Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T16:43:44.378Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Cocoa, Marriage, Labour and Land in Ghana: Some Matrilineal and Patrilineal Perspectives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 May 2011

Beatrice Akua Duncan
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

There is evidence to show that the institution of marriage, particularly customary law marriage, has served as an important framework for the extraction of conjugal labour as a factor in cocoa production since its introduction in the Gold Coast in 1879. This was necessitated by the abolition in 1874 of slavery and pawning, and the consequent need to replace an illegitimate and coercive system with a legitimate one. By virtue of a pre-existing customary obligation placed on women to assist their husbands in their economic pursuits, the marriage institution provided a basis for this transition. It has been argued, however, that some forms of economic relationship in Ghana revolve around expectations of reciprocity, and that human beings are not altogether altruistic in their dispensation of labour. Hence, women who provide labour support to their husbands expect to be rewarded with land or cocoa farms. In this article, I argue that the pivotal role of cocoa in the rural economy intensified the use of conjugal labour and the consequent expectation of land by wives from their husbands, resulting in a situation in which cocoa, marriage, labour and land rights eventually evolved as ‘institutional quadruplets’. Through case studies extracted from field work conducted in six communities in the Brong Ahafo, Western and Volta Regions of Ghana I demonstrate the continued interplay between these forces in modern times, and outline some policy-centred concerns for the future direction of the cocoa industry.

Des données montrent que l'institution du mariage, notamment le mariage en droit coutumier, a servi de cadre important pour l'extraction du travail conjugal en tant que facteur dans la production du cacao depuis son introduction sur la Côte de l'Or en 1879. Elle répondait à une nécessité après l'abolition de l'esclavage et de la mise en gage d’êtres humains en 1874, et au besoin qui en a résulté de remplacer un système illégitime et cœrcitif par un système légitime. En vertu d'une règle coutumière préexistante obligeant les femmes à prêter assistance à leurs époux dans l'exercice de leurs activités économiques, l'institution du mariage fournissait une base à cette transition. Certains soutiennent, cependant, que certaines formes de relations économiques au Ghana portent sur des attentes de réciprocité, et que l’être humain n'est pas entièrement altruiste dans l'exercice du travail. En conséquence, les femmes qui soutiennent leurs époux par leur travail attendent en retour d’être rémunérées en terres ou exploitations de cacao. L'article soutient que le rôle essentiel du cacao dans l’économie rurale a intensifié l'utilisation du travail conjugal et par là-même l'attente des femmes vis-à-vis de leurs époux sous la forme de terres, et a abouti à une situation dans laquelle le cacao, le mariage, le travail et les droits fonciers ont fini par former des « quadruplés institutionnels ». À travers des études de cas extraites de travaux de terrain menés auprès de six communautés des régions Brong Ahafo, Western et Volta au Ghana, l'article démontre l'interaction continue entre ces forces à l’époque moderne, et expose des inquiétudes (centrées sur la politique) sur l'orientation future de l'industrie du cacao.

