A wax print themed ‘a big tree has fallen’ has been outdoored for the funeral of former President Jerry John Rawlings.

The name of the cloth which is locally expressed as Odup?n bi atutu was chosen to celebrate the memory of the late President.

The cloth has a portrait of the late President Rawlings, with the English inscription: “A great tree has fallen”. It also has the image of a fallen big tree, with some of the leaves still on it and others flying in the air, signifying that sometimes death occurs when the deceased still has much to offer.

The fabric was designed by Tex Styles Ghana Limited, formerly Ghana Textiles Printing Company Limited.

It comes in five colour combinations — red and black, black and curry pad, black and dark brown (the typical Asante Kuntukuni colour of grey), black and black and white.

The Head of Design, Premium African Textiles/Tex Styles Ghana Limited, Mr Bismarck Adu-Asare, said that  Rawlings family reached out to the company for a design.

Mr Adu-Asare said the fabric also had the image of the favourite animal of the deceased, an eagle, flapping its wings in the air after the tree had fallen.

“Some will say his (Rawlings’s) God has called him, while others will say his mother, who predeceased him in the same year, has called the beloved son,” Mr Adu-Asare explained.

He added: “From the artist who designed the cloth, all those leaves could also represent other leaves of other trees around the tree which is falling. This could mean the fallen tree has affected the others around it, hence we believe Rawlings’s death has affected others.”

Mr Adu-Asare said the initial quantity requested was 10,000 yards, which had been released to the family, and expressed the hope that people would appreciate the designs.

Funeral event

The burial service for the late former President will be held on Wednesday, January 27.

The former President will be laid in state at the Foyer of the Accra International Conference Centre from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily from Monday, January 25 to Wednesday, January 27.

A mass will be held at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Accra from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Tuesday, January 26.

The burial service will take place at the Black Star Square in Accra from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Wednesday, January 27.

Former President Rawlings died at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra on Thursday, November 12, 2020.