Article Version of Record

Marriage is like a groundnut, you must crack it to see what is inside: Examining romantic relationship rules in Akan proverbs

Author(s) / Creator(s)

Dzokoto, Vivian Afi Abui
Schug, Joanna
Adonu, Joseph
Nguyen, Cindy

Abstract / Description

Proverbs are a valuable part of African culture. They transmit messages of shared, communal values about different facets of life inter-generationally. In an exploration of one West-African ethnic group, the Akan, the present study investigates messages that proverbs communicate about interpersonal relationships. A total of 79 Akan proverbs that addressed romantic relationships were examined using thematic analysis. The main components of advocated values as captured in the proverbs were identified. The thematic analysis determined that Akan romantic relationships tend to lean towards a “work-it-out” approach as opposed to the “soul mate” approach typical of Western romantic relationship norms. Overall, this study demonstrates that analyzing cultural artifacts such as proverbs can teach us about cultural rules that define relationships.

Keyword(s)

marriage Akan proverbs cultural beliefs relationship success

Persistent Identifier

Date of first publication

2018-07-06

Journal title

Interpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships

Volume

12

Issue

1

Page numbers

1–22

Publisher

PsychOpen GOLD

Publication status

publishedVersion

Review status

peerReviewed

Is version of

Citation

Dzokoto, V. A. A., Schug, J., Adonu, J., & Nguyen, C. (2018). Marriage is like a groundnut, you must crack it to see what is inside: Examining romantic relationship rules in Akan proverbs. Interpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships, 12(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.5964/ijpr.v12i1.260
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Dzokoto, Vivian Afi Abui
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Schug, Joanna
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Adonu, Joseph
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Nguyen, Cindy
  • PsychArchives acquisition timestamp
    2018-12-05T08:44:24Z
  • Made available on
    2018-12-05T08:44:24Z
  • Date of first publication
    2018-07-06
  • Abstract / Description
    Proverbs are a valuable part of African culture. They transmit messages of shared, communal values about different facets of life inter-generationally. In an exploration of one West-African ethnic group, the Akan, the present study investigates messages that proverbs communicate about interpersonal relationships. A total of 79 Akan proverbs that addressed romantic relationships were examined using thematic analysis. The main components of advocated values as captured in the proverbs were identified. The thematic analysis determined that Akan romantic relationships tend to lean towards a “work-it-out” approach as opposed to the “soul mate” approach typical of Western romantic relationship norms. Overall, this study demonstrates that analyzing cultural artifacts such as proverbs can teach us about cultural rules that define relationships.
    en_US
  • Publication status
    publishedVersion
  • Review status
    peerReviewed
  • Citation
    Dzokoto, V. A. A., Schug, J., Adonu, J., & Nguyen, C. (2018). Marriage is like a groundnut, you must crack it to see what is inside: Examining romantic relationship rules in Akan proverbs. Interpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships, 12(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.5964/ijpr.v12i1.260
    en_US
  • ISSN
    1981-6472
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/1776
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.2142
  • Language of content
    eng
  • Publisher
    PsychOpen GOLD
  • Is version of
    https://doi.org/10.5964/ijpr.v12i1.260
  • Keyword(s)
    marriage
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    Akan proverbs
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    cultural beliefs
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    relationship success
    en_US
  • Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)
    150
  • Title
    Marriage is like a groundnut, you must crack it to see what is inside: Examining romantic relationship rules in Akan proverbs
    en_US
  • DRO type
    article
  • Issue
    1
  • Journal title
    Interpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships
  • Page numbers
    1–22
  • Volume
    12
  • Visible tag(s)
    Version of Record