The akan kinship system to start, i would like to deal with some of the basic terms designated for the family in the akan world. Adinkra are visual symbols with historical and philosophical significance originally printed on cloth which asante royals wore to important ceremonies. Dec 11, 2016 adinkra means goodbye or farewell in the twi language of the akan ethnic group. Akan, akan asante numeration, akan asante, twi calendar, list of akantwi, asante names, baoulebaule,kingdom of akwamu, kingdom of akyemakim, kingdom of denkyira works cited. According to this ethnic group, the names are based on the day of the week the child was born. It has been the tradition of the akan especially, the ashantis wear cloths decorated with adinkra symbols on important occassions especially at funeral of family relations and friends. The african ejournals project has digitized full text of. Meanings of the ghanaian adinkra symbols on the cloths. Baby girl names girl names baby names, meanings and. Akan twi, asante names are the names used by the akan people of ghana and the ivory coast, who are frequently naming their baby boys and baby girls after the day of the week in which they were born and the order of birth for each of them, like first born piesie, second born for baby boy manu for baby girl maanu etc. Presented below is over 50 ewe names, meanings and their roots for your consideration. Today, i would like to enrich your mind a bit more when it comes to the meaning of your day name. Before we delve into the list of adinkra symbols and their meanings.
I have detailed well each ghana adinkra symbols and their meanings so free to dig in. One important area of twi etymology which needs to be investigated is place names, how towns and villages in ghana got their authentic names. Ghana is one of the leading countries in the production of african print fabric. As a matter of fact, some of the appellations have become normal names. Below are some of the names and their appellations. Once obscure, these west african symbols now take the spotlight in the worlds third largest movie industry, hollywood. The akan people of ghana frequently name their children after the day of the week they were born and the order in which they were born. It was quite interesting to write and to reread this. Africa is made up of ethnic groups with different languages and beliefs, hence their choices of names differ. Baby girl names girl names baby names, meanings and origins. The adinkra symbols were originally created by the akan tribe in ghana. Best 200 african names and their meanings answers africa.
Sankofa sankofareturn and get it symbol of importance of learning from the past. Chief linguist kwame frimpong manso adakabre shares the wisdom and knowledge of the akan proverbs. This was about 50% of all the recorded akan s in the usa. The ewes acknowledge the presence of a supreme divine referring to that force as mawu sogbolisa, mawu kitikata, mawu adanuwotor etc. The average population of akan people is estimated to be about 20 million. Jun 07, 2017 chief linguist kwame frimpong manso adakabre shares the wisdom and knowledge of the akan proverbs. These fabrics are mostly designed to mirror various african culture and traditions. This was about 50% of all the recorded akans in the usa. So before we actually get to the analysis of the day names, i should also tell you that there will be quite some akan twi linguistics study of words language involved here so you may be able to understand the etymology of the vocabulary origin of words. And the presence of multiple cultures in the 53 african nations adds to the richness of african names and the difficulty in understanding them. I certainly cannot give the twi names of all the animals there are but ill try to list as many as i can.
Originating from the asantes of ghana, the symbols have assumed global importance and are now found on objects like furniture, sculpture, earthenware pots and casual wear. Akan definition and meaning collins english dictionary. Even in the developed world, some people of african heritage carry african names for example, barack obama. Let me know where you guys fit in, whether you can find yourself in one of these descriptions and what your thoughts are. It considers names as not being arbitrary labels but sociocultural tags that have sociocultural functions and meanings.
Best 200 african names and their meanings africa which is the third largest continent in the world has their own cultures and beliefs which also differs among the tribes and nations in africa. The 50 most important akan proverbs african sybmols. Akan people, language, religion, culture, and other facts. The akan family name was found in the usa, the uk, canada, and scotland between 1840 and 1920. The twi names of some animals mmoa learn akan lesson 9. The most akan families were found in the usa in 1880. The sociolinguistic of akan personal names current study the akan names are the li nguistic signs, and the sociocultural interpretations of the names represent the real world.
For all my ghanaian readers out there, we all know that each and every single one of us carries a certain day name, depending on the day you. African names are used in various places on the continent of africa. Beautiful cape coast fante kids in their traditional dress cape coast which is situated on its south to the gulf of guinea was originally a guan settlement that has been. So to speak, there are two major companies that produce these fabrics. It is a study of ghanaian toponymy as human settlement. This is because most people are unwilling or unable to type the letters er and or with their keyboards when searching for akan proverbs on the web. Each list of girl names shows the baby girl name meanings and their origins. Middle names have considerably more variety and can refer to their birth order, twin status, or an ancestors middle name. Sep 04, 2017 presented below is over 50 ewe names, meanings and their roots for your consideration.
