Culture in Ghana
The culture in Ghana is not a homogeneous structure. The well over one hundred peoples of Ghana each have their own languages and cultural roots. There are also religious differences as carriers of different cultural contexts. Nevertheless, common basic features of social coexistence can be identified throughout the country, such as respect for the elderly or the importance of the family.
Ghanaians often and happily celebrate. Religious festivals of various kinds, name ceremonies, weddings, funerals and initiation rites are celebrated in a large setting. On the other hand, a celebration on the occasion of the birthday is relatively unknown, but the actual birth is celebrated in the form of a naming ceremony, which is similar to a baptism.
In the Ghanaian culture, the chiefs, i.e. the tribal chiefs, still play an important role today. Especially in the local communities in rural areas, but also in the cities at the local level, the chiefs are responsible for local jurisdiction, administration, traditional religion and culture.
Cultural groups
On the basis of the language as well as the culture and history, five larger cultural groups are usually distinguished in Ghana: These are Akan , Dagbane-Dagomba , Ewe , Ga and Gurma.
Ashanti
The Ashanti are the largest tribe of the Akan group and live mainly in the Ashanti region named after them . About 44% of the entire population of Ghana belong to this ethnic group. The Ashanti belong to a clan of the female line (Abusua). Heredity also traditionally runs through the female line. Traditionally, a married woman stays with her parents during the day and only has food brought to her husband. The couple only spend the evening and night together. In this way, the workforce of the woman and her children remains in the family of her mother or grandmother. If a man dies leaving a wife, she inherited nothing according to the Ashanti system, since her original family, i.e. her brothers and her father, had to continue to pay for her. The man's fortune was then inherited within his family, in particular to his sisters and, if available, to his mother.
Stools - ancestral stool
The so-called ancestral stools are of considerable importance in the Akan culture. The stools named by Akan stools are made from one piece and consist mainly of a single piece of Sese or Red Cedar wood. The chair consists of three parts, the foot, which is often richly decorated, the central middle part, on which the symbolic meaning and social status of the owner can be recognized, and the seat with the sides turned up. Each stool has a special meaning and its own name.
Some stools are only for high-ranking personalities like the tribal chiefs and may only be used by them. Other stools are used on certain occasions, such as at a wedding, or when the Ashanti are meeting. The typical Adinkra symbols are often shown in the middle part of the stool.
The most famous stool is a golden Ashanti chair with the name Sikadwa Kofi , which is partially translated as a chair that was created on a Friday . The Sikadwa Kofi is so sacred that no one is allowed to sit on it. It not only symbolizes the ancestors of the Ashanti, but is also a symbol of the entire Ashanti nation. The golden chair is guarded with great security and is only presented on rare and very high occasions. According to the belief of the traditional Ashanti, it must never touch the ground. Therefore, it is usually placed on a valuable animal skin (elephant skin or leopard skin ). It is protected from the sun by an umbrella.
In 1896 the Ashanti were defeated by the British in a battle and were given the choice of surrendering their king, Prempeh I, or the golden chair. According to tradition, the people should have chosen the chair. According to some historical sources, the war of 1900 between the Ashanti and the British is said to have taken place for the Ashanti only to protect their golden stool, as the incumbent governor of the Gold Coast, Sir Frederick Hodgson, wanted to use it for his claims to power.
Ashanti gold weights
The Ashanti gold weights (Ashanti: Abrammoo) are of particular artistic importance. These come in a variety of forms and have a great symbolic character. These sculptures are made of brass and were used as weights for weighing gold. They were already in use by the Akan at the time of the first Europeans. A large display of these weights can be found in the National Museum in Accra.
Originally, pearls , iron sticks , brass and “ cowrie shells ” (actually: snails) were among the means of payment in Ghana. But after the 17th century these were replaced by the more valuable gold dust as a means of payment. A special weighing system was developed so that none of the gold dust, which is regarded as precious, is wasted. Due to the rich gold deposits in the Ashanti region, it was also the trading center for gold and the gold weights were given the name Ashanti gold weights. The items for weighing gold were carried by the traders in small leather bags. The weights were manufactured using the lost wax technique. In 1899 the use of gold dust as a means of payment was banned by the British because of its abuse. After this art was almost forgotten, the traditional filigree gold figures are being made again today. However, today they only have an artistic character and are used as jewelry or decoration.
First names
Main article: Akan first names
The Akan have pronounced seven dominant first names for each gender, which are based on the days of the week. Other ethnic groups have also adopted this approach. For example, the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was born on a Friday, since “Kofi” is given for a son born on a Friday. Another example is Dr. Kwame Nkrumah , Ghana's 1st President, who was born on a Saturday. The name of the well-known Ghanaian writer Ama Ata Aidoo also suggests a birth on a Saturday (Ama). A first-born son can also be recognized by the first name "Piesie". If several children are born in a family on the same day of the week, simply add the number to the name. Kwame becomes Kwame Manu (the Second Kwame), Kwame Mensa (the Third Kwame), Kwame Anane (the Fourth Kwame).
