ABSTRACT
In South African writer Zakes Mda’s novel Ways of Dying (1995), Nefolovhodwe is a rural carpenter who seeks his fortunes in the city as a coffin-maker. In an environment where funerals are a near-daily occurrence and cemeteries are “jam-packed”, Nefolovhodwe undergoes a transformation from struggling tradesman to savvy urban funeral entrepreneur. He invents what would become the cornerstone of his business’s profits-the Collapsible Coffin, a flat-pack coffin which could be assembled IKEA-like in a few easy steps. For his higher-end customers to whom the Collapsible Coffin’s utilitarian feel does not appeal, Nefolovhodwe markets the DeLuxe Special, a coffin made of oak and ebony and for an extra fee decorated with ivory. On the back of his success in coffin-manufacturing, Nefolovhodwe expands his business by selling tombstones, flower arrangements, and even haute couture attire for wealthy widows. Mda wryly concludes, “Nefolovhodwe had attained all his wealth through death. Death was therefore profitable” (1995: 124).
