ARTS & CULTURE – Outdooring/naming Ceremony of the Ga people of the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.

In West Africa, we have a thing about names and titles. It starts at birth when there are many naming ceremonies.

In some cases even before a child is born, there are several names are given by close relatives…which is very typical in our cultures.

The other one happens as soon as a child is born and is based on the day of the week he or she arrives.

In Ghana, this is a big deal. Some names are given depending on the day the child is born.

Thus Kwadwo, Komla, Kwaku, Yaw, Kofi, Kwami and Kwasi are the names for males born on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday respectively.

The female equivalents are Adzoa, Abena, Akua, Yaa or Yawa, Afua, Ama and Akosua.

A week after the birth, on the eighth day, we hold an “outdooring” – a formal ceremony where the parents announce the child’s given name.

Naa Dedei Tettey who is of Ga origin, takes us through the outdooring and naming ceremony of the Ga people of the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.