Marriage and courtship

My nephew got married yesterday, and it got me thinking about marriage in Ghana. Contrary to what people think, Ghanaian families are stable. The men take pride in their virility and seldom abandon their children, which is not to say it never happens. Men do stray on occasion, and recently, women too. I object to either sex straying, but culturally, marital infidelity is not an acceptable reason for breaking up. In fact breaking up is strongly discouraged, unless your life is in danger.

The best way to court a Ghanaian girl is to go to her house and meet her parents. This immediately tells them your intentions are good. There's nothing they hate more than a horny man skulking outside their home. Of course, it makes things a bit difficult if you want some privacy. Here's a song by one of my favorite artists, Ofori Amponsah entitled "You're my Cinderella." You'll see an example of how a Ghanaian parent reacts to a man chasing her daughter. Wishing the newlyweds a long and happy marriage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U0qMboaCGY

Auctioning virginity

I normally don't watch Tyra, but in-between Wimbledon and commercials, I flicked there. I was just in time to see two lovely college girls who wanted to auction their virginity. A man was prepared to pay $3 million for one girl. Wow. I honestly don't understand how any woman can do that. In Memoirs of a Geisha, Sayuri's virginity was auctioned. I felt sorry for her when she had to submit to that weirdo of a doctor slipping his 'eel' into her without foreplay.

There was a time where Ghanaian men wanted to marry only virgins. Now, there are songs like

Ashawo maame
wo ara na me do wo

Whore mama
You're the only one I love.

The song goes on to describe what the man feels sliding into her, how she feels like tuo za fi, a dish eaten by people of northern Ghana, a slippery soft mush eaten with okra soup. What a long we've come. Now, an intelligent woman has no qualms about selling her virginity. I can't help feeling a profound sadness. Whatever happened to love?

Here's the song, titled "Rakia", the object of the songwriter's love:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svns8BMSIhU