Type
Research Articles
Information
Africa , Volume 80 , Issue 2 , May 2010 , pp. 301 - 321
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Abu, K. (1983) ‘The separateness of spouses: conjugal resources in an Ashanti town’ in Oppong, C. (ed.), Male and Female in West Africa. London: Allen and Unwin.Google Scholar
Admoako-Sarfoh, J. (1965) ‘The Development of Cocoa Farming in Brong Ahafo South (with Special Reference to the Migration of Farmers)’. MA thesis, Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon.Google Scholar
Admoako-Sarfoh, J. (1974) ‘Migrant Asante cocoa farmers and their families’ in Oppong, C. (ed.), Domestic Rights and Duties in Southern Ghana. Legon: Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana.Google Scholar
Allman, J. (2005) ‘Rounding up spinsters: gender chaos and unmarried women in colonial Asante’ in Cornwall, A. (ed.), Readings in Gender in Africa. Oxford: James Currey.Google Scholar
Allman, J. and Tashjian, V. (2000) ‘I Will Not Eat Stone’: a women's history of colonial Asante. Portsmouth NH, Oxford and Cape Town: Heinemann, James Currey and David Philip.Google Scholar
Amanor, K. S. (2001) ‘Land, labour and the family in southern Ghana: a critique of land policy under neo-liberalisation’. Research Report No. 116, Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Uppsala.Google Scholar
Ardayfio-Schandorf, E. and Sam, B. (2006) ‘Consensual unions in the Western Region: their relationship to violence against women and property rights’. Manual, Women in Law and Development, Accra.Google Scholar
Austin, G. (1987) ‘The emergence of capitalist relations in South Asante cocoa-farming, c. 1916–33’, Journal of African History 28: 259–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Austin, G. (2005) Labour, Land and Capital in Ghana: from slavery to free labour in Asante (1807–1956). New York NY: University of Rochester Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beckett, W. (1944) ‘Akokoaso: a survey of a Gold Coast village’. London and Bradford: Lund Humphries.Google Scholar
Bentsi-Enchill, K. (1964) Ghana Land Law: an exposition, analysis and critique. London: Sweet and Maxwell.Google Scholar
Boni, S. (2001) ‘Twentieth century transformations in notions of gender, parenthood, and marriage in southern Ghana: a critique of the hypothesis of “retrograde steps” for Akan women’, History in Africa 28: 15–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bortei-DokuAryeetey, E. Aryeetey, E. (2000) ‘The participation of women in the economy’ in Aryeetey, E., HarringanE., J. E., J. and Nissanke, M. (eds), Economic Reforms in Ghana: the miracle and the mirage. Oxford, Accra and Lawrenceville NJ: James Currey, Woeli Publishing and Africa World Press.Google Scholar
Boserup, E. (1970) Woman's Role in Economic Development. London: Earthscan.Google Scholar
Bray, F. (1959) ‘Cocoa development in Ahafo, West Ashanti’. Mimeograph, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ghana, Legon.Google Scholar
Bukh, J. (1979) The Village Woman in Ghana. Uppsala: Scandinavian Institute of African Studies.Google Scholar
Busia, K. A. (1951) The Position of the Chief in the Modern Political System of Ashanti. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Cocobod (Ghana Cocoa Board) (1998) ‘Socio-economic study of the cocoa-farming community’. Consultancy project, Masdar Ltd, Eversley, Hampshire.Google Scholar
Danquah, J. B. (1928) Akan Laws and Customs and the Akim Abuakwa Constitution. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Duncan, B. (2004) Women in Agriculture in Ghana. Accra: Friedricht Ebert Foundation and International Federation of Women Lawyers.Google Scholar
Duncan, B. (2009) ‘Gender, Land and Cocoa in Ghana: changing access rights in matrilineal and patrilineal communities’. PhD thesis, University of Birmingham.Google Scholar
Fao Regional Office for Africa, Netherlands Development Cooperation and Wildaf (2004) Access and Control over Land in the Volta Region of Ghana from a Gender Perspective. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization.Google Scholar
Field, M. (1948) Akim-Kotoku: an Oman of the Gold Coast. London: Crown Agents for the Colonies.Google Scholar
Fortes, M. (1950) ‘Kinship and marriage among the Ashanti’ in Radcliffe-Brown, A. R. and Forde, D. (eds), African Systems of Kinship and Marriage. London, New York NY and Toronto: International African Institute and Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Grier, B. (1992) ‘Pawns, porters, and petty traders: women in the transition to cash crop agriculture in colonial Ghanaâ', Signs 17: (2).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hill, P. (1963) The Migrant Cocoa-Farmers of Southern Ghana: a study in rural capitalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Kasanga, K. and Kotey, N. A. (2001) Land Management in Ghana: building on tradition and modernity. London: International Institute for Environment and Development.Google Scholar
