Fante Marriage, Kinship, Hospitality, and Christian-Muslim Relations in Ghana

Abstract

Hospitality is a value of service that is offered to the other person as a guest who could be a relative or a complete stranger. Among the Fante people, values of hospitality are also meant to forge alliances between individuals and families for the good of the general society. Based on social observation, couple interviews, and kin focus groups at eight towns, this paper discusses the complexities of marriage-based kin relations (affine relations) among the Fante people of Ghana. These relations arose out of mixed marriages between the couples’ Christian and Muslim families. It also examines the extent to which highly cherished hospitable virtues are maximized by marriage-based kin of Christian-Muslim families for the promotion of Christian-Muslim relations in communities.