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Kinship and Change in Kumasi, Ghana

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Kinship and Change in Kumasi, Ghana Legacies: Kinship and Change in Kumasi, Ghana By Carmen Asha Nave A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology University of Toronto © Copyright Carmen Nave 2015 Legacies: Kinship and Change in Kumasi Ghana Carmen Asha Nave Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology University of Toronto 2015 Abstract This study situates current kinship and inheritance practices among the matrilineal Asante within an analysis of cultural and legal change. Based on 18 months of fieldwork in Kumasi, Ghana, I analyze matrilineal kinship and marriage by considering the ways in which ongoing kin relations influence inheritance decision-making in conjunction with broadly shared notions of custom or law. I critically examine a supposed schism between “traditional” and “modern” inheritance to show various points of convergence between past and present notions of inheritance and kinship. I show that people incorporate the principles of both state inheritance law and local custom in multiple ways, not just to distribute property during decision-making about inheritance, but to assign responsibility for the care of the sick or of children and to distribute the funeral debts. In contemporary Ghana, the period of inheritance decision- making is a time when profound ethical ambiguities in kinship and social relations become apparent. To understand how inheritance is changing, I argue that analysts need to discard assumptions that matrilineal kinship and marriage is inherently harmful to women as well as assumptions about the progressive nature of social change. Instead, I argue that inheritance is an emergent process that combines both general cultural knowledge and the particular knowledge of a deceased individual’s life and relationships to produce decisions that assign responsibility and reform relations that have been disrupted by death. From this perspective, both the significant social changes to and ongoing vitality of matrilineal kinship and marriage become apparent. ii Acknowledgements This research was carried out with financial support in the form of doctoral fellowships from The Social Sciences Research Council of Canada and the Wenner Gren Foundation, as well as with financial support from the Department of Anthropology and the University of Toronto. Many people contributed to the success of the project, in particular the Ghanaians who agreed to give their time and consideration to me. In particular, the Social Sciences Department at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology provided me with an affiliation and paperwork that allowed me to extend my visas. The Asafohene of Kumasi gave me access to his court and permission to interview his okyeame (linguist). The Legal Aid Board of Kumasi also gave me access to their proceedings, interviews, and assisted me in various ways. These contributions are gratefully acknowledged. My research assistant, Stella Boatemaa Aninakwa, was a significant help. She translated, both during interviews and in later transcriptions. She also helped with my language learning and adjustments to life in Ghana, and was a source of thoughtful reflection on my research process. Of friends and individuals who assisted with research and life, there are too many to mention. Linda Mensah was a good friend and a significant help in many aspects of my research. Nana Owusu introduced me to the Asafohene’s court, and assisted me with the process of getting permission to attend. He also gave me several interviews, and took me to his home town. To these and other Ghanaians, I owe the sucesses of this project. The mistakes are my own. iii Table of Contents Abstract ....................................................ii Acknowledgements ..................................................iii Table of Contents ...................................................iv List of Appendices ...................................................vi Introduction ....................................................1 Kinship, law, and social change ....................................................4 Claiming inheritance, claiming kinship ..................................................12 Chapter summaries ..................................................24 Chapter 1: Being and Belonging in Kumasi ..................................................29 Part 1: Matriliny, kinship, and anthropology ..................................................31 The concept of “matriliny” ..................................................31 The critique and the new kinship studies ..................................................40 Part 2: Asante reconsidered ..................................................47 The Ashanti Social Survey and some implications ..................................................47 Fortes and McCaskie ..................................................53 Conclusion ..................................................73 Chapter 2: Living and Working in Kumasi ..................................................76 !Kumasi and change ..................................................77 Asasepa ..................................................80 Doing Research ..................................................83 Finding kinship in everyday life ..................................................92 Neighbourhood solidarities ..................................................98 Linda’s dispute ................................................112 Conclusion ................................................117 !Chapter 3: Marriage, Morality, and Change ................................................119 !Serwaa's dilemma ................................................121 !Marriage entanglements ................................................126 Extended and Companionate marriage ................................................132 Marriage ideals in opposition ................................................141 Marriage in the middle ................................................150 The status of wives ................................................157 !Conclusion ................................................163 !Chapter 4: Funerals ................................................166 !Asante funerals and change ................................................167 A note on the traditional/modern and ontology ................................................173 !Unpacking “funerals” ................................................175 !Public funeral events ................................................179 Less public funeral events ................................................185 !Funerals and customary marriage ................................................187 Becoming local ................................................198 Conclusion ................................................201 iv Chapter 5: Inheritance ................................................204 Akontabuo ................................................207 !PNDL 111 (1985) ................................................216 Succession and inheritance ................................................224 !Ethical Ambiguities ................................................233 Conclusion ................................................244 Chapter 6: Gender inequality ................................................247 “Custom” and kinship in the study of inheritance ................................................248 Negotiating inheritance ................................................254 Types of property and categorical claims ................................................255 Siblings, past relations, and righting wrongs ................................................263 Tacit approval and enforcing claims ................................................267 Understanding the “barriers” to women’s legal claims ...............................................273 !Widows’ experiences ................................................280 !Conclusion ................................................292 !Chapter 7: Conclusion ................................................294 !Social change and emergent structure ................................................295 !Kinship and Inheritance ................................................300 Women, equity, and inheritance ................................................304 !Glossary ................................................307 !Appendix A: Names and Abusua Kin Terms ................................................312 Appendix B: PNDC Law 111, Intestate Succession Law (1985).......................................314 !References Cited ................................................321 v List of Appendices Appendix A: Names and Abusua Kin Terms ................................................312 Appendix B: PNDC Law 111, Intestate Succession Law (1985)...........................................314 vi Introduction Recent literature has accumulated evidence to show that under economic changes brought about by contact with Western industrial nations, matrilineal descent groups gradually disintegrate. In their place, the elementary family eventually emerges as the key kinship group with respect to residence, economic cooperation, legal responsibility, and socialization. —(Gough 1961: 631) One could expect a traditional ritual, centred around the extended family and around beliefs about death and ancestorship, to reduce in importance under the influence of individualisation, urbanisation, the market economy, and Christianity. The
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