Most of us see funerals as modest, sombre affairs. But in parts of Africa, where death is such a central part of everyday life, funerals have emerged as vibrant, if controversial, sites of conspicuous consumption. Drawing from ongoing research on death and memory in modern South Africa as well as her documentary film, The Price of Death, Rebekah Lee explores in this talk the rise of a township-based funeral industry in post-apartheid South Africa, and will discuss the implications of the commoditization of death on both African mourners and funeral entrepreneurs.