The Beauty of Kusakorkor in Avatime-Gbadzeme

People of Avatime-Gbadzeme in the Ho West District of the Volta Region have a unique Culture. They recognize ‘Kusakorkor’ defined as the ushering in of young women into adulthood or womanhood as a very important rite or activity.

During the recent Easter celebrations in Gbadzeme, Thirteen(13) young women were ushered into adulthood through the unique ‘Kusakorkor’ rights.

‘Kusakorkor’ is a well preserved rite that the people Gbadzeme hold high esteem.
In Ghana only a small section of ethnic groups have initiation rites for men and where they occur they are done in secret and not given as much prominence as that for young women. This is only found in the northern part of Ghana.

In the Avatime culture, women represent the beauty, purity and dignity of the society and are accorded very high level of respect and protection.

So the people of Gbadzeme believe that they need properly trained mothers with good morals to bring up good children. It is therefore little wonder that the initiation of women into adulthood is given more prominence in Gbadzeme.

Under the supervision of some elderly female opinion leaders, the thirteen (13) young women were properly trained so that they can maintain good marriages and their dignity in society.

By Bismark Avedzidah