Saturday, September 20, 2014

ON WHAT DAY WERE YOU BORN?


In Ghana, children are named according to the day they were born

In Ghana, children are named according to the day they were born



Ask any European his or her date of birth, the answer is given within a second, but go on further to ask, “On what day were you born?”  That’s really a tough question to answer because of a day of the week on which one is born, is less important to them.


In Africa, especially Ghana, traditionally, a day of the week determines the name given to a baby. We’ve heard often that a good name is better than riches. Many are given names of great people but for ages, Ghanaians follow the tradition of their ancestral to give names to babies.

A male child born on Sunday is given ‘Kwesi’, and ‘Akosua’ goes to a female child because Sunday in the Akan language is called ‘Kwesida.’ ‘Kodwo or Kojo’, goes to a male child born on Monday and ‘Adwoa or Ajoa’ goes to a female child because Monday is ‘Edzuda’. ‘Kobina’ is given to a male child born on Tuesday and ‘Abena’ to a female child, because Tuesday is ‘Ebenada.’

On Wednesday, a male child is named ‘Kweku or Kwaku’ and a female child is named ‘Akua’ because Wednesday is ‘Ikuda.’ ‘Yaw’ goes to a male child born on Thursday and ‘Yaa’ goes to a female child because Thursday is ‘Yawda, pronounced ‘Yauda.’ 

‘Kofi’ goes to a male child born on Friday and ‘Afua’ goes to a female child, because Friday is ‘Ifida.’ Finally ‘Ato, Kwame or Kwamena’, goes to a male child born on Saturday and ‘Ama’ goes to a female child because Saturday is ‘Miminda.’

In Ghana, a male child can be named ‘Mensah’ because he is the third child of his parents and ‘Mansa’ to a third female child. This tradition of naming babies has inspired many foreigners, including Europeans and Americans to give them themselves traditional names corresponding with the day they were born.