SOME INTRIGUING EWE CONCEPTS AND THEIR MEANING
INTRODUCTION
Never before in the history of human civilisation, have so many Ewes been pulled away from their roots by the gravitational forces of modernisation and globalisation. Many Ewes of the current generation were either born outside Eweland or denied themselves the benefits of critical Ewe up bringing in values of integrity, modesty, hard work, selflessness and honesty. In the quest the develop their potentials in life through education and other forms of socialisation, they have shied away from their roots and values, thereby creating a devastating identity crisis in themselves. In an attempt to get universal recognition for themselves, educated Ewe elites and their unlettered cousins, have unconsciously rejected their historical and cultural heritage and identity. Some do not even speak Ewe to their children. Their children cannot speak Ewe, let alone write Ewe. This self-imposed tragedy has created identity crisis in our children. We need to rediscover our identity and heritage through a mental renaissance. One way to kick-start this renaissance is to embark upon a crusade of repositioning Ewe Language and its cultural values as a primus interparis. This publication is a humble contribution towards that renaissance.
SOME INTRIGUING EWE CONCEPTS
1. Akpeteshie - Alcoholic liquor prepared through the distillation of fermented palm wine for social, political and cultural celebrations. It was and still is a profoundly famous alcoholic beverage among Ewes of Ghana, Togo and Benin. During colonial rule, the distillation, storage, distribution, sale and consumption of Akpeteshie was banned by European powers on the grounds that it was unwholesome for human consumption. But the truth is that it was banned because it was in keen competition with imported alcoholic beverages like schnapps, gin, brandy, whisky etc.
2. Ndɔkutsuviwo - Literally means "children under the hot sun". They were domestic servants or farm hands who worked for their landlord virtually as slaves. Such people were normally pawns or slaves or descendants of slaves.
3. Agblegameviwo - Literally means "children in a large farm". Pawns or domestic servants of a landlord who worked as pawns in farms and on other economic activities like fishing, hunting, animal rearing, cloth weaving and other handicrafts.
4. Fiasiɖi - A virgin given out to the gods/deity as a wife, in atonement for a crime committed by a close relative, normally a male. In ewe "fiasi" means the chief's wife, whilst 'di' means in waiting or awaiting. Literally therefore, fiasiɖi means the chief's wife in waiting. They are normally identified with their black underwear/pants (gomegodui yibor) which is a symbol of their marriage to the gods. A fiasiɖi may marry after the necessary spiritual purification rites of removing her black underwear are performed by the man who wants to marry her. Such a purification rite is technically meant to divorce her from the gods/diety in order to make her available for human marriage.
5. Trɔkosi - Literally means slave of the gods. A female given out to the gods as punishment for an abomination committed by a family member. In Ewe, 'Tro' means deity, whilst 'Kosi' means slave. Trokosi is different from fiasiɖi in the sense that, fiasiɖi is the wife of the gods, whilst trokosi is a slave of the gods/deity.
6. Nukutaɖeɖe/Gokuɖeɖe - The practice of giving out a female child to her mother's family for marriage, as a replacement for her mother's departure from the family.
7. Afemeɖeɖe - preliminary investigation into the background of a lady before the asking for her hand in marriage through door knocking. It is to ascertain the integrity and reputation of her family and her personal suitability for marriage.
8. Ʋɔƒoƒo - Door knocking. Preliminary consultation and the asking for a lady's hand in marriage by the parents of the groom.
9. Tegaɣilele - A type of marriage rite that involves the 'arrest' and confinement of the bride in the premises of the groom's family for a period of time ranging from two weeks to two months or even more. During confinement, the bride who must be a virgin, is given tuition in the duties and responsibilities of a noble wife.
10. Gɔmegodui - Red loincloth normally included in the payment of bridewealth during traditional marriage as a symbol of womanhood and maturity of the bride.
11. Afeli - A deity/traditional medicine for the spiritual protection of a house and its occupants.
12. Dema - A deity/ traditional charm for detecting adultery among married women.
13. Afɔdada - Committing of adultery by a married woman.
14. Nyikɔfofo - The practice of imposing fines on a man who commits adultery with a married woman.
15. Edofe/Ayixali/Ayifare - Fine imposed on a man for committing adultery with a married woman.
16. Alɔkpli - A spiritual affliction that strikes close relatives and friends who have slept with the same woman. The traditional medicine for curing such an affliction is called "alɔkplitike".
