Today, we are going to give you all the necessary information you need about the program outline for naming ceremony in Ghana.
There are a lot of Ghanaians out there who would love to know the program outline for naming ceremony and how to go about it. Naming ceremony can never be escaped in the uplift of a newly-born child.
In Ghana, before a child can be given a name, there are certain traditional rite that needs to be done — in a way of announcing the baby in the community officially.
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What Is Naming Ceremony?
In Ghana, a naming ceremony is occasionally done to give name to a child into the family. In marking the birth of the child into the family, this traditional rite is performed to give a name to the child a week after he or she is born.
In the presence of family members and their friends gathered, the naming ceremony rite is performed and led by an elderly in the family who will announce the name of the child with his or her surname attached as well.
In the Ghanaian tradition, most naming ceremonies are performed at dawn or early morning — a moment when the whether condition is fresh and this indicates that the newborn baby is innocent in all. During this, there is a drop of alcohol and water on the tongue of the baby — in seeking the baby to differentiate between the truth and the lie when being asked.
Ghanaian ethnical groups such as Ewe, Asante Twi, Akuapem Twi, Dagomba, Hausa, Mamprosi, Kosaasi, Gonja, Chumburu, Fante, Bono and others all have the way to perform their naming ceremony rite in Ghana — but the given below is the outline for naming ceremony program in Ghana.
Naming Ceremony Program Outline
In starting the naming ceremony program, the outline of program is very simple but very complicated in the Ghanaian tradition. These are the outlines below.
Prayer For The Ceremony
Before you can start a naming ceremony in Ghana, there is a special prayer that is said by the elder who is leading the program according to the ethnic group or language group.
A Welcome Address and Introduction
This happens when the elder leading the program welcomes the dignity personalities for being present at the naming ceremony gathering.
Reciting Stories
During a naming ceremony program, there are poems and stories recited by the elderly person who is leading the program. Usually, poems that are related to child birth are said by a family member or special guest invited.
Acknowledging Parents
During a naming ceremony program, there is an acknowledgement of the child’s mother and father — during their presence as recognition. Names of both parents are mentioned for all the special invited guests to know them.
Naming of the New Born Baby
There is a special personality assigned to mention the name for the child. This most at times happens when the guardian writes the name of a paper, give reason why that particular name is chosen and any other things.
There is English name given to the baby in addition with a surname from the family.
Special prayers and Traditional rites are performed
The family together with the invited guests perform special prayer for the baby, to seek God’s favour on the child to be a good boy or girl in the family.
Blessing The Child
What this moment means is that, there are positive words spoken unto the child’s life regarding what they wish they baby to become when he or she grows.
Signing The Naming Certificate
There is a religious person or an elder from the family to sign the naming certificate to present to the family officially. This shows that the child has been named and welcomed into a family.
Closing The Naming Ceremony
During the closing of the naming ceremony, there is a Closing Words And Prayer that are said and thank God for the life and strength to come so far — for the program.
Importance of naming ceremony in Ghana
Under the reasons why naming ceremony is important in your community, we bring you all the important reasons of naming ceremony in Ghana for you below.
In Ghana, children are considered to be a gift from God and same way applies to other parts of the world. In the life of the parents and the community at large, the birth of a child is therefore a very joyous and important occasion, and the naming ceremony is usually carried out with much celebration.
A baby naming ceremony is any event that is organised where the birth of a new born baby is celebrated with family members and friends. The parents of the new born baby tend to give their baby a survival or death prevention name which is believe to be capable of preventing the spirit of death in the family.
Naming ceremony marks your responsibility as parents and acknowledges the importance of grand-parents, relatives and friends in your child’s life.
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We shall give you more updates about other ceremonies in Ghana and how they are performed.