In Ghana, what you do defines you in life... and death

Lauren Said-Moorhouse, Phoebe Parke and Florence Obondo for CNN

Updated 1752 GMT (0152 HKT) January 3, 2015

This hen coffin was created by Ghana-based designer Kudjoe Affutu who has been in the business since 2007.
Photos: Arrive in the afterlife in style
The colorful, creative caskets of Ghana's dead – This hen coffin was created by Ghana-based designer Kudjoe Affutu who has been in the business since 2007.
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Based in Awutu, a small town in Ghana's central region, self-taught carpenter Kudjoe Affutu has made a name for himself with his eye-catching style of coffins.
Photos: Arrive in the afterlife in style
The colorful, creative caskets of Ghana's dead – Based in Awutu, a small town in Ghana's central region, self-taught carpenter Kudjoe Affutu has made a name for himself with his eye-catching style of coffins.
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Many of the coffins reflect the professions of the deceased, such as a hen for a farmer, a boat for a fisherman, or a sewing machine for a designer.
Photos: Arrive in the afterlife in style
The colorful, creative caskets of Ghana's dead – Many of the coffins reflect the professions of the deceased, such as a hen for a farmer, a boat for a fisherman, or a sewing machine for a designer.
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This Ghanaian bus coffin is one of the many elaborate creations Affutu and his artisans have built over the years.
Photos: Arrive in the afterlife in style
The colorful, creative caskets of Ghana's dead – This Ghanaian bus coffin is one of the many elaborate creations Affutu and his artisans have built over the years.
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Over the years, the craftsman has also made a number of caskets to celebrate the passing of former fishermen.
Photos: Arrive in the afterlife in style
The colorful, creative caskets of Ghana's dead – Over the years, the craftsman has also made a number of caskets to celebrate the passing of former fishermen.
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Affutu employs six members of staff to help him create his imaginative pieces.
Photos: Arrive in the afterlife in style
The colorful, creative caskets of Ghana's dead – Affutu employs six members of staff to help him create his imaginative pieces.
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Affutu is not the first creative coffin designer; this frilled lizard was made by the Paa Joe Carpentry workshop in Ghana and commissioned for Festival Melbourne 2006, which celebrated the role of life and death in contemporary Ghanian life.
Photos: Arrive in the afterlife in style
The colorful, creative caskets of Ghana's dead – Affutu is not the first creative coffin designer; this frilled lizard was made by the Paa Joe Carpentry workshop in Ghana and commissioned for Festival Melbourne 2006, which celebrated the role of life and death in contemporary Ghanian life.
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Another of Paa Joe's creations, a coffin carved in the shape of a mobile phone also at the Melbourne Festival in 2006.
Photos: Arrive in the afterlife in style
The colorful, creative caskets of Ghana's dead – Another of Paa Joe's creations, a coffin carved in the shape of a mobile phone also at the Melbourne Festival in 2006.
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A coffin from Ghana which is shaped as a soccer shoe is presented in the exhibition 'Football: One Game - Many Worlds' in Munich's Stadtmuseum in 2006.
Photos: Arrive in the afterlife in style
The colorful, creative caskets of Ghana's dead – A coffin from Ghana which is shaped as a soccer shoe is presented in the exhibition 'Football: One Game - Many Worlds' in Munich's Stadtmuseum in 2006.
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A Ghanaian undertaker opens a coffin, shaped like a shoe, in his showroom in Accra in 2008.
Photos: Arrive in the afterlife in style
The colorful, creative caskets of Ghana's dead – A Ghanaian undertaker opens a coffin, shaped like a shoe, in his showroom in Accra in 2008.
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This fish-shaped coffin was made by Ghanaian born craftsman Eric Agetei Anang and was on display at the 10th annual Necropolis exhibition in Moscow, 2011.
Photos: Arrive in the afterlife in style
The colorful, creative caskets of Ghana's dead – This fish-shaped coffin was made by Ghanaian born craftsman Eric Agetei Anang and was on display at the 10th annual Necropolis exhibition in Moscow, 2011.
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