17. Afɔƒoƒo - A purification rite performed for a woman who commits adultery, before she can return to her husband. It is an incredibly humiliating purification rite. In a typical 'afɔƒoƒo' rite, the adulterous woman is made to publicly lie naked at a cross-road in the village or town. Seeds of maize are carefully placed inbetween her thighs and a cock is made to pick the maize one by one as part of her spiritual purification. The stigma associated with this rite is a tremendously effective check on adultery in traditional society.
18. Ahoʋui - Misfortune from the gods, as a punishment for commiting an abomination/sacrilege.
19. Tɔkɔ atɔlia - Literally means "The fifth landing stage". It was the practice of burying a guilty person in a hole up to the neck and leaving him there to perish as punishment for a crime he had committed.
20. Kamegoe - A traditional underwear with rope tied around the waist to prevent it from falling off during physical activity.
21. Hlɔtsilele - The final ritual bathing of a deceased person by his close relatives in accordance with the prescribed cultural and spiritual beliefs of his clan.
22. Luʋɔɖiɖi - When a person dies in a distant land and circumstances cannot allow his body to be brought home, his hair and nails are removed to represent his body for burial at home. It is believed that the person's soul will remain restless for being abandoned in a foreign land, if his soul (luʋɔ) is not conveyed home for burial.
23. Dzotsikpekpe - The customary open setting of fire by members of family on the day of wake keeping for a deceased person. The practice is meant to ward off evil spirits, serve as a forum for consultation among the elders of the clan, and to symbolise light for the decease to make his transition to etenity.
24. Tagbayiyi/Tagbaɖeɖe - The offering of food to ancestors at the cemetery during the funeral of a person, to separate his soul from the living.
25. Guigbagba - The ritual of pouring libation and breaking a gourd at the cemetery during the offering of food to the ancestors to separate the spirit of a deceased person from the world of the living.
26. Dzogbeku/Ʋumeku - Death through unnatural means like accident, fire, drowning, snake bite, suicide, war and certain abominable diseases like leprosy and madness etc.
27. Kpegisu - A type of war drumming and dancing among southern Ewes. Other war drumming and dancing types among the southern Ewes are Atsyiagbekɔ, Atrikpui and Akpoka.
28. Dzibigolui - A piece of land given to a woman by her husband for her personal farming activities.
29. Fidodo - An institutionalised cooperative rotational labour scheme, practised among Ewes for performing certain communal economic activities like clearing of land, planting, harvesting, fishing, building of houses etc.
PROFILE OF THE AUTHOR
Simon Amegashie-Viglo is a Senior Lecturer in African Studies, he was the first Dean of International Programmes (2010 -2013), the first Dean of Faculty of Applied Social Sciences (2014 -2018), a former Vice Rector of the Ho Technical University (2001 - 2005) and the Head of the Department of Multidisciplinary Studies (1996 - 2007). He was appointed a Lecturer in April 1996 and he has served the institution with dedication and commitment for twenty-two and half years before proceeding on retirement in August 2018. Simon Amegashie-Viglo had his primary and middle school education at Obanda, (1965 - 1974), and proceeded to Nkwanta Secondary School, Nkwanta (1974 - 1979), and Kadjebi Secondary School, Kadjebi (1979 - 1981) all in the Oti Region of Ghana. He holds BA (Hons) Degree in Political Science (1982 - 1986), and Master of Philosophy in African Studies (1990 -1993) both from the University of Ghana, Legon. He also pursued Executive Masters (EMBA) in Business Administration at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi (2007 - 2009) and a Certificate in Strategic Management (2003) from GIMPA, Accra. Simon Amegashie-Viglo is the author of "Political Economy of Colonial & Post-colonial Africa" (2009) and co-authored two other books; "Triple Heritage of Africa" (2004) with Prof Noah Komla Dzobo and "Double Heritage of Africa" (2018), with Dr Rowland Baba Lambon. Simon Amegashie-Viglo has also published 27 articles in international and local academic journals.
By Simon Amegashie-Viglo (CEO, Integrity Star Consult).
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