Modernity v. Tradition

Last Wednesday, my classmates and I visited an art gallery that featured a collection of works by a Ghanaian artist named Cornelius Annor. His paintings explored scenes of vibrant every day life while encompassing the past and the present by representing a sort of dialogue between older & younger generations. This goes hand-in-hand with our class discussions on multiculturalism in Ghana, as there has been a battle, in a way, between generations regarding what is “acceptable” in Ghanaian culture.

~one of Cornelius Annor’s paintings

Ghanaian culture is inherently multifaceted. When Ghana gained its independence from British colonialism in 1957, it was established that the country would be a secular nation, as Christianity, Islam, and African Traditional Religions were all very prevalent. However, the colonial footprint wasn’t erased with Ghana’s independence, of course. Many cultural norms that colonialism introduced to Ghana are still very much accepted today, whether it’s concerning religion, women’s rights, or the LGBTQ community, to name a few. Generally, Ghanaian elders are very conservative when it comes to these issues, whereas the younger generations are more liberal.

An example of these stark cultural disparities lies in an experience I had on Friday visiting a mosque. Just to preface the story and for context, there is a cultural expectation in Ghana to always use your right hand when interacting with people, especially elders, teachers, community leaders, etc. Using your left hand is seen as disrespectful. However, one of our professors informed us that this belief is dying out and most people in Ghana today really don’t care what hand you use in their presence. So, flash-forward to the mosque: Our class was talking to the Imam (comparable to a preacher in Christianity) and when we were finished, he wanted to give us all Qur’ans as a gift. When he handed me my Qur’an, I mindlessly extended my left hand to take it from him, and he gasped and pulled his hand back before I could grab the Qur’an. I immediately realized the mistake I had made and extended my right hand, and he offered the Qur’an again. This is just a small example, but I think it shows how passionate many Ghanaian elders are about preserving their cultural norms.

Something that the younger generations have been trying to get across in their battle for contemporaneity is that many of these cultural traditions, norms, and practices that Ghanaians hold so dear to them are derived directly from colonialism, which obviously is not interested in the well-being of Ghanaian communities. Colonialism existed as a means to control and exploit Ghanaian resources, while simultaneously destroying traditional ethnic and cultural loyalties, which was a very important aspect of pre-colonial Ghana, among other things. So, how can Ghanaians reclaim aspects of their traditional African religions and societies without completely overturning most of the values deemed central to Ghanaian life and culture? And is it even possible to keep those values when trying to liberate a whole society from a colonial mindset? These are some of the questions young Ghanaian activists are trying to tackle and, so far, it has been very eye-opening speaking with community members about these issues.