HISTORICAL KNOWLEGE BEHIND NAMING IN THE LAND OF AHANTA
"Dumadele" as it is called locally in the Ahanta language is largely viewed as a very significant activity since the birth of a person serves as the first point of contact into this physical world. The priority attached to this rite is manifested in the christening of the new born baby. Ahantas are of the firm belief that names adduced to a new born baby serve as his/her divine identity throughout his/her stay on the surface of the earth. The art of naming in the land of Ahanta is strictly patriarchal in terms of performance; names are strictly chosen from the patrilineal lineage of the man.Purposefully, this is done to avoid the likely extinction of names within the family. Furthermore, this is to ensure some level of balance in the ownership over the child; the outright ownership ascribed to the mother owing to the practice of the matrilineal system is balanced out by the right to name the child by the father.
