Wash, woman, wash!

When I was a child, I used to resent the fact that women had to wash twice a day, morning and evening. Men, on the other hand, didn't need to. The idea was that a woman received a man's sperm and, like any receptacle, her vagina needed to be emptied of the "unclean stuff". Of course, people no longer think like this, but still, a woman who doesn't wash twice a day is frowned on. I resented the implication that a woman was unclean. Nowadays though, I've come to enjoy bathing twice a day. Short of a massage, nothing feels better than a well-scrubbed, oiled and perfumed body, ummmm.

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

Want to play tennis in Ghana?

I don't know about you, but I've been riveted to the TV, watching the Wimbledon championships, enjoying my favorites: the Williams sisters. When they first burst on the scene, I was surprised to hear that tennis was considered a "white" sport. The most popular sport in Ghana and most countries is soccer or football. But the second most popular one is tennis. After work, most people head for the tennis courts and play until dark. Most of the courts used to be grass, but now there are lots of clay courts and some hard courts. On Saturdays and Sundays, people play in the mornings, followed by a long, leisurely brunch. Players drink beer as well and sit chatting in loud voices until about four when they start drifting home. In fact, about once a month or so, there's a party after the games where guests eat, drink and dance until late at night. In most clubs, the men seldom bring their wives, because, ahem, that's when girl-friends show up. Go figure!!

Wetting my feet

I'm new to blogging, but I'm going to do my best!

Last Saturday, my best male friend in Ghana got married. Good luck to him! I really like the bride. But you know what's funny? The wedding was yesterday although they were already married. Ghanaians are so funny. They do traditional marriages, called an "engagement", a rather elaborate and expensive ceremony unifying the two families. The man has to buy all kinds of things for the girl: clothes, ring, Bible, jewellry and booze for the family. That's marriage. But thanks to past British colonialism, Ghanaian girls don't feel properly married unless they've said I do the western way. Which is why half the time, the girls are pregnant at the altar, something that makes foreign missionaries frown--yikes, they had sex before marriage! Anyway, congratulations twice to the not-so-newly-weds!