The Impact Of Christianity On Traditional Naming Ceremony In The New Juaben Traditional Area

Abstract

The developmental stages of human life experience have been earmarked by rites of passage that represent crucial facets in the cultural outlook and make-up every society. These rites of passage include birth and childhood rites (naming ceremony), puberty, marriage and death rites. The Akan like every other society practises the naming ceremony in a way that reflects their cultural values, beliefs and traditions. Unfortunately, this culturally engineered practices have posed an ethico-religious dilemma regarding the ideal naming ceremony approach for an African Akan Christian. This study was conducted to examine the impact of Christianity on traditional naming ceremony in the New Juaben Traditional Area. A qualitative approach where the researcher played the role of an insider-outsider was adopted to explore the impact of Christianity on Akan traditional naming ceremony. This research methodology allowed the study to gather data from the opinions of interviewees within two religious factions through an interview session. Interviewees include chiefs, linguists, elders, queen mothers, parents who are traditional people and members from the Christian community (pastors and parents). Findings of the study highlighted that marriage is a pre-requisite feature for people living in an African Akan setting to name their children. The study revealed that Akan naming rituals of new-borns does not only usher the child into the world as a human but also enables the child to be accepted as member of the family, clan and community at large. The study indicated that naming ceremony from the Christian perspective highlights a biblical responsible of human to give names to God’s creation. The study revealed that inasmuch as making a decision for humans naturally revolves around a sociocultural context, for Christians, the laws of God take precedence. The study found out some shared similarities such as the reason of naming a child and acknowledging that the father is the one who provides the officiant with the name of the child. However, the differences have to do with the use of alcohol and pouring of libation which the Christians consider as fetish, hence, morally wrong. The traditional people highlighted that the way they practise their naming ceremonies has nothing to do with idol worship, hence, all aspects of the naming ritual is justifiable and right. The study found out that Christianity has impacted Akan traditional naming ceremony in ways such as timing of naming ritual, traditional familial roles, naming rituals and emblems and the type of name given to the child. The study found out that the traditional people in the event of the cultural changes have been resilient in their cultural practice of the Akan naming ceremony.