Letters
What's in a name?
I am reminded of Afro-American who applied to go to Ghana. He filled and apologized the Embassy for the surname he used on them, saying that of his papers listed the same 'slave name'. The point of the story is that the Ghanaian interviewing him had the same surname, had his family for generations.Ah-ha, you may exclaim - generations ago, Portuguese slave traders implanted that foreign 'slave name' on the shores of Gold Coast and was imposed on subsequent prodigy. Would you have the Ghanaian return to his home town and ask his mother and others to retrieve their African names?
I visited an exhibit of tie-dye, adinkra, corn husk and pottery produced by American students at a local college. The work was remarkably good and exemplary one sort of effort at cross-cultural One of the artists wished under an adopted name and she chose Nana Kwasea.
The point is that a name change, in and of itself, signifies little. Wearing Joromi or Batakari may be more of a personal statement. Studying and appreciating the culture, history, language of another people is significant and may be personally enriching.
A person is called one name by his mother, and that never changes. In school, and later in business a different name may be used. Names such John, Grace, and the sort are much favoured by missionaries and were given to many Ghanaians upon Baptism or entry to school. Most mothers couldn’t pronounce these names or wouldn’t even bother themselves about such foolishness and so the person often spoke English in school under one name and then went home to his mother tongue.
In school there are uniforms, and for men in business there are often business suits. A Ghanaian wearing a suit to go to a bank in Britain is comparable to an American wearing a Batakari to a Ghanaian party in New York. Both are an outward manifestation of respect for the culture in which one wishes to take part.
Names are difficult to pronounce if they sound strange. A woman who readily says Kwabena may have trouble with William, and vice versa. A common solution is for a person to have two or more names, depending on the context. An African who never felt attached to his school name given him by missionaries may choose a nickname or a shortened form of his African name for use by non-Africans. This is out of a desire to ease communication not due to any shame or dislike for his birth name.
All of the energy directed toward name-retrieval should more be directed toward culture-retrieval. Ask people what they have done to help their hometown, their mother, their brothers and sisters, their cousins, their country. What cultural values have the person retained, practiced, adopted? I forgive Nana Kwasea her unfortunate choice of name because of competent adoption and practice of Ghanaian artform.
Internal assimilation and expansion across than one culture is valuable, broadening a person's understanding of people. If a person becomes 'too British' abandoning all ties to his native culture then he may be reprimanded on this account -- but not on the mere external failure to retrieve his name.
To demand that people use only certain names is like demanding that people wear only certain types of clothes. The demands deal with external factors. The name is not the thing and clothes don't make the man.
Kwame Boachye,
New York.
The law and common sense
I have been following the trial of the two journalists of the Nigerian Guardian newspaper in the Talking Drums with great interest. I quite remember that this magazine predicted the reaction of the military to press criticisms and went further to admonish the Nigerian press in the dangerous step they took in throwing their weight behind a coup which had overthrown a lawfully constituted government.In any case, the obnoxious Decree No. 4 under which the poor journalists are being tried has been an eye-opener to all involved.
Chief Rotimi-Williams' submission made hilarious reading as it questioned the common sense in the decree which was made basically to silence all journalists. It is sad that it has all come to this because if the previous attitude of the military on such matters is anything to go by then we must know that the journalists would be jailed.
Sam Alabi,
Tooting Bec, London.
Life style vetting in Ghana
The jailing of Nana Asirifi Brakatu for 8 years after being found guilty on three counts of dishonestly acquiring property by a Public Tribunal, chaired by Mr George Agyekum demonstrates that the relentless search for people whose known incomes cannot be reconciled with their lifestyle is on.This in itself cannot be condemned outright but one wonders whether the members of the PNDC and their supporters have declared their assets since assuming power over two years ago. My worry is that with the economic situation in the country as it is, and with most people known to be living beyond their means this important issue may be forgotten.
Kwame Ansah, Ilford.
Krobo Eduesi - an adulation
I know that Talking Drums is supposed to provide a forum for the airing of all types of views, but surely you must be overdoing it? I have read the article on 'Krobo Eduesi - An Appreciation' and to put it very mildly I am disgusted.You should not under the guise of accommodating all views peddle such total rubbish and an outright distortion of facts.
First of all, that article should have been called 'Krobo Eduesi - An Adulation'. The writer spoke about Krobo's loyalty to Kwame Nkrumah - anybody who was in Ghana after the coup of February 1966 will tell you that Krobo Eduesi was the most enthusiastic denouncer of Nkrumah. All those wild and as it turned out unsubstantiated allegations like trunk loads of gold bars having been sent to Cairo by Nkrumah were all from the imagination of Krobo who was ready to crucify anybody to save himself.
If the writer can find things to praise in the deportation of Shawcross and co. then it is a wonder that people were blaming Nkrumah for the repression of the CPP.
And so today, Krobo should be praised for being rich because he was generous, what about how he got his riches, doesn't that matter any more?
Such wholehearted praises for a man who acquired more than 30 houses through dubious means in public office does the concept of civilian rule no good and reflects badly on Talking Drums for providing the space for it.
Kwaku Obimpeh, London.
