Kusaal Folktales: Communicative Tools for Preserving Indigenous Cultural Values in Ghanaian Marriages

Abstract

Among the Kusaas of Ghana, folktales convey messages that touch on every aspect of the socio-cultural and socio-economic lives of the people. This study discusses the use of folktales to communicate didactic messages on marriage and peaceful social cohesion. The study argues that the folktales of the Kusaas are used to communicate clear societal norms that are meant to guide people on how to choose spouses and how to relate to one another as couples in times of difficulty. They also present culturally defined roles of men and women in marriage and the influence of parents, chiefs, and other opinion-leaders in decision-making relating to marriage. Lessons drawn from the folktales are meant to enhance peaceful co-existence between couples and among other community members. These serve as indigenous ways of curbing unacceptable behaviours that can cause serious misunderstanding.

Acknowledgements

This project was funded by CUSP: Culture for Sustainable and Inclusive Peace Network Plus. CUSP is funded via UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) as part of the UK Government’s Global Fund (GCRF) and their support is gratefully acknowledged.

Supplemental Material

Supplementary material for this article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1080/0015587X.2024.2347731.

Notes

1 Detailed discussion of the language and its speakers appears in a subsequent section.

2 This information was sourced from the following: Ghana Statistical Service, ‘Ghana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS2017/18), Survey Findings Report’, Accra, 2018, https://statsghana.gov.gh/gssmain/fileUpload/pressrelease/MICS%20SFR%20final_compressed.pdf; Ghana Health Service, ‘Adolescent Health Service Policy and Strategy 2016–2020’, https://www.afro.who.int/publications/adolescent-health-service-policy-and-strategy-2016-2020; and ‘Teenage Pregnancy Surge as Upper East Region Records 6,533 Cases’, Myjoy Online, 18 May 2021, https://www.myjoyonline.com/teenage-pregnancy-surge-as-upper-east-region-records-6533-cases/.

3 Kasem is a language spoken by a group of people who call themselves the Kasena. The language is spoken in the Upper East Region of Ghana and also in Burkina Faso.

4 The Bulsas are another ethnic group from the Upper East Region of Ghana.

5 All the stories mentioned here are shared in full alongside the original-language versions in the Supplementary Material of the online edition of this article.

6 Numbers in all the stories correspond to parallel lines in the original Kusaal folktales, available in the Supplementary Material online.

7 The last three sentences are created from the suggestions of an anonymous reviewer.

8 This comment was given by one of the anonymous reviewers.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hasiyatu Abubakari

Hasiyatu Abubakari (PhD) is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana and a Research Associate at the School of Languages and Literatures, Rhodes University, South Africa. Her research focuses on grammars of minority Ghanaian languages, popular culture, onomastics, and folklore.

Adwoa Sikayena Amankwah

Adwoa Sikayena Amankwah (PhD) is a Senior Lecturer in Communication Science and the Head of the Communication Studies Department at the University of Professional Studies, Accra, Ghana. Her research areas intertwine communication, language, media, and society.

Abigail Opoku Mensah

Abigail Opoku Mensah is an Associate Professor in Industrial and Organizational Psychology, University of Professional Studies, Accra, Ghana. Her research centres on individual behaviour and change in both formal and informal settings.