Menstruation as a Verbal Taboo among the Akan of Ghana

Abstract

This article discusses menstruation as a verbal taboo among the Akan-speakers of Ghana and considers the theory behind this phenomenon. The use of euphemisms is the most popular verbal Taboo Avoidance Technique (TAT) among the Akan, and the euphemisms used for menstruation are outlined. The article then examines the semantic and metaphorical relations between the euphemisms and what they denote. Among the Akan, euphemisms for menstruation follow two basic models: (1) negative (indisposition and seclusion of the woman) and (2) positive (transition and fertility and the arrival of a protective visitor). With urbanization, modernization, and the adoption of Western religions, some of the Akan euphemisms for menstruation have become fossilized, and others no longer have referential reality. I argue that changing patterns in the use of the euphemisms and drastic changes in the current generation's knowledge of them reveal much about societal changes in the Akan speech community.