THE LEGEND ABOUT ORIGIN

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There are some very interesting legends in our folklore about the origins of the peoples in modern Ghana. For example, some of the Asante believe that their ancestors came out of a hole in the ground, near Asantemanso, not far from Bekwai.

Other Asante, such as the Mampong people, claim that their forefathers descended from heaven on a golden chain. Along the coast, some members of another people, the Fante, tell us that they originated from the sea.

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It is not difficult bto understand how these legendary stories came to be. Because they began so long ago, they were not written down. Sometimes the story tellers may well have forgotten or exaggerated certain details.

In this way, with the passage of years, true stories became legends. Old people often narrated stories which were not true, either to exaggerate their past glory or to conceal certain facts about their history which they did not consider complimentary.

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In Ghana, as in other places, people generally take offence if one begins to enquire into their origins. They suspect that the motive is to trace their history to humble beginnings.

This fact may very well have been one of the reasons why people were reluctant to hand down yo their children the true story of their origins.