Talk:Akan name

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[edit] Day name

I had started the article day name before I found this article.

It seems to me the concept is broader than Akan

Suggestion:

• we have an article on day name for the general concept
• also a more details article entitled "Akan (or Ashanti?) day names"

Also, please look at the article on R.S.Rattray, which they are trying to get deleted!

Johnbibby 18:10, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Start

Nice article, kwami! I had noticed many of the same day names in Ewe, too — as it's so clearly a regional phenomenon, are you sure that those names originally are from Akan? The days of the week in Ewe, if I remember them right, are: Dzóɖa-gbe (monday), ... (tuesday doesn't come up), Kúɖa-gbe (wednesday), Yawoɖa-gbe (thursday), Fiɖa-gbe (friday), Memleɖa-gbe (saturday), Kwasiɖa-gbe (sunday). I'd have to look this up, but it might be possible, likely even, that we're looking at cognates from Kwa (or a subgrouping on a less deep level) here. — mark ✎ 20:04, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

On a sidenote, I've been thinking some time now that something should be done about the blatant systemic bias in Given name and (to a lesser extent) Personal name... — mark ✎ 20:04, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Thanks. I always thought these were fun.

Yes, something should be done, but that's quite a bit to tackle!

No, I'm not sure the names are originally Akan. That's only what the sources I've read have said (none of them scholarly, except partially for one treatise I read while in Ghana, which might have been biased). However, while the Fon use the 'Akan' personal names, with a somewhat different pronunciation than in Ewe, their weekday names are quite different. Not counting Arab borrowings, they're Tue gùzán-gbè (day of gǔ, vodun of iron), Wed azǎnga-gbe (long day), Thur ñònúzán-gbè (women's day), Fri axÓzúzán(-gbè) (day of the king) or mexózán ("le jour des grands"), Sat (Arabic only), Sun vodún-gbè (vodun day), Mon (Arabic only). Also, some peoples in Ghana have different personal names commemorating the day of birth, so it's not universal even in Ghana.

What would probably answer the question is finding whether the 'Akan' names mean something in Akan. Do the Ewe day names mean anything in Ewe? If not, it's likely they're borrowings. Since the 7-day week is only a couple centuries old in West Africa (a 3-day week (or, as said in Fon, a "4-day week") is still in effect through most of Benin), the names should still be transparent if they're original to a language. I suspect that 'Vodun Day' in Fon is a calque of 'Lord's Day', for example. It would be interesting to know the Fon word for Mars; I wouldn't be surprised if it has something to do with forging iron, thus explaining Tuesday as well. (This is what happened in Japanese. The 7-day week was introduced from Europe, and the Japanese calqued the names. Tuesday (Marsday) ended up being kayō-bi 'Fireday', because Mars is kasei 'Firestar'.) I seriously doubt a 7-day week can be traced back to *Kwa, though it would be fascinating if I were wrong.

BTW, I'm up for admin, if you're interested in voting: Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Kwamikagami (I don't have to kiss any babies, do I?) kwami 21:09, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

I have looked at the name Kwadwo and the meaning of it, but not at the others. From what I could find out, it comes from the deity Dwo/Adwo/Awo. She is a moon goddess, which of course fits with Monday or Moon-day. All days are ascribed to different deities, but I don't know if they all fit with the Greek/Norse models of gods. The article "Forty Days; The Akan Calendar" by Philip F.W. Bartle at http://www.scn.org/rdi/kw-40.htm might be a good starting point when talking about the 7 day week in Akan tradition.70.253.67.146 07:44, 14 October 2006 (UTC)

Hmm. Friday (afi) "fertility day" is a good match for Venus, so perhaps the Akan did calque the European day names. kwami 09:07, 2 November 2007 (UTC)