Ghana: Gadangmes Asked to Save Their Heritage, Language

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Ghana: Gadangmes Asked to Save Their Heritage, Language

Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra)
Ghanaian Chronicle - Online : The current time is 11:00:30 PM on 6/25/2008
November 7, 2006
Posted to the web November 7, 2006

Naa Norley

A FORMER Pro Vice Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba
has called on GaDangmes to start being innovative in order to save
their heritage.

The Professor, Jonas Akpanglo-Nartey noted that the culture of the
GaDangmes was being lost while " our indigenous language is dying off".

Prof. Akpanglo-Nartey was delivering this year's Fifth Nene Azu Mate
Korle-Ako Adjei Memorial lecture in Accra.

The lecture, organised by the GaDangme Students Association of the
University of Ghana, Legon was on the theme, "Greater Accra has become
cosmopolitan- Is this a blessing or a curse to indigenous GaDangmes
and culture?".

Prof. Akpanglo-Nartey said the inheritance of the GaDangmes was
rapidly dwindling, "our children are not doing well in school, and
subsequently, in life, stressing that, " I am of the opinion that we
are doing something wrong - especially in not being unified".

He said as true GaDangmes citizens, " we must rise above the problems
and start being innovative in order to save our heritage" and called
on GaDangmes to unite simply because "there is strength in unity".

Prof. Akpanglo-Nartey said it was evident that " our own attitude is
our downfall. The GaDangmes have been a very proud people; the only
ones who were able to stop the further spread of the Asante Empire.
Yet we are losing it all, our language, our heritage".

He cited the Macmillan Atlas for Ghana 3rd Edition -1987- "showing on
page 22 that the Asante Empire in the 19th century- which includes
almost all the South. But the GaDangmes people were never dominated by
the Asantes" and asked for the whereabouts of the great warriors of
the GaDangmes.

Prof. Akpanglo-Nartey touched on many issues involving the GaDangmes
including the GaDangme culture, language, naming conventions,
clan/family names, about God, puberty, marriage, inheritance, death
and burial.

Mr. Peter Ala Adjetey, who chaired the function, noted that GaDangmes
would continue to lag behind if the youth were not encouraged to take
education seriously.

He said the GaDangmes area was endowed with natural resources but
protracted chieftaincy disputes were drawing the Region backwards and
appealed to the Chiefs of the area not to mortgage their legacies by
selling out the lands of the Region.

Mr. Ala Adjetey, a former Speaker of Parliament, asked the GaDangmes
to respect their Chiefs and to stand firmly behind them.

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