Akan concepts and proverbs on abusua, ‘family’

  • Kofi Agyekum
Keywords: Akan family system, clan, extended family, proverbs, language ideology, folksongs

Abstract

The paper explores the Akan concept of family based on their cultural ideologies and proverbs. The paper adopts the framework of language ideology that looks at how a people rationalise their language and culture based on their worldview, religious beliefs and anthropological notions. The data for this paper is collected from library studies on books on Akan proverbs and other literary books. Part of the data is collected from Akan folksongs, folktales, interviews and discussions with some renowned Akan scholars. The proverbs collected are subjected to semantic, stylistic and pragmatics analysis. The paper will find out whether the proverbs that relate to family are still applicable in modern times where globalisation, westernisation, modernisation and foreign religion are taking over the Akan family system and some of the aspects of Akan culture and beliefs. This paper is a follow up of other papers I have done on the Akan concept of face, poverty, marriage and death.

Published
2024-06-28
Section
Article