Ghana
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People & Culture
People | Languages | Religion | Cooking & Recipes |
Festivals | Music |
Musical Instruments | Art & Craft
PEOPLE
Ghanians come from
six main ethnic groups: the Akan (Ashanti and Fanti), the Ewe, the Ga-Adangbe,
the Mole-Dagbani, the Guan, and the Gurma.
Ashanti Tribe
The
Ashanti tribe of the Akan are the largest tribe in Ghana and one of the few
matrilineal societies in West Africa. Once renown for the splendour and wealth
of their rulers, they are most famous today for their craft work, particularly
their hand-carved stools and fertility dolls and their colourful kente cloth.
Kente cloth is woven in bright, narrow strips with complex patterns; it's
usually made from cotton and is always woven outdoors, exclusively by men.
The village is a social as well as an economic unit. Everyone
participates in the major ceremonies, the most frequent of which are funeral
celebrations which typically last several days. Attendance at funerals is
normally expected from everyone in the village and expenditure on funerals is a
substantial part of the household budget.
The Ashanti are noted for
their expertise in a variety of specialized crafts. These include weaving, wood
carving, ceramics, and metallurgy. Of these crafts, only pottery-making is
primarily a female activity; the others are restricted to male specialists.
Even in the case of pottery-making, only men are allowed to fashion pots or
pipes representing anthropomorphic or zoomorphic figures.
All about Society-Twi-(Ashanti)
Ewé
The Ewé have over 600 deities to
turn to in times of need. Many village celebrations and ceremonies take place
in honour of one or more deities. Tehy also weave kente cloth, and their more
geometrical patterns contain symbolic designs handed down through the
ages.
The Ewe occupy southeastern Ghana and the southern parts of
neighboring Togo and Benin. Most Ewe were farmers who kept some livestock, and
there was some craft specialization. On the coast and immediately inland,
fishing was important, and local variations in economic activities permitted a
great deal of trade between one community and another, carried out chiefly by
women
Fanti Tribe
The Fanti tribe are mainly located
in the coastal areas of Ghana
Ga-Adangbe Tribe
The
Ga-Adangbe people inhabit the Accra Plains. The Adangbe are found to the east,
the Ga groups, to the west of the Accra coastlands. Although both languages are
derived from a common proto-Ga-Adangbe ancestral language, modern Ga and
Adangbe are mutually unintelligible. The modern Adangbe include the people of
Shai, La, Ningo, Kpone, Osudoku, Krobo, Gbugble, and Ada, who speak different
dialects. The Ga also include the Ga-Mashie groups occupying neighborhoods in
the central part of Accra, and other Gaspeakers who migrated from Akwamu,
Anecho in Togo, Akwapim, and surrounding areas.
Gaun
Tribe
The Guan are believed to have begun to migrate from the Mossi
region of modern Burkina around A.D. 1000. Moving gradually through the Volta
valley in a southerly direction, they created settlements along the Black
Volta, throughout the Afram Plains, in the Volta Gorge, and in the Akwapim
Hills before moving farther south onto the coastal plains. Some scholars
postulate that the wide distribution of the Guan suggests that they were the
Neolithic population of the region. Later migrations by other groups such as
the Akan, Ewe, and Ga-Adangbe into Guan-settled areas would then have led to
the development of Guan-speaking enclaves along the Volta and within the
coastal plains.
Listen
to the Ghana National
Anthem
Words of the
Ghana
National Anthem
LANGUAGES
The major languages spoken are Twi,
Fante, Ga, Hausa, Dagbani, Ewe and Nzema. English is the official language of
Ghana.
The Ashante are part of the Akan tribes who speak various
dialects of Twi. The language is very rich in proverbs, the use of which is
taken to be a sign of wisdom. Euphemisms are very common, especially about
events connected with death
Other Websites
Languages of Ghana
Ga
Words
RELIGION
60% Christian, 15% Muslim, 25%
traditional African religions
Ghana has the highest percentage of
Christians in West Africa, but the belief in traditional animist religions is
still extremely common
Recipes
Soups are the primary component
in Ghanaian cuisine and are eaten with fufu (either pounded plaintain and
cassava or yam), kokonte (cassava meal cooked into a paste), banku (fermented
corn dough), boiled yam, rice, bread, plantain, or cassava. The most common
soups are light soup, palmnut soup, and groundnut (peanut) soup.
