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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The family and traditional food security system of the Kasena-Nankana of the Upper East region of Ghana
Author:Awedoba, A.K.ISNI
Year:1994
Periodical:African Anthropology (ISSN 1024-0969)
Volume:1
Issue:1-2
Period:December
Pages:77-86
Language:English
Geographic term:Ghana
Subjects:Kasena
food policy
food production
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment
Abstract:Traditionally the Kasena-Nankana, who inhabit the Upper East Region of Ghana, specialized in grain cultivation. A high percentage of their diet was grain based - millet or sorghum. A variety of minor crops filled the gaps created each year by periods of grain deficiency. These included corn, rice, hibiscus seeds, beans and peas, groundnuts, root crops, and vegetables. Livestock and poultry, though not reared for domestic consumption, were consumed on specific occasions such as rituals, thus providing meat. The wild was also a source of food, both animal and vegetable, notably the products of the shea nut tree and the locust bean tree. Traditionally, food production was viewed as a joint effort involving adults and children, men and women, on the basis of a division of labour. Households had a measure of independence in the production, distribution and consumption of food. Food gifts were exchanged daily between closely related households. There were also occasions, such as funeral celebrations or harvest feasts, when food was prepared on a grand scale and made available to others outside the minimal lineage. Aspects of the traditional food security system of the Kasena-Nankana still exist. At the same time there are some evident changes and these have meant the further impoverishment of vulnerable groups such as the aged and those without access to enough farmland. Bibliogr., sum.
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