THE HANDSHAKE

More than a symbol of greeting, this elaborate meeting of palms, thumbs and forefingers begins as a regular handshake then.

Before the two people withdraw hands, their palms slide together until their middle fingers are touching and then they turn their hands so that the palms are glimpsed before bringing together thumb and forefinger for the signature click at the end.

A handshake to symbolize friendship and ease can be confusing at first, but it is simple, fun and is a great indicator of showing good spirit and familiarity to a fellow human.

THE LEFT HANDED INSULT

Never hand anything to anyone with your left hand, unless you want to deeply offend them. Traditionally, before the advent of the toilet and toilet paper, you used your left hand to clean yourself after obeying a call of nature, and your right hand was reserved for eating food and interacting with others. 

Therefore to show anyone apart from a sworn enemy your right hand is to deeply offend someone to the point of anger. Take care!

COMING UP WITH NEW WORDS

Sometimes English just won’t do and Ghanaians like to invent their own, more practical words and phrases. Two such ones are ‘traffigator’, an amalgamation of ‘traffic’ and ‘indicator’ as is used on a car and with an inserted ‘g’ for good measure.

Another car-related word is ‘boganiser’ which, in Ghana, is the correct way we think ‘vulcaniser’ should be spoken. If you need new air for your tyres and go asking for a ‘vulcaniser’, the best of luck to you!

KEEPING THE DEAD

Usually when a person dies, the body is buried within a couple of weeks, the family say goodbye and at the funeral people bring food and refreshments. 

This isn’t the case within some Christian tribes of Ghana who can leave loved ones in cold storage for up to a year and, in the most famous case in the country, five years, in order to prepare and save money for the funeral.

Funerals are lavish affairs where the deceased’s family spend an inordinate amount of money to feed and entertain large numbers of people, therefore indicating how important the person was in life.