Of Commodified Grief and Emotions: Ghana’s Itinerant Moirologists

The global funeral economy, following advancements and innovations in virtual and artificial intelligence, has witnessed explosions in the diversification and commodification of burial services, especially bereavement and mourning rituals. This phenomenon has prompted scholars to investigate what is termed ‘affection as a service’ – technological innovations and products with affordances that allow the bereaved to reconnect posthumously with their loved ones. In this article, I examine yet another growing phenomenon: that of hired, itinerant professional mourners in Ghana. Here, I argue that by appropriating and blending a mode of cultural expression of grief with their unique style of nwomkro performances, these professional keeners have not only revived an essential tradition for the purposes of cultural continuity, but they have also commodified mourning enactments for financial gains.