Kludze, A. K. P. (1974) ‘Family property and inheritance among the Northern Ewe’ in Oppong, C. (ed.), Domestic Rights and Duties in Southern Ghana. Legon: University of Ghana, Institute of African Studies.Google Scholar
Konings, P. (1986) The State and Rural Class Formation in Ghana: a comparative analysis. Leiden: African Studies Centre.Google Scholar
Kotey, N. A. and D. Tsikata (1998) ‘Women and land rights in Ghana’ in Kuenyehia, A. (ed.), Women and Law in West Africa: a situational analysis of some key issues affecting women. Legon: Human Rights Study Centre, Faculty of Law, University of Ghana.Google Scholar
Manuh, T. (1995) ‘Changes in marriage and funeral exchanges among the Asante: a case study from Kona, Afigya-Kwabre’ in Guyer, J. (ed.), Money Matters. Portsmouth NH and London: Heinemann and James Currey.Google Scholar
McCaskie, T. C. (1981) ‘State and society, marriage and adultery: some considerations towards a social history of pre-colonial Asante’, Journal of African History 22 (4): 477–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mikell, G. (1975) ‘Cocoa and Social Change in Ghana: a study of development in the Sunyani District’. PhD thesis, Columbia University.Google Scholar
Mikell, G. (1984) ‘Filiation, economic crisis and the status of women in rural Ghana’, Canadian Journal of African Studies 18 (1): 195–218.Google Scholar
Mikell, G. (1989) Cocoa and Chaos in Ghana. New York NY: Paragon House.Google Scholar
Ministry of Food and Agriculture (2008) ‘Assessment of the Gender and Agriculture Development Strategy (GADS)â'. Prepared and submitted by J. Opare and C. Wrigley-Asante for the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Ghana.Google Scholar
Nugent, P. (2002) Smugglers, Secessionists and Loyal Citizens on the Ghana-Togo Frontier: the lie of the borderlands since 1914. Athens OH, Oxford and Legon: Ohio University Press, James Currey and Sub-Saharan Publishers.Google Scholar
Okali, C. (1971) ‘Some cocoa establishment costs in Brong Ahafo labour’. Technical paper prepared for the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research and the Sociology Department, University of Ghana, Legon (Joint Seminar Series).Google Scholar
Okali, C. (1972) ‘Some cocoa families in Brong Ahafo’. Paper delivered at the Second Interdisciplinary Family Research Seminar, Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon.Google Scholar
Okali, C.(1975) ‘Dominase: a mobile cocoa farming community in Brong Ahafo’. Technical Publication Series No. 35, Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research, University of Ghana, Legon.Google Scholar
Okali, C. (1976) ‘The Importance of Non-Economic Variables in the Development of the Ghana Cocoa Industry: a field study of cocoa farming among the Akan’. PhD thesis, University of Ghana.Google Scholar
Okali, C. (1983) Cocoa and Kinship in Ghana: the matrilineal Akan of Ghana. London, Boston MA and Melbourne: Kegan Paul International and the International African Institute.Google Scholar
Opoku, K. (1976) The Law of Marriage in Ghana: a study of legal pluralism. Frankfurt: Alfred Metzner Verlag.Google Scholar
Rattray, R. S. (1929) Ashanti Law and Constitution. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Roberts, P. A. (1987) ‘The state and the regulation of marriage: Sefwi-Wiaso (Ghana), 1900–40’ in Afshar, H. (ed.), Women, State and Ideology: studies from Africa and Asia. Basingstoke: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Sarpong, P. (1975) Ghana in Retrospect: some aspects of Ghanaian culture. Tema: Ghana Publishing Corporation.Google Scholar
Takane, T. (2002) ‘The cocoa farmers of southern Ghana: incentives, institutions, and change in rural West Africa’. Occasional Papers, No. 37, Institute of Developing Economics, Kyoto University.Google Scholar
Tashjian, V. and J. Allman (2002) ‘Marrying and marriage on a shifting terrain: reconfigurations of power and authority in early colonial Asante’ in Allman, J., Geiger, S. and Musisi, N. (eds), Women in African Colonial Histories. Bloomington and Indianapolis IN: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
Tufuo, J. W. (1969) Ashantis of Ghana: people with a soul. Accra: Anowuo Educational Publications.Google Scholar
Ward, B. (1950) ‘Some notes on migration from Togoland’, African Affairs 49 (195): 129–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar