Among the Akans of Ghana, the most common meal are fufu and ampesie. Fufu is prepared from cassava and eaten with any kind of soup (palm nut soup, peanut soup, light soup etc). Ampasie is boiled cassava, plantain, cocoyam or yam. If an Akan eats any food especially for supper and it is not fufu, he/she says he/she has not eaten. Others include banku (which originally is not Akan food), kenkey (made from corn) and rice. Common food items found in the market are cassava, plantain, cocoyam, yam, maize and rice. Besides, vegetables are essential in the daily meal of the Akans. These include gardens eggs/egg plant, okro, tomatoes, pepper, green leaves, agushi (pumpkin seeds), onions, peanut, beans, and many more. Other food sources are fruits like coconut, oranges, banana, mango, pawpaw, sugar cane, guava and pear. Apart from these food items, the Akans eat a lot of fish and meat. Fish are mostly got from the sea with a few from inland rivers while meat is got from poultry, goat, sheep, cow, pig and animals killed by hunters. It is common to see people selling smoked meat along the highways. Food habits of the Akans have changed over the years as a result of contact with other ethnic groups and the outside world. This has resulted in the springing up of restaurants serving exotic and local foods in addition to local chop bars which prepare traditional food. Some Akans do not eat certain foods due to religious or spiritual reasons. For example, some people do not eat pork because it is used for sacrifices. Food like mashed yam with palm oil and eggs are used as sacrificial food for the ancestors and gods.
Objective
By the end of the unit, students should be able to: 1. Identify the main Akan foods 2. Identify how their favorite Ghanaian dish is prepared. 3. Identify verbs associated with food 4. Identify negation in Akan
Introduction