When you travel to Ghana, one of the things many of the tour companies offer is the opportunity to participate in a naming ceremony. It is a fascinating experience that I’ll remember forever!
Ashanti African Tours, the tour company I partnered with for the trip, set up my naming ceremony in the Fante village of Simiw. It’s near Elmina.
They sure know how to make a girl feel special. It seemed like the entire village came out for mine. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I went through the process of meeting the chief and elders and asking for their permission to have the ceremony, and I learned a lot about the naming process in Ghana. I found much of the ceremony fascinating because most of the dialogue was in their language. When my guides weren’t translating, all I had to go by was body language to figure out what was going on. I had never experienced that for such an extended period of time.
The name I was given was Nana Aba Ahermah. I learned one of Ghananians names usually refers to the days of the week. Aba means I was born on Thursday in Fante.
Also, the parents of the newborn wait until the eighth day for the elders to name the child. Before then, not many people are permitted to see the child.
The ceremony involved a prayer, and several other rituals. Afterwards, the dance troupe Akomapa performed. The cost of the ceremonies range from $40 to $120, depending on how elaborate you want it to be.
I don’t want to say too much. Watch the video and experience it for yourself.
