PeopleWest Africa

Akan (Asante, Fante and kin)

Ghana’s largest family of peoples; day names, outdooring, and the knocking rite.

Ghana

Côte d’IvoireTwiFante

Customs they practice

2 recorded rites, each with its steps and its WHY.

Birth & namingmachine draft

Outdooring · the Akan and Ga eighth-day naming

On the eighth day the newborn is brought outdoors for the first time, shown to the sky and community, and given names including the day name that every Akan and Ga person carries.

Akan · Ga · Ewe

Courtship & marriagemachine draft

The knocking · kɔkɔɔkɔ

The Akan opening rite of marriage: the groom’s family formally "knocks" at the bride’s family house with drinks and gifts to announce their intention and ask permission to court.

Akan

What they eat

4 dishes, what they mean and when they appear.

Celebrationmachine draft

Jollof rice

Rice slow-cooked in a rich tomato-and-pepper base until every grain turns deep red-orange: West Africa’s great shared party dish, claimed proudly (and loudly) by several nations at once.

Yoruba · Akan · Wolof +2

Staplemachine draft

Fufu

Cassava and plantain (or yam) boiled and pounded into a smooth, elastic dough, swallowed rather than chewed: a swallow-starch staple across much of West and Central Africa.

Akan · Ewe · Ga +2

Street & socialmachine draft

Waakye

Rice and beans cooked together with dried millet or sorghum leaves, which stain the dish a distinctive reddish-brown, served with a wide array of sides from a single stand.

Ga · Akan

Mourningmachine draft

Funeral rice and stew

Plain rice and a simple, generously portioned stew, cooked in enormous quantities to feed the hundreds of mourners who may attend an Akan funeral over several days.

Akan

What they wear

1 piece, what it says and who may wear it.

Clothmachine draft

Kente

A hand-woven strip cloth in bold geometric patterns and vivid colour, historically reserved for Asante royalty, now the most internationally recognised African textile.

machine draft

born on Friday

Given nameAkan (Ghana)

Browse all 33 names in the decoder →

Kin & neighbours

Hausa Ga (Gamei)Ewe (Eʋeawó)Mandinka / Mandé Yoruba (Yorùbá)Igbo (Ndi Igbo)