𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐆𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐏𝐑𝐄-𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐆𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐀

Marriage is one of the most important social institutions in Ghana which is marked by joy and merry-making. People are therefore considered worthless if they are not married. Marriage in pre-colonial times was considered a union between two extended families. The society was that of a polygamous one. 

             𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐆𝐄

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈. This is the meeting that required the man to make his intention known to the girl in question. At times, the guy could convey his message through a friend or a close person of the girl. This process is called “kasasie” in Akan. This stage is very important because it gives ample time to the girl in question to agree before the man proceeds to inform his family.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎’𝒔 (𝒎𝒂𝒏’𝒔) 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚.  This period required the man to make his intention known to his family, at times through the mother or an elder person in the community. Investigations then commenced on the girl and the girl’s family. Certain traits such as criminal records, immoral behavior, domestic violence and heredity diseases such as leprosy form the basis for their investigations.

 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅.  After a successful and satisfactory background check by the boy’s family, they proceed with delegation to the girl’s family to officially inform them about their son’s intention to marry their daughter. This process was known as “kokooko” by the Akan. The declaration of their intention was followed by a pot of palm wine or a bottle of schnapps with a token of nonreturnable money depending on the community.

  

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍’𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚.  After accepting the “kokooko”, the girl’s family would ask the man’s family for time to officially communicate their answer to them whether in the affirmative or not. This brief period also gives them time to conduct much investigation into the boy and his family depending on the same parameters used by the man’s family. When satisfied with the background check, words would be sent to the boy’s family and the date would be fixed by both families. Both relatives of each family and friends would be informed about the day and time.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆-𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒚𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒓𝒚.  On the appointed date, it was the boy’s family that would be hosted. A pot of palm wine, now Schnapps, would be presented to the girl’s family as the Head drink “trinsa”. Acceptance of the drink normally meant official acceptance of the Groom into the family. Another rite done together with the head drink was the special money offered to the bride’s family. This money was known as the “ti-ade” and it was paid to show appreciation to the girl’s family and pay off certain debt incurred as far as the ceremony is concerned. This is what is termed as the “bride price” nowadays. The brothers of the bride were also offered some token called “akontasekan”. This would be followed by merry-making. In the evening, some elderly women in the community would take the new bride to her husband’s house. These women at dawn would go to the husband’s house to inspect whether the bride was a virgin or not. If the bride was found not to be a virgin, she could be divorced the same day.

Things have been modified nowadays but it follows the same trend

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