Rum, Gin and Maize: Deities and Ritual Change in the Gold Coast during the Atlantic Era (16th century to 1850)

Akyeampong, Emmanuel; Ntewusu, Samuel Aniegye

doi:10.4000/afriques.1651

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 17 publications

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“…1 The pouring of libations is nonetheless a widespread ritual form in Ghana, and it has also been studied among other ethnic groups by both anthropologists and historians (see e.g. Kilson 1969;Akyeampong and Ntewusu 2014). In the Asante Twi language to pour libations is expressed with a verb compound gu nsa, which literally means pouring of a drink.…”

Section: Pouring Libationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Independence Day in a would-be Christian nation

Kallinen

2022

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When the West African nation of Ghana attained its independence from colonial rule in 1957, its traditional culture was to be promoted in all sectors of public life. Similarly, what was construed as Ghanaian traditional religion was to be treated equally with Christianity and Islam. The ritual offering of libations to ancestral spirits and deities was considered the Ghanaian equivalent to Christian and Muslim prayers, and it has been performed side by side with them in all sorts of national events. Later on, the libation ritual became a symbol of both Ghana’s religious diversity and its national culture, transcending religious divisions. Many Christian groups, especially from the Pentecostal-charismatic movement, have refused to accept the public status of the libation ritual in view of its alleged immoral ‘pagan’ associations. When the pouring of libations was removed from the Independence Day ceremonies held at the state capital in 2011, the public debate soon turned to the relationship between the government and Pentecostal churches, and accusations of religious intolerance were levelled. This article discusses how the arguments about the status of the ritual boil down to differences in semiotic ideology and notions about proper agency – namely, how forms of agency pertaining to words, objects, persons and spiritual beings involved in the ritual are understood differently by the disputants.

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Section: Pouring Libationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Independence Day in a would-be Christian nation

Kallinen

2022

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Folk taxonomy and traditional uses of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) landraces by the sociolinguistic groups in the central region of the Republic of Benin

Loko

Toffa

Adjatin

et al. 2018

J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine

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BackgroundCommon bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important grain legume crop grown in the central region of the Republic of Benin. However, its production declined in recent years to the extent that its diversity is being threatened with extinction. Understanding the folk nomenclature and taxonomy, as well as use values that allow its maintenance in Beninese agricultural system, is a prerequisite to develop efficient strategies for its conservation. Knowing that each sociolinguistic group develop various uses and traditional knowledge for their crop genetic resources, we hypothesized that enhancement of farmers’ livelihood, thanks to the use values of common bean landraces, differ from one sociolinguistic group to another and contribute to their conservation in the traditional agriculture of central Benin.MethodsHundred and one common bean producers belonging to seven sociolinguistic groups selected through 23 villages of the region under study were surveyed. Data were collected through participatory research appraisal tools and techniques (individual interviews and direct observation) using a semi-structured questionnaire. Folk nomenclature and taxonomy of common bean, local uses, and factors affecting them were investigated.ResultsAcross the seven sociolinguistic groups surveyed in the study area, five common bean generic names and 26 folk varieties corresponding to 12 landraces have been recorded. Folk nomenclature and taxonomy were mainly based on seeds’ coat color. The present study has revealed five common bean use values in the study area (food, medicinal, commercial, fodder, and mystic-religious), which are influenced by sociolinguistic groups. Leaves, roots, and seeds of three common bean folk varieties are used by surveyed farmers for disease treatment. Nine common bean folk varieties are considered by farmers as magical plants which have supernatural properties while several taboos for deities’ followers regarding Séssé landrace are inventoried across sociolinguistic groups. Level of education and age of respondents influence positively and significantly medicine and mystical-religious uses of common bean respectively while commercial use is positively influenced by age and negatively by gender.ConclusionsTraditional values associated with common bean landraces in the central region of the Republic of Benin increase their chance of survival in the farming systems. Socio-demographic characteristics of respondents which influence common bean use values must be taken into account in future programs of conservation. However, an assessment of diversity and analysis of distribution of extend of common bean landraces in the study area is a necessity for the development of an efficient strategy of conservation of this genetic resource.

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‘Appealing for Grace’, The Guinea Corn Festival of the Nawuris of Northern Ghana

Ntewusu¹

2016

Focus on World Festivals

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Festivals are recurrent celebrations and often with ritual events and meanings. Festivals reveal something of the identity, values and world views of the community or ethnic group that celebrates them (Szabó, 2015). Festive occasions involve local residents and visitors. In Ghana, there are several festivals celebrated by different ethnic groups. For example the people of Accra, the capital of Ghana, celebrate the Homowo festival, which is a festival that literally ‘hoots at hunger’. The festival was initiated following a bumper harvest after years of famine and hunger. The people of Akropong, Akwapim in the eastern region of Ghana celebrate the Odwira festival. It is a festival that enables the people to purify ancestral stools 2 and spiritually cleanse the towns and villages in and around Akropong. In the same way the people of Cape Coast also celebrate the Fetu Afahye festival, which is a multi-purpose festival that marks cleansing of the people of Cape Coast from a plague in pre-colonial times. The festival also celebrates an abundant harvest of fish from the sea and offers the opportunity for the people in the area to thank the seventy-seven deities of the Cape Coast for their protection over the years (Opoku 1970). The Ewe people of Anlo, in the Volta Region of Ghana, celebrate a festival called Hogbetsotso. It is a migration festival that tells the story of the escape of a group of Ewes from one of their tyrannical rulers, King Agokoli. The Dagomba people of the Northern Region celebrate the Bugum or fire festival. Local traditions provide two explanations for the festival. The first credits the origin of the festival to the Prophet Noah whose Ark docked on Mount Ararat. Local historians claim that after the floods the occupants of the Ark came out with torches to find their way out and around. The second version indicates that at a point in the history of the Dagomba people a king lost his son. The king assembled his warriors who composed a search party. They finally found the son in the night sleeping under a tree. Because they managed to find him using torches made from grass, the king decreed that every year the event should be celebrated with torches made from grass.

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Rum, Gin and Maize: Deities and Ritual Change in the Gold Coast during the Atlantic Era (16th century to 1850)

Cited by 4 publications

References 17 publications

Independence Day in a would-be Christian nation

Independence Day in a would-be Christian nation

Folk taxonomy and traditional uses of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) landraces by the sociolinguistic groups in the central region of the Republic of Benin

‘Appealing for Grace’, The Guinea Corn Festival of the Nawuris of Northern Ghana

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