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FANTI, FANTE (Ghana)
(Thsi-Speakers, Tallensi, Akan, / ASHANTI, Fanti, Kokomba, (S)Isala, Ga, Ewe, Vagla, Krobo) According to Fanti customs, “[s]ometimes it happened, for personal reasons, that children were betrothed before they were mature; in such cases the boy’s parent maintained the girl in her father’s house and watched her, and was entitled to satisfaction if she were tampered with. When both had reached puberty the marriage was completed by cohabitation”(Ffoulkes, 1909)[1]. Christensen (1954:p99)[2] says that among the Fanti, the boy is censured for masturbation. Possibly as a result, in Apam, “masturbation among children is thought to be very rare, and believed to have no effect”. Girls are initiated at menarche[3], afterwards, the girl is “sold” into marriage, with no love involved.
Janssen, D. F., Growing Up Sexually. Volume I. World Reference Atlas. 0.2 ed. 2004. Berlin: Magnus Hirschfeld Archive for Sexology Last revised: Sept 2004 |
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