Ghana customs and etiquette
The Republic of Ghana (Ghana for short) is a country in western Africa. It is located in western Africa and on the north bank of the Gulf of Guinea. It borders Cote d'Ivoire in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, Togo in the east, and the Atlantic Ocean in the south. Most of the territory is plain, with a long terrain from north to south and narrow from east to west, and a coastline of about 562 kilometers long. The capital, Accra, is an important airport in West Africa. It has direct flights to London, Amsterdam, Zurich, Milan, New York, Addis Ababa and surrounding countries, as well as flights to and from major domestic cities.
Ghana's total population is approximately 24.82 million (2012 statistics), and there are four main ethnic groups: Akan (52.4%), Mosi-Dagomba (15.8%), Ewe (11.9%) and Jia-Adangbe (7.8%). The official language is English, and its tribe also has its own national languages, such as Ewi, Fanti and Hausa. The currency of Ghana is Ghana Cedi 丨 GHS1GH 丨 =100pesewas (Gp).
After Ghana's independence, the government adopted a republican system. However, chieftaincy still remains in rural areas. Chiefs are male and have political, land and legal powers. Chiefs are appointed and can be dismissed at any time if they perform incompetently. The chief is the spokesperson of his tribe. He reflects the tribe's demands and opinions to the government, mediates civil disputes, organizes and leads local public welfare activities, enjoys high prestige among the tribe and has great social influence.
The stool is a symbol of the power of the chief. They also regard the stool as a mascot, and both men, women and children have special love and worship it. Ghanaians like to carefully preserve one or even a few stools and call them sacred symbols. At the same time, they often present their precious stools as the best gift to their guests, and the stools are still necessary for marriage.
Street View of Ghana-Ghana is a place rich in cassava, plantains, corn, and a small amount of rice. They usually use the above raw materials to process them into different staple foods. Food tastes don't like too salty, but prefer spicy food. Pay attention to the rich flavor of the dishes and pay attention to the economy of dining. They very much prefer dishes made by roasting, roasting, grilling, steaming and other cooking methods. For example, when they roast whole sheep, the method is to first remove the fur and remove the hooves, then open the belly, then coat the sheep with seasonings, and use a Long iron rod is threaded from mouth to tail, and then placed on the fire and baked repeatedly until cooked). Because its meat is tender, tender, fragrant, delicious, and popular. Ghana is world-famous for its rich cocoa production, and people call it the "Hometown of Cocoa". Therefore, people love to drink cocoa drinks very much.
However, the upper class of people in Ghana generally prefer Britain and France in terms of life and diet. Therefore, most of them like Western European cuisine in social occasions. But he also appreciates Chinese cuisine very much and loves China's Sichuan cuisine and Beijing cuisine. They are usually accustomed to using Western-style tableware and love to eat with knives and forks; but the vast majority of civilians are accustomed to eating rice in the form of a civilian grave.
Ghanaians have sincere feelings and are extremely hospitable. Even if you are a stranger, as long as they do not hold malicious intentions and treat each other with courtesy, you will definitely receive their warm help, including accommodation, food and money. They are also particularly grateful. If you are kind to him, he will definitely try every means to repay you.
Ghana Street View 2 Their custom of greeting is very special. They are accustomed to the fact that when guests arrive at the main house, the guests should first greet the host; teachers should first greet the students when entering the classroom; when two people meet, the person who first sees each other should say hello first. If one person is standing and the other person comes, those who come should say hello first. However, the Ewe people are different from the above. The owner, the person standing and the person who is seen later have to say hello first. If you ignore the above rules, you can easily be misunderstood by the other party as insulting him or deliberately causing trouble with him.
They are generally used to shaking hands when meeting and saying goodbye. When they shake hands with the people in line, no matter who these people are old, young, or of high status, they are generally used to shaking hands with the people in line from right to left. But they have a weak sense of time. Sometimes they may not arrive on time for pre-arranged appointments, and sometimes they may not even make appointments.
In Ghana, color has different connotations. They regard gold or yellow as symbols of nobility, wealth, glory and maturity; white as symbols of purity, virtue, joy and victory; green as symbols of rebirth, vitality and strength; blue as the color of love and gentleness; black as symbols of depression, devil, death and aging; red as symbols of grief, disaster, death and war; gray as symbols of depression and shame.
Ghana's market Ghanaians also attach great importance to reputation, and some people even value reputation more important than life. They especially avoid people making fun of him, or using excessive language to ridicule or laugh at him. Think that this is an insult to his personality, and some will even bother you endlessly because of it. They regard the left hand as "dirty" and "rude". Therefore, they do not use their left hand to pick up things delivered by others. They believe that it is extremely impolite for anyone to point, make gestures, or pass on things and food with their left hand.
42.8% of Ghana's residents believe in Christianity and Catholicism, 38.2% believe in fetishism, and 12% believe in Islam. Therefore, they also have no favorable impression of the numbers "13","17" and "71". Think these numbers are negative and unlucky. Therefore, people are reluctant to deal with these numbers. Ghanaians who believe in Islam also ban pork and the use of pig products, and also oppose anyone talking about pigs.
They are very disgusted with statements or greetings from people who go to the toilet, especially when guests ask them where the toilet is as soon as they enter the door, which will put them off the ground and think that only people who are not polite will do this. They also attach great importance to the etiquette of gifts. I am very angry if the recipient feels indifferent and thinks this is a contempt and insult to the giver.
Drumming in festivals in Ghana and each tribe in Ghana has its own tribal traditional festivals every year, such as the "Hunger Festival","Cassava Festival","Deer Hunt Festival", etc. Very interesting drumming parties are held on grand festivals. Various African drums of different sizes are placed on the main square. Drummers can sing praises to the chief with different cadence. They can also use slow sounds to narrate the past, or announce news and major events of the tribe, and conduct a "drum fighting" competition.
Ghana is also one of the top ten tourist countries in Africa. The main tourist attractions include Abri Botanical Garden, Akosombo, Kumasi Cultural Center, Cape Coast, Ermina Slave Castle and the Gold Mine Belt. The best time to travel is from October to April every year. Due to low humidity and low rainfall, it is also the best time to watch birds throughout the year. Resident birds and birds migrating from Europe and northern Asia can be seen.
The Aburi Botanical Gardening in Accra is the most beautiful, secluded and attractive place in Ghana. The park, which began accepting tourists in March 1890, covers an area of 64.8 hectares and overlooks the coastal plains of Accra from an altitude of 370 to 460 meters. The Abri Botanical Garden is a must-visit for not only every Ghanaian, but also every tourist visiting Ghana.
Cape Coast was once a famous "slave castle" in the slave trade and was once the seat of the government of the British colonists. Moor National Park is a national park in Ghana, a West African country. It is located in the northwest of the country and covers an area of 4840 square kilometers. It was established in 1958, has an altitude of 150 meters, and has an average annual rainfall of more than 1000 mm. Wild animals include African elephants, hippopotamus, warthogs, water antelope, horse antelope, carapelle, muntjac antelope, East African baboon, green monkey, red monkey, colobus, dwarf crocodile, African narrow-nosed alligator, hyena, lion, leopard, etc.