Kwaku Kesse Akess

Anytime I hear people refer to this type of marriage as Engagement then my heart skills a beat. This isn't engagement but rather the REAL marriage. The Bible admonishes us to pay the bride price (dowry) to the parents of the bride. So upon the receipt of the bride price, the woman automatically becomes a wife. As per our Ghanaian marital laws, this is a recognized and legal marriage. When did marriage change into engagement these days? Engagement in the Akan language is called (Kɔkɔɔkɔ) "knocking". Knocking is when you are formally introducing yourself as the would-be husband to the would-be wife's family. This is the time, lists for the marriage, and dates are given out. With knocking in the Akan tradition, you usually go to the woman's family with either your parents or the head of your family. You present two bottles of Schnapps (pantu) and a small token in an envelope. So when did knocking (kɔkɔɔkɔ) transmogrified itself? We have maligned and denigrated our tr