Basic 8 · Ghanaian Language · Puberty Rites
Puberty Rites, Tones and Narrating Daily Activities, and Reading Longer Texts
In this topic you will identify the processes involved in performing puberty rites in your culture, recognise the tones of your language while narrating daily activities, and read extended texts for main ideas.
By the end of these notes you should be able to:
- Identify the processes involved in puberty rites
- Identify and produce the basic tones of your language
- Narrate daily activities using suitable language
- Identify the main ideas in an extended text
What you already know
- Customs and rites of passage
- Vowels and reading for main ideas
Copy everything that has a blue line on its left into your notebook. The other parts are for reading.
Lesson 1
- Strand
- Customs & Institutions
- Sub-strand
- Puberty Rites
- Indicator
- B8.1.1.1.1 – Identify the processes involved in performing puberty rites in your culture
Introduction
In many Ghanaian communities, the change from child to adult is marked by a ceremony. Puberty rites prepare young people, especially girls, for the responsibilities of adulthood.
1. What Are Puberty Rites?
Puberty rites: Ceremonies that mark the passage of a young person from childhood into adulthood.
Puberty rites are rites of passage, like naming ceremonies, marriage and funerals. They are usually performed for girls after their first menstruation, or at a set age. They teach the young person about womanhood or manhood, marriage, family life, respect and good behaviour.
2. Bragoro among the Akan
- When a girl has her first menstruation, her mother informs the queen mother or an elderly woman.
- The news is announced, often by beating a gong.
- The girl is taken to a riverside or a place for ritual bathing.
- She sits on a white stool and may be shaved and dressed in white cloth and beads.
- She is given a boiled egg to swallow without biting it, showing that she should not destroy her children, and a meal of mashed yam.
- Older women teach her about marriage, hygiene and good character.
- The community celebrates with drumming, singing and gifts.
3. Dipo among the Krobo
The Krobo of the Eastern Region perform Dipo, usually around March or April, at towns such as Odumase and Somanya. Girls are guided by a priestess and older women. Their heads are shaved, they are bathed ritually, and they sit briefly on a sacred stone, which is believed to show whether they have been chaste. They wear rich beads, learn domestic skills and finally dance Klama before the community as young adults.
4. Puberty Rites for Boys
Fewer Ghanaian communities hold formal rites for boys, but some teach boys through hunting, farming and work with men. In some northern communities, boys may go through initiation, and in others the Asafo company teaches them responsibility. The purpose is the same: to prepare the young person for adult duties.
New words
- puberty rites
- Ceremonies marking the passage into adulthood.
- Bragoro
- The Akan puberty rite for girls.
- Dipo
- The Krobo puberty rite for girls.
- chaste
- Having no sexual relations.
Summary
- Puberty rites mark the passage from childhood to adulthood.
- Bragoro and Dipo include announcement, ritual bathing, teaching and celebration.
- The rites teach girls and boys the duties and values of adult life.
Class activity: Rites Role Play
- Ask elders about the puberty rites in your community.
- List the stages in order.
- Explain each stage to the class in your Ghanaian language.
You need: Printed photographs of local puberty rites, Traditional cloth sample, Beads
Exercises
Answer in your exercise book first, then check your answers.
1. The Akan puberty rite for girls is called…
- A. Bragoro
- B. Dipo
- C. Homowo
- D. Odwira
Show answer
Answer: BragoroAkan rite.2. Dipo is performed by the…
- A. Krobo
- B. Fante
- C. Dagomba
- D. Ewe of Anlo
Show answer
Answer: KroboEastern Region.3. Puberty rites are rites of passage.
- A. True
- B. False
Show answer
Answer: TrueLife stage.4. During Bragoro, the girl swallows a boiled ______ without biting it.
Show answer
Answer: eggSymbol.5. List four stages of a puberty rite.
Show answer
Answer: Announcement, ritual bathing, teaching by older women, celebration.Any four.6. Why is the girl taught by older women during the rite?
Show answer
Answer: They pass on knowledge about marriage, hygiene and good character to prepare her for adulthood.Teaching.
Lesson 2
- Strand
- Listening & Speaking
- Sub-strand
- Conversation
- Indicator
- B8.2.1.1.1 – Develop and modify their language in narrating some selected daily activities
Introduction
In Ghanaian languages, the way your voice rises and falls can change the meaning of a word. These changes in pitch are called tones.
1. What Is Tone?
Tone: The pitch of the voice on a syllable, which can change the meaning of a word.
Twi, Ewe, Ga, Dagbani and most other Ghanaian languages are tone languages. English uses pitch to show feelings or questions, but in a tone language, pitch can create a completely different word. Twi has two basic tones: high and low.
2. Tone and Meaning (Twi)
| Word | Tones | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| papa | low-high | father |
| papa | high-high | good |
| papa | low-low | a hand fan |
The three words are spelt alike, but speakers tell them apart through tone. In writing, context usually shows which word is meant. Listen to elders and repeat the words until you hear the difference.
3. Tone and Talking Drums
Talking drums show how important tone is. The two atumpan drums are tuned high and low, so the drummer can imitate the tones of Twi speech. Listeners who know the language can understand the messages, proverbs and praise names that the drums "speak".
