Category: Own publications

Buried in Style. Artistic Coffins and Funerary Culture in Ghana

Posted on July 25, 2025 by - current, Own publications, Publications

Celebrate death as we celebrate life. This is the credo of the Ga-Adangme ethnic group in Ghana, whose funeral culture involves using creative coffins in the shape of animals, vehicles and so on to represent the preferences or dreams of the deceased. In addition, perfectly choreographed dances transform funerals into colourful, energetic celebrations. Regula Tschumi has researched and photographed the Ghanaian funeral culture for more than twenty years. Her images depict Christian and traditional funerals, various ways of preparing the deceased for burial, and trends in figurative coffin design over the past two decades. Tschumi also accompanied and photographed Benjamin Aidoo, also known as ‘Ghana’s Coffin Dancer’.

Regula Tschumi – Bowl Carriers

Posted on July 25, 2025 by - Own publications

Metal bowls are ubiquitous in everyday life in Ghana. They are mainly used by head porters and market women to transport or store their goods. But sometimes they are used for completely different purposes, such as carrying water from the well or as a washing vessel. They are also used by professional head porters to sit on while waiting for customers, or even to sleep in. Carried upside down, empty bowls can provide shelter from the sun and rain, and children love to play and hide behind them.

ATAA OKO ADDO (English)

Posted on August 29, 2021 by - Own publications, Publications

The artist Ataa Oko Addo (1919 – 2012) of La in Ghana is seen as a pioneer of the world-famous Ghanaian coffin art. In 2002, after he first met the Swiss ethnologist and photographer Regula Tschumi, the former coffin artist, now aged over 80, began to draw. Until his death, Ataa Oko produced a unique body of graphic work, that provides insight into Ghanaian culture and the spiritual world of the artist.

ATAA OKO ADDO (French)

Posted on August 29, 2021 by - Own publications, Publications

L’artiste Ataa Oko Addo (1919 – 2012), originaire de La au Ghana, a été un pionnier de l’art du cercueil ghanéen, aujourd’hui mondialement connu. En 2002, aprèssa rencontre avec l’ethnologue suisse Regula Tschumi, l’ancien artiste du cercueil a commencé à dessiner à l’âge de plus de 80 ans. Jusqu’à sa mort, une œuvre graphique unique a été crée, donnant au spectateur occidental un aperçu de la culture ghanéenne et du monde spirituel de l’artiste.

 

ATAA OKO ADDO (German)

Posted on July 13, 2020 by - Own publications, Publications

Der Künstler Ataa Oko Addo aus La in Ghana war ein Pionier der heute weltberühmten ghanaischen Sargkunst. 2002, nach seiner Begegnung mit der Schweizer Ethnologin Regula Tschumi, begann der ehemalige Sargkünstler im Alter von über 80 Jahren zu zeichnen. So entstand bis zu seinem Tod ein einzigartiges grafisches Werk, das dem westlichen Betrachter einen Einblick in die Kultur Ghanas und in die spirituelle Welt des Künstlers vermittelt.

 

Concealed Art. The figurative palanquins and coffins of Ghana

Posted on June 8, 2017 by - Own publications

Regula Tschumi’s book is based on her PhD and on several years of field research in southern Ghana. For the first time in this publication the figural palanquins of the Ga are in focus. They are examined in the context of the sociey from which they have developed and in which they are still being used. This book includes some previously unpublished very surprising photographs of figurative palanquins.

The buried treasures of the Ga. Coffin art in Ghana

Posted on June 8, 2017 by - Own publications

For about fifty years the Ga coffins have been produced in the form of fruits, animals and status symbols and have thus established a tradition, which is presented here for the first time in a well-founded text and in numerous expressive illustrations. R. Tschumi traces the history of these figurative coffins in the art and religion of the Ga in Ghana.

This is a completely revised and updated edition of the Benteli book 2008.