Of ‘Bronya’ and ‘Afe nhyia pa’
Technology sometimes fails us irrespective of the occasion and so it failed me badly over the Christmas period. The reality was that when I thought I had hit the sent button, this article was hibernating goodness knows where; hence, reading “Of Bronya and Afe Nhyia Pa” in mid January.
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Christmas always brings jovial memories but lately, I have been wondering what local names we actually had for the festivity before the white man set foot on our shores.
I am particularly intrigued about the Twi word, “Bronya,” for Christmas. My imagination has been going wild. Did the naming have anything to do with the good assortment of foods and drinks that characterised the occasion? Did the tendency for new clothing on the occasion play any role? How about the exchanges of beautiful gifts? The name “Bronya” sounds curious, does it not?
Me thinks we had intelligent, creative ancestors once-upon-a-time. Our rich culture and our history show a people who were deep thinkers and who had their wits well about them. Some of the names given by our ancestors to events as well as places were quite reflective. I am not an authority in the Twi language but yes, some of the words are too full of meaning. Names given for example to marriage (“aware”) and Christmas (“Bronya”) come readily to mind.
Thousands of miles away from home, I got caught up in wintery cold Christmas celebrations. Bitterly cold and so unfriendly a weather, it is amazing how these people become obsessed with Christmas, irrespective. Almost everything, public and private, gave way for a festive disposition as far back as the end of November. Even though Christmas is weeks past and we are days into a fresh new year, Christmas decorations are yet to come down in some public places and some homes too.
Putting things in perspective, therefore, one can hazard a guess as to why our Twi speaking ancestors would have called this festive occasion “Bronya”. It has been an obsession, a big event not to be seen to be left out of. It is almost perhaps like how “Our Day” is big to excited primary school kids on the last day of the school term. It is merriment, partying, food, drinks, new clothes and shoes, gifts, and time spent together with loved ones. That is how the meaning of “Bronya” rings in my ears.
It has been 26 years since I last spent a cold Christmas in this land of the whites. The picture of “Bronya” gets escalated. For the past few weeks since I have been around, I have been struck by the sheer fuss these people make of Christmas. Maybe my ancestors were right in christening it “Bronya”?
For them, the end of November is the time to remind all that the upcoming festive mood was nigh. The glitters in the shops, the restaurants and other eateries, decorations in public and private areas, the 24-hour shop till you drop mood and many pointers gave true meaning to the thoughts my ancestors may have had of the occasion for “Bronya” is certainly a special occasion for the whites referred to as “Broni” in the Twi language.
The occasion also brings with it a pronounced over commercialisation of the celebration. Once the Christmas day itself was over, the next anticipated big thing was the Boxing Day sales to the extent that in the UK, the media reported that thousands of shoppers queued up at some of the country’s high street shops from dawn in freezing temperatures just so they could get their bargains.
An estimated record total of 2.8 billion pounds was recorded from the Boxing Day sales bonanza while huge on-line sales were also reported, with shoppers spending around 540 million pounds. The puzzle, however, is that the historical meaning of Christmas gets completely lost in this type of atmosphere.
Indeed, Christmas has come and gone and I have tried to imagine how it was generally spent back home. One thing I know for sure is that the many Ghanaians in the Diaspora who, with so much excitement, made it for Christmas in the warm sun and with their families are already back in the miserable cold. I know also that the characteristic chain of weddings and engagement parties have left trails of negative balances in some people’s bank accounts.
Whichever way and in whatever form the festive occasion turned out, a new year full of hope has dawned on us. The ubiquitous seasonal greeting - “afe nhyia pa” will perhaps be our greeting until the first quarter of the year comes to a close. A fresh new year has indeed come around to meet us.
I am privileged to extend a warm “Afe nhyia pa”to all my cherished readers. I have had an enjoyable year receiving a constant flow of feedback from readers from home and abroad, young and old. For those who hit me hard for touching their poor old nerves and those who managed big smiles because I reminded them of some of the realities of life, your feedback which strengthened me in 2013 should keep the column going this year as we look at many more of life’s realities in this zone. Happy New Year to all.
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