ISSN: 2265-6294

Diversity Of Jewellery: The Account Of The Northern, Middle And Southern Ghana

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Nicholas Addo Tetteh,Isaac Kwabena Agyei

Abstract

The value of Jewellery and its outlook in Ghana transcends three different historical sectors; the Northern, Middle and Southern enclaves. In Ghana jewellery is admired and well cherished by many. It plays a vital role for Ghanaians in various meaningful ways that cannot be underestimated in value and concept. With this immense value of jewellery in Ghana, little or no account has been given to the scope of jewellery identifiable to each enclave and whether or not there are peculiarities with jewellery used per each of the enclaves. This has become a concern, which the jewellery industry needs to pay attention to. This paper discusses the dispensational Jewellery across the enclaves in Ghana and its distinctions from the past during the Gold Coast era to the present-day Ghana. This research seeks to bring to the limelight the philosophical underpinnings of various elements that distinguish and influence jewellery production from the various enclaves traceable from the past to the present in Ghana. A qualitative method of research was used to gather and synthesize the data. Theories of culture, structural functionalism, traditional art aesthetic, adaptation, and enculturation were applied using the interdisciplinary theoretical approach. A total of 162 respondents were used for the study. Results obtained indicated that whereas the jewellery differs significantly from one enclave to the other in Ghana, their underpinning patterns are derived from the cultures of these different enclaves. The appreciation of the Ghanaian jewellery is dependent on the kind of design it bears. The enclave that produced it influences each design. The study indicated the enormous improvement that the current trend of jewellery is enjoying due to computer techniques applied, enormous use of machines coupled with intricate tools used in production, which was not the case centuries ago. The study concluded that more variety of jewellery in terms of its design, integration of materials and concept of its use are eminent of being produced in the next five years. The major challenge will be not to miss the identity of the Ghanaian culture with regard to the enclaves in Ghana.

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