Jolof Rice
West
Africa Curry
Kontonmire Stew or Palaver Sauce
Kele
Wele - served as a dessert
More
recipes from Ghana
FESTIVALS
Ghana is a country that celebrates
festivals. There are several rites and rituals that are performed throughout
the year in various parts of the country. They cover the right of passage
child-birth, puberty, marriage and death. To the majority of people, these
celebrations provide all that is satisfying to their communities and families.
Many festivals include thrilling durbars of chiefs, when tribal leaders
and Queen Mothers process in decorated palanquins, shaded by the traditional
umbrellas, and supported by drummers and warriors discharging ancient muskets.
Panafest
This festival is held very summer. It is celebrates Ghanian
roots. People from other African countries as well as the African-Americans
with roots in Ghana visit the country and celebrate their heritage.
The Homowo
Festival
The word "Homowo" actually means 'making fun of hunger.' Our
traditional oral history describes a time long ago when the rains stopped and
the sea closed its gates. A deadly famine spread throughout the southern Accra
Plains, the home of the Ga people. When the harvest finally arrived and food
became plentiful, the people were so happy that they celebrated with a festival
that ridiculed hunger.
MUSIC
Ghana is often described as a land of
festivals, music, and traditional dances. There is hardly any community, clan,
or tribe which lacks an occasion to celebrate annually.
There are three
main types of music: ethnic or traditional music, normally played during
festivals and at funerals; "highlife" music, which is a blend of traditional
and ‘imported’ music; and choral music, which is performed in concert
halls, churches, schools and colleges.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Axatse
is the
name of this rattle or idiophone. It is constructed by hollowing out a gourd or
calabash. Then beads are attached to it with some string which is woven around
it in a fishnet style design (more info... )
Gankogui
is the name of
this double bell or gong. It is constructed from iron. In Ewe music in general,
and during Atsiã in particular, gankogui keeps the time. (more info... )
Kaganu
is a narrow drum or membranophone. It is about two
feet tall, its head is about three inches in diameter and it is open at the
bottom. (more
info... )
Kidi
is a drum which is about two feet tall,
its head is about nine inches in diameter and has a closed bottom. Kidi
responds to calls from the lead drummer. (more info... )
Sogo
is the largest of the supporting drums used to play
Atsiã. In some other pieces it is used as a lead drum. It is about two
and a half feet tall, its head is about ten inches in diameter and it is closed
at the bottom. (more info... )
Atsimevu
is the lead drum.
It is a narrow drum approximately four feet tall and its head is about eleven
inches in diameter (more info... )
| Kpalogo Drum |
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Kpalogo
Childs Drum
Carved fro a single piece of
wood, covered in skin to create the drum head. It belongs to the percussion
family and is classified as a membranophone.
Buy Now |
ART & CRAFT
The Ashanti are noted for their
expertise in a variety of specialized crafts. These include weaving, wood
carving, ceramics, and metallurgy. Of these crafts, only pottery-making is
primarily a female activity; the others are restricted to male
specialists
Weaving is a highly developed craft, with dozens of
standardized and named textile designs. Stamped cloth is also
made.
Kente Cloth
Kente cloth is only worn in the southern
half of the country and - as distinct from other forms of traditional weaving -
is reserved mainly for joyous occasions
Traditionally the Kente cloth
is a festival cloth worn mainly during the annual and seasonal festivals, which
are happy occasions. Today they are not only used for festive occasions but
also during the rituals associated with the important events of life; for
example, marriage, death, and religious worship. Therefore, it is quite
appropriate for outsiders to wear it for religious and festive occasions. ( read
more.. )
Adinkra Symbols
is one of the highly valued
hand-printed and hand-embroidered cloths. Its origin is traced to the Asante
people of Ghana and the Gyaman people of Cote' d'lvoire (Ivory Coast). However,
the production and use of Adinkra have come to be more associated with the
Asante people than any other group of people. Around the 19th Century, the
Asante people developed their unique art of adinkra printing. Adinkra clothes
were made and used exclusively by the royalty and spiritual leaders for very
important sacred ceremonies and rituals.
Wood carving is divided
into many branches, each with its own specialists. Among the major products are
wooden sculptures of outstanding artistic quality and the talking-drums
(ntumpane).
The famous wooden "stools" are symbolic and ritual objects
rather than items of furniture. "In Ashanti, a generation or so ago, every
stool in use had its own special name which denoted the sex, or social status,
or clan of the owner"
Visit our Ghanian Art &
Craft Shop for a huge variety of art and craft items made in
Ghana
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