Yebisa Wo Fie: growing old and building a house in the Akan Culture of Ghana.
'House' (ofie) in the Akan culture of Ghana is the most common metonym for people living together. Mefie (my house) means 'my family'. A house is someone's identity, it is a sign of security and happiness. A house is the concretisation of social relations and the sentiments accompanying them. A house, not least of all, is a status symbol. Building a house is building a powerful symbol. A house is something to which people attach some of the most cherished virtues of their culture: respect, love, memory, 'home' and beauty. In this article, building a house is seen as one of the most important achievements in a person's life. It provides elderly people with respect and security. The article is based on anthropological research in the rural Ghanaian town of Kwahu-Tafo.
van der Geest
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Anthropological-Sociological Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. vandergeest@pscw.uva.nl