Do Not Go Cheaply into That Good Night: Death-Ritual Consumption in Asante, Ghana

Samuel K Bonsu and Russell W Belk

Journal of Consumer Research, 2003, vol. 30, issue 1, 41-55

Abstract: Theory on identity negotiations posits that a person's identity-construction project ceases upon death. We tested this proposition using death-ritual consumption experiences of consumers in Asante, Ghana, West Africa. We found that bereaved Asante consumers engage in conspicuous ritual consumption in pursuit of newer social identities for their deceased and themselves and that funerals involve a reciprocal and continuing relationship between the living and the dead. In addition, we found that terror-management theory is limited in its relevance for non-Western contexts. We also detected limits to the ability to transform global capital into local capital. Copyright 2003 by the University of Chicago.

Date: 2003
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:jconrs:v:30:y:2003:i:1:p:41-55

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