The akan people and those living around akans or absorbed into their populations speak kwa languages of. Ghana textiles printers gtp, and akosombo textiles limited atl. In addition to baby girls names, at baby name world you will find thousands of other unique and popular male and female baby. Adinkra symbols and their meaning these are some examples of adinkra symbols and their meaning. They have been arranged by names in twi, literal translation in english, significance and proverbial meaning. It is one of the west african tribes or group of people that have maintained their indigenous languages and which has not been influenced so much by the west. This symbol is said to have played an inspiring role in the designing of other symbols.
The akan day names and their embedded ancient symbolism. Every akan is born into an abusua, the blood family system or the clan. Acombe, acomb, acome, acom, acum, akum, a combe and others. And tlwt cmiong them children bear a first name, akemdiui the souls name, according to the day of the week on which they are born.
This system of names have spread to some other west african countries. Heres over 50 ewe names and meaning for your consideration. Most of the ghanaian names have their foundation from the ethnic akan names. Com is a free elearning website dedicated to helping you to read, write and speak the akan language, spoken in most parts of ghana in west africa. Below is a table displaying in alphabetical order some of the old and new adinkra and other. In 1840 there was 1 akan family living in new york. Akan is mostly spoken in ghana and ivory coast, west africa. A child that is born on a certain day is believed to have certain traits, which is reflected in their name. For that reason, early anglosaxon surnames like akan are characterized by many spelling variations. Pdf akan cultural symbols project the art of a particular culture can reveal ever changing human images and attitudes, so awareness of a peoples indigenous art, visual and cultural symbols can become an important medium for crosscultural understanding. The chief of the adinkra symbols is the adinkra hene symbol of greatness, charisma and leadership. In addition to baby girls names, at baby name world you will find thousands of other unique and popular male and female baby names and their meaning sorted by origin. The popularity of akan names is determined by their appellation.
Personal names are iconic representations of composite social variables that indexicalise and relate to the name and the person. Founded in june 2016 by stephen awiba, the website features a wide range of useful lessons touching on different aspects of the language. The book of african names duke university libraries. If you have extra vocabulary regarding animal names, you may contribute by leaving them in the comments section below the post. The adinkra cloth signify their sorrow and to bid farewell to the deceased. The sociolinguistic of akan personal names personal names strongly reveal the power of names to emphasise social relationships. He explains the meanings, origins, and uses of proverbs. In todays lesson, lesson 9 of the twi vocabulary course, we are going to learn the twi names of some animals.
It is good to take notice that they are around 400 known adinkra symbols, but for purposes of this piece i will narrow down to the most common ones. Akan names behind the name the meaning and history of. Examination board lists their names often complain that their surnames are missing. It should be noted that some ewe names are unisex, applicable to males as well as females. The designing is done according to the message the wearer or owner of the cloth intends to convey to the participants of the event. Here again, the twi names of these towns and villages, when etymologized could throw very much light on their historical and original discovery. New york and 1 other state had the highest population of akan families in 1840. Below are the fifty sayings with their literal meanings and some remarks in english. The more desirable the appellation is, the popular the name is. It symbolizes to the akan that food is a basis of life and that they could not survive if not for the food that god has placed here on earth for their.
Below is a table displaying in alphabetical order some of the old and new adinkra and other cultural symbols. Akan is the language spoken by the largest ethnic groupthe akans. As the english language changed and incorporated elements of other european languages, even literate people changed the spelling of their names. Nov 10, 2016 in todays lesson, lesson 9 of the twi vocabulary course, we are going to learn the twi names of some animals. The objective is to rediscover their meanings and why and how the original native names were changed to the current documented ones. They include sex, hierarchy in birth, circumstances surrounding the birth, the persons. In a paper titled the sociolinguistic of akan personal. Never in my life did i think i would see adinkra symbols in a marvel movie. One of the easiest ways to identify the origin of every african is through the names they bear, the name of each individual that is from africa has a. These introductory lessons will give you a jumpstart on learning twi so you will not feel completely lost when you step off the airplane in accra. You can support us by purchasing something through our amazonurl, thanks. English is the official language used in government, education and commerce. More twi proverbs may be found in another list of proverbs. These day names have further meanings concerning the soul and character of the person.
The akan people and those living around akans or absorbed into their populations speak kwa languages of which twi and fante are counted. Feb 14, 2016 we just went through 7 days and their derivative 14 male and female names. The sociolinguistic of akan personal names agyekum, kofi. The oyoko clan, one of the nine akan clans, uses this symbol as their clan emblem. Each child inherits a spirit totem from his father but has his mother. These include 1 day names, 2 family names, 3 circumstantial names, 4 theophorous names, 5 flora na fauna names, 6 weird and reincarnate names, 7 achievement names, stool. A list of 70 african adinkra symbols and their hidden meanings.
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