Traditional Ghanaian Wedding

In the traditional wedding ceremony in Ghana, the future husband, accompanied by his family, goes to his bride's home and officially asks for her hand in the presence of friends, relatives and relatives. It is a common ritual essential to all marriages in Ghana.
The wedding ceremonies in Ghana begin with the "knocking" (kokako) around the house. In this ritual, the future husband accompanied by his father and some members of his family go to the bride's house to announce their intentions towards the bride. Most of the time, this passage takes place a week or two before the official wedding ceremony.

On the set date, the bridegroom, accompanied by relatives and relatives, arrives early at the bride's home. With lots of things that are required prior to all weddings:


The dowry: In Ghana it is an important part of the ceremony: money, valuable gifts or whatever wealth to give to the bride's family in exchange for their "precious flower" and the investment that her parents have made on her since birth.
Parents' presents: it is often a Kente piece (traditional Ghanaian cloth) and a symbolic sum to thank and honor the parents. For educating and making the bride the woman she has become.
Whiskey or gin: this is a way to ask permission to enter the home and address the bride's family by presenting alcohol on arrival.
The bride's gifts: jewelry and six different pieces of Wax fabric, including two white, which she will wear after the birth of their first child. The engagement ring is also presented symbolically during the ceremony.

The two families are sitting face to face. Presentations and a prayer mark the beginning of the ceremony. The groom's family will start by presenting the dowry and all the other items on the list one by one. At each step, the objects are checked to ensure that everything on the list is there. The bride is not present in most of these procedures. And the husband, although present, does not speak, because all discussions and negotiations are conducted on his behalf by the spokesman designated by his family. The presentation of the bride and groom is the next step, the bridegroom is first introduced to his in-laws, then the bride makes his entrance accompanied by his cousins. The bride is asked three times if she agrees to marry his suitor, it is his affirmation that ends the official ceremony under the cheers of everyone and announces the beginning of the festivities.

A feast worthy of a king is then served, accompanied by drinks, liquor flowing, dance and music until the exhaustion of all this beautiful world.

One of the peculiarities of the traditional Ghanaian wedding is the dress, for which one uses the Kente, known under the name of nwentom in Akan, a fabric made of silk and cotton in interlaced bands. This tradition crosses the whole country despite ethnic and cultural differences.

As in most African countries, the wedding ceremony in Ghana is a time of communion, joy and celebration, but also a moment where culture and tradition are in the spotlight. We are still building on the cultural richness that our continent offers.