Ghanaians also regularly have more than one first name.
| birthday | Female | male |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Adwoa (ajua) | Kwadwoo, Kojo |
| Tuesday | Abena | Kobena, Kwabena |
| Wednesday | Akua, Ekuwa | Kweku, Kwaku |
| Thursday | Yaa | Yaw, Ekow |
| Friday | Efia, Afua, Afia, Afur | Kofi |
| Saturday | Ama, Amma | Kwame |
| Sunday | Esi, Akosua | Kwesi, Akwasi |
Dagbone-Dagomba
Dagbone-Dagomba is an ethnic group to which a language group of the same name is assigned. The speakers of this group make up about 16% of the population.
Ewe
The Ewe live mainly in the Volta region in the southeast of Ghana but also in the eastern neighboring states of Togo and Benin . About 13% of the Ghanaian population can be assigned to the tribe of the Ewe.
Ga
Today the Ga live mainly in the Greater Accra Region and in the capital Accra . About 8% of the entire population belong to this tribe.
Gurma
The Gurma people probably immigrated from the Mossi region in today's Burkina Faso around the year 1000 AD. This tribe makes up about 3% of the total population and has mainly settled on the Black Volta , the Afram Mountains and the Akwapim Mountains . Today they can also be found in the coastal plain.
Kente
The traditional Kente fabrics, mostly in the pan-African colors, have gained international importance. Kente is a woven fabric and is made up of individual scarves with different patterns. This creates colorful hand-woven unique items that can be composed of eight to ten individual parts. Each of these individual scarves has a width of about eight to ten centimeters, the length depends on the purpose of the fabric, so usually on the size of the clothes, if the Kente fabric is to be used for clothing production. Kente is finished on a so-called carpet loom in such a fine weave that only a closer look can distinguish the left from the right side of the fabric. Kente is very likely to be traced back to the Ewe tribe, but the Agortime minority living under the Agortime tribe are the main craftsmen of this handicraft.
Kente is seen as a means of promoting national cohesion and has political significance. Ghanaian traditional men wear kente fabrics wrapped in one piece like a Roman toga . Women usually wear Kente wraps around their hips and a tailored top according to fashionable aspects. The cuts for this are mostly close-fitting and differ from year to year. A third part is worn by a Ghanaian woman when she dresses traditionally either as an accessory around her shoulder or, in a wider version, as a sling for the traditional transport of babies on her back.
Originally, Kente fabrics were made of cotton and dyed with vegetable colors. Later, around the 17th century, silk was also imported into Africa and used for the precious kente. Pure silk was never imported as a raw material, so the weavers dissolved the finished imported silk fabrics and reused these dissolved silk threads in their Kent fabrics. Today Kente is made of cotton, silk or viscose . Even today, silk and viscose are only imported.
Well-known Kente patterns are Sika Futuru (translated: mixed gold) and Adwiniasa . In the latter, all known Kente patterns are combined into one fabric.
Adinkra
Adinkra clothing is equally important, especially among the Akan people. Adinkra are symbolic signs for the language of the Ashanti. You can find them on many handicraft items. Here the social and political status becomes clear from the clothing. Adinkra clothing is traditionally the mourning clothing and is generally less colorful than Kente. Adinkra is a printing technique that prints black color on blue, yellow, white, red, or purple colored fabrics. About 50 Adinkra patterns are used regularly. It is rare to find just one Adinkra symbol on a fabric, as was the case with the chiefs in the past. Today, traditional Ghanaians like to wear Adinkra clothing.
Originally, Adinkra was the dress of kings. These carried a specific symbol to clearly convey a message. The best-known pattern is probably Gye Nyame (God alone), which a king wore when he wanted to tell others that he only fears God alone. The patterns a king wore enabled him to express his position in public on certain political matters without having to express them. Even today, tradition-conscious tribal chiefs do not speak directly to guests or visitors, but only speak to their spokesman despite the presence of the visitors, who then announces the word of the tribal chief aloud. Adinkra was so symbolic.
The origin of Adinkra is controversial but is often associated with the war between the Ashanti and Gyamen .
Akuaba
The Akuaba figure (or Akwaba) is a traditional figure from the Akan culture. A very old Akan mythology venerates the creator mother Akuaba as a fertility figure. The shape of the Akuaba has something naive about it and occurs mainly with a triangular or cylindrical body, which is adorned by a large lunar disc that represents the oversized head. The figure's arms are spread wide. Childless women received this symbol in the past to avail themselves of the help of the Creator Mother. This cult has not been scientifically proven, but figures of this shape are still carved and sold today.
See also
- Cuisine in Ghana
- Traditional forms of marriage in Ghana
- Historic forts of Ghana
- List of Ghanaian writers
- Movie theater and hand-painted movie posters in Ghana
- Coffin art in Ghana
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b for the translation of the ancestral stool ( memento of the original from April 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