4. Narrating Daily Activities
When you narrate your daily activities, use time words and the correct verb forms. In Twi you might say: "Anɔpa biara, mesɔre nnɔnsia. Mepra fie, na afei mekɔ sukuu." (Every morning, I wake up at six o'clock. I sweep the house, and then I go to school.) Speak clearly, using the correct tones, and change your language to suit your listener: more formal for an elder, more relaxed for a friend.
New words
- tone
- The pitch of the voice on a syllable.
- tone language
- A language in which pitch changes meaning.
- syllable
- A unit of a word with one vowel sound.
- narrate
- To tell what happened.
Summary
- Tone is the pitch of the voice, and it can change the meaning of a word.
- Twi has high and low tones, as in the three meanings of "papa".
- Narrate daily activities using time words, correct tones and suitable register.
Class activity: Tone Practice
- Say pairs of words that differ only in tone.
- Your partner points to the meaning they heard.
- Narrate your morning routine to your partner in your language.
You need: Printed photographs of familiar Ghanaian settings, Printed dialogue cards, Locally made puppets
Exercises
Answer in your exercise book first, then check your answers.
1. Twi has how many basic tones?
- A. two
- B. five
- C. seven
- D. ten
Show answer
Answer: twoHigh and low.2. Talking drums imitate…
- A. the tones of speech
- B. bird songs
- C. the sound of rain
- D. car horns
Show answer
Answer: the tones of speechAtumpan.3. Changing tone can change a word's meaning.
- A. True
- B. False
Show answer
Answer: TrueTone language.4. A unit of a word with one vowel sound is a ______.
Show answer
Answer: syllableWord part.5. Give three meanings of "papa" in Twi.
Show answer
Answer: Father, good and a hand fan.Tone.6. Why can written Twi be understood without tone marks?
Show answer
Answer: The context of the sentence usually shows which word is meant.Context.
Lesson 3
- Strand
- Reading
- Sub-strand
- Reading
- Indicator
- B8.3.1.1.1 – Understand the main ideas and supporting points in a range of extended texts on familiar and unfamiliar topics
Introduction
Longer texts have several main ideas, one in each paragraph. To understand them, read section by section and note what each part is about.
1. Strategies for Longer Texts
- Read the title and predict what the text is about.
- Read the whole text once for general meaning.
- Read each paragraph and state its main idea in a few words.
- Note supporting points under each main idea.
- Join the main ideas to see the writer's overall message.
2. Reading Passage (translated from a Ghanaian-language text)
"Weaving is an old craft in our town. In the past, nearly every family had a member who wove cloth. Fathers taught their sons from a young age, and the sound of the looms could be heard from morning till evening.
The cloth was not only for wearing. Each pattern had a name and a meaning. People chose certain patterns for funerals, for marriages and for greeting chiefs. In this way, cloth became a way of speaking without words.
Today, fewer young people want to weave. Many have gone to the cities to look for work, and cheap printed cloth has taken over the market. Yet some weavers are teaching their skills to tourists, and young designers are using woven strips in modern fashion. The old craft may yet find a new life."
3. Main Ideas of the Passage
| Paragraph | Main idea | Supporting points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | weaving is an old craft of the town | every family wove; fathers taught sons |
| 2 | cloth carries meaning | patterns have names; used for occasions |
| 3 | the craft faces change | youth leave; printed cloth; tourists and designers bring hope |
4. Overall Message
Together, the main ideas show the writer's overall message: weaving is a meaningful tradition that is under threat but may survive by adapting. Finding this message helps you answer questions and write summaries.
New words
- extended text
- A long piece of writing.
- overall message
- The main point of a whole text.
- craft
- A skill of making things by hand.
- pattern
- A repeated design.
Summary
- Read longer texts section by section, noting each paragraph's main idea.
- Supporting points explain each main idea.
- Joining main ideas reveals the overall message.
Class activity: Paragraph Headings
- Read a longer passage in your Ghanaian language.
- Write a short heading for each paragraph.
- State the overall message in one sentence.
You need: Ghanaian-language storybook, Printed main-idea cards, Exercise books, Pencils
Exercises
Answer in your exercise book first, then check your answers.
1. Who taught sons to weave?
- A. their fathers
- B. their teachers
- C. tourists
- D. chiefs
Show answer
Answer: their fathersParagraph 1.2. According to the passage, cloth became…
- A. a way of speaking without words
- B. useless
- C. only for tourists
- D. a kind of food
Show answer
Answer: a way of speaking without wordsParagraph 2.3. Fewer young people want to weave today.
- A. True
- B. False
Show answer
Answer: TrueParagraph 3.4. A skill of making things by hand is a ______.
Show answer
Answer: craftHandwork.5. State two reasons why weaving is declining.
Show answer
Answer: Young people go to the cities, and cheap printed cloth has taken over.Paragraph 3.6. What is the overall message of the passage?
Show answer
Answer: Weaving is a meaningful tradition under threat, but it may survive by adapting.Message.
Homework
- Write the steps of a puberty rite in your community in your Ghanaian language.
- Collect three word pairs in your language that differ by tone.