Roughly, about three million people speak the unique Ewe language, with many skilled in weaving the Kente cloth, a skill they learned during enslavement by the Akans. They have an honestly unique culture and skills that make them well-known in Ghana and deserving of acknowledgment worldwide. The following highlights capture the things one ought to know about the Ewe people, their language, family life, naming culture and other facts.
1. The Ewe have a strong sense of family
The founder of each Ewe community is actually the chief, a man who is succeeded by his sons or male relatives. Many of the Ewe can trace their paternal ancestors all the way to their original family villages where they came from. Extended families, especially, are important to the Ewe. The smallest familial division is the hut, made of a man, his wife or wives, and their unmarried children, but family members are honored all the way up to the chief of the village.
2. Ewe weavers create a type of kente cloth
This they learned from the Akans, as well as a unique fabric called adanudo. Adanudo features bright, rich colors and pictures, often on silk, rayon, or cotton. They cover subjects like livestock, horses, humans, stools, hats, plants, and domestic objects. They are often quite realistic and lovely. Their cloth is very similar to Asante kente cloth, with symmetric interplay of weft thread, creating a speckled effect. The Ewe use the word ‘kete’ to describe the weaving motions of their feet.
3. Their chiefs have an interesting code of behavior and ethics
While elected by consensus, the chiefs have strict behavior standards that they are expected to observe. These standards range from predictable to unusual ones. They must keep their heads covered in public; along with that, they can not be seen drinking. The chief is considered the voice for the people to the ancestors and must therefore always be in a clear state of mind and ready to delve into the world of the ancestors. In addition to that, the chiefs are not even allowed to see a corpse’s face or touch a corpse, though they may lead the funeral if the corpse is already buried or in a coffin. The chief even has a special stool that he sits on, painted black and meant just for him.
4. The Ewe know how to throw a party
They throw many festivals throughout the year, one of the largest being Hogbetsotso. The Hogbetsotso Festival is held on the first Saturday in November in the Volta area. It features a large gathering of citizens and important chiefs. It is the ‘festival of the Exodus,’ held to celebrate the escape of the Anlo Ewes from King Agokoli in Togo. All of the chiefs are dressed in their finest regal clothing and prepared to receive honor from others. There is dancing, drumming, and drinks in celebration. See Also: 10 Interesting Facts About Ghana
5. Ghana’s Ewe people find great significance in naming their children
Each child receives a name with great meaning, either signifying the spirituality of the parents or the time and circumstances of the child’s birth. Their name scheme also refers to the day of the week that the child arrived and, there are very few single-sex names for the Ewe. The ‘day of the week’ name is temporary. Much like many Native American tribes in North America, a child’s real name can only be figured out after the child’s personality develops. Their birth date name may be their main name, even after a real name is chosen. The given name is used most often on legal and formal documents. In case of repeated names, suffixes such as -ga (meaning big) or -vi (meaning little) are added in giving names for clear identification purposes. The Ewe people represent an incredibly complex subset of Ghana’s culture. They have their own unique way of life and hold strongly to their ancestors and their rituals. Though patrilineal, they find great significance and importance with their family and lineage. They have put up with much strife and suffering over the years; despite this, the Ewe are truly growing as one of Ghana’s foremost ethnic groups. Be it through naming, religion, or family groups, there is little that is not fascinating about the Ewe people of Ghana.
