Mrs Patience Shasha Bortey, a Marriage Counsellor, Methodist Church, has called on Ghanaians to embrace the cultural values, as each traditional practice has significance in moulding the child.
She cited the Ghanaian way of dressing from different traditional jurisdiction does not only portray covering of the body but has cultural implication but unfortunately in these modern days, “we have diluted everything, we are gradually losing our identity”.
She said in the past, women’s dresses had some cultural connotations and invokes decency but had somewhat faded away with the influences of ‘modernization’.
Mrs Bortey who spoke to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview at Tema on the national heritage month celebration, said during the observance of puberty rites, girls were initiated into womanhood to value the way of life.
“The girl is given ‘Slit and Kaba’ which symbolizes that she is now an adult, and this dress was properly sewn to cover the whole body unlike what we see in recent times where some women chose to expose most parts of their bodies,” she said.
Mrs Faustina Ofori-Nyarko, a retired Educationist, said the traditional ideals of womanhood had been lost in recent times by influences of modernization as women found it rather outmoded to dress in traditional wears with the claim that they felt uncomfortable.
She said it was time for Ghanaians to reconsider their traditional ways of dressing, emphasizing that a conflation of modernization and tradition was not bad, but deserting the Ghanaian cultural values entirely was not the way to go.
Mrs Naana Adjeley Osae Omaboe, Communications Consultant speaking on the Ga Tradition, advised Ga women to portray their custom through appropriate traditional dresses to mark the heritage month.
Mrs Osae Omaboe said in the past the ceremonial wear for Ga women consisted of the ‘Oduku’, traditional hair piece, or head dress adorned with gold ornaments. The Ga woman would traditionally either wear a form of kente (not the Asante or Volta type)
She added that there were all types of beads that were worn as part of the beauty regimen or as a show of status. ‘Adiagba’ beads were often worn by members of the Royal family or very wealthy families.
She further explained that the beads maybe worn as anklets, bracelets, necklaces and around the waist.
According to her, the traditional Priestesses, normally wore white cloth as a symbol of purity, which to them it is an indication of virtue. They also wear special beads around their wrists and no sandal or slippers are worn.
They wear ‘Nyanyara’ leaves around their necks which they believe ward off evil spirit and a form of spiritual protection.
She further noted that, widows apart from the normal black attire, were required to wear special tiny beads around their necks to portray mourning and to single them out as mourner.