The Ga Homowo


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The Ga of Ghana


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Adaku at the Homowo Festival


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Twelve year old Adaku lives in Kumasi, in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Her father is always telling his children stories about their tribe, the Gas. He believes that a person must know his roots. Join Adaku as she learns about the history of her people and the Homowo festival.




Traditions and Customs of Gadangmes of Ghana


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GaDangmes of Ghana claim through oral history that they are descendants of ancient Hebrew Israelites. They refer to themselves as Yudafoi, meaning they are Jews. This book traces the origins of GaDangmes and their migration from ancient Israel, following the attack of Israel by the Assyrians to their present abode in Ghana. The ancestors of the GaDangmes were ruled by Wulomei (The High Priesthood). The book discusses GaDangme custom and traditions, including the Homowo Festival, Otufo/Dipo, circumcision, and outdooring (sanctification) of the child after birth. These traditions and customs of GaDangmes are of Hebraic origins. GaDangmes names are like genetic markers and are scattered throughout The Old Testament. Some of the names of their towns and villages bear Hebrew names. Tamar Kemp describes the GaDangmes of Ghana as descendants of authentic biblical Hebrew/Israelites whose ancestors once reigned supreme in the motherland. Joseph Nii Abekar Mensah, PhD., is currently a clinical/educational consultant with Progressive Learning Institute & Counselling Services in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dr. Mensah is the founder of GaDangme Heritage & Cultural Foundation. Born and raised in Accra (Ganyobi), Ghana, the author pursued studies in applied biology in London, England, with specialization in pharmacology. He also holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in psychology and in education. "I had always wanted to know why my people call themselves 'Gamei, ' meaning 'Ga people.' I learned they are of Hebrew Israelite origins, possibly from the tribes of Gad and Dan." Publisher's website: http: //sbpra.com/JosephNiiAbekarMensah




Culture and Customs of Ghana


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The decades of independence in Ghana have strengthened the idea of a national Ghanaian culture. The culture and customs of Ghana today are a product of diversity in traditional forms, influenced by a long history of Islamic and European contact. Culture and Customs of Ghana is the first book to concisely provide an up-to-date narrative on the most significant elements of the established cultural life and institutions as well as the most recent changes in the cultural landscape. Written expressly for students and the general reader, it belongs in every library supporting multicultural and African studies curricula. Ghana seeks to cultivate the philosophy of the African personality, to revive, maintain, and promote Ghanaian ways of life and integrate them into political and social institutions. Ghanaians also recognize their relationship to the rest of the world and continue to develop with the forces of globalization. Culture and Customs of Ghana authoritatively discusses the vibrant and adaptable people, from their religions to music and dance. A chronology, glossary, and numerous photos complement the text.




African Intellectual Heritage


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Organized by major themes—such as creation stories, and resistance to oppression—this collection gather works of imagination, politics and history, religion, and culture from many societies and across recorded time. Asante and Abarry marshal together ancient, anonymous writers whose texts were originally written on stone and papyri and the well-known public figures of more recent times whose spoken and written words have shaped the intellectual history of the diaspora. Within this remarkably wide-ranging volume are such sources as prayers and praise songs from ancient Kemet and Ethiopia along with African American spirituals; political commentary from C.L.R. James, Malcolm X, Mary McLeod Bethune, and Joseph Nyerere; stirring calls for social justice from David Walker, Abdias Nacimento, Franzo Fanon, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Featuring newly translated texts and ocuments published for the first time, the volume also includes an African chronology, a glossary, and an extensive bibliography. With this landmark book, Asante and Abarry offer a major contribution to the ongoing debates on defining the African canon. Author note:Molefi Kete Asanteis Professor and Chair of African American Studies at Temple University and author of several books, includingThe Afrocentric Idea(Temple) andThe Historical and Cultural Atlas of African Americans.Abu S. Abarryis Assistant Chair of African American Studies at Temple University.




Dancing with the Gods


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Dancing with the Gods: Essays in Ga Ritual explores cosmological concepts and ritual actions of the Ga people of southeastern Ghana through case studies of calendrical agricultural rites, social status transition rites, and redressive rites. Based on fieldwork in the 1960s, the essays present descriptive analyses of verbal and non-verbal ritual action. While verbal ritual actions specify ideas pertinent to a particular rite, non-verbal ritual actions express more general concepts. Kilson's analyses show how the same motifs of non-verbal ritual action recur in sacred and secular Ga rites. Whenever and wherever such motifs occur, they convey the same basic underlying Ga concepts, thereby creating a unified conceptual network of belief that is the foundation of the Ga ritual system. The essays in this collection previously appeared in Anthropos, Journal of African Studies, Journal of Religion in Africa, Parabola, and Sextant.




The Culture of Ghana


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