and pull ahead. The funeral is a window into a system of wealth destruction that serves…
> Consumer spending is not "wealth destruction" -- who makes the fantasy coffins? Who prints the banners? Local businesses! This is the parable of the broken window [1]. > Ghana is sitting at a 5.6% GDP growth rate Ghana is a success story in large part due to having made a clear-eyed recovery after its 2015 IMF bailout. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_broken_window
Thank you, TIL about the parable of the broken window.
I was thinking the same thing when reading the comments, surely that money would still benefit the economy if say it was invested in the education of a child, but it would also act as a economic multiplier as the child can now contribute more to the economy.
But I never knew there was a term for it.
Especially this line really highlights it: > by the 2000s, many Ghanaian hospitals were earning more from storing dead bodies than from treating living patients.
Surely those resources are better spent healing the living.
Re: Many African families spend fortunes burying their dead
#200Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wish it was self inflicted. Instead, it seems to be an artifact of modern society. I posted “How to Be Alone?” exploring this issue somewhat: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47296547 690 points, 500+ comments. I’m not trying to get pity, but it would be mistaken to say that I brought it on myself. My wife didn’t bring it on me either. We simply eroded over time. But when marital bonds erode, it turns out they…
> pick two: family, friends, work That should be always supremely easy and never contain work, unless you are maybe working in medical care or education. Given education path normally leaves a lot of free time then just the former. I would maybe add fourth - oneself, unless one is a proper exreovert. Requires least of the time, but its most important for long term mental health.
> That should be always supremely easy and never contain work
But bills?