Diversity and Harmony

“Of the 6,000 languages spoken on Earth right now, 3,000 aren’t spoken by

 the children. In one generation, we’re going to halve our cultural diversity.”  

— Phil Borges

 

Togo is a very diverse country, with 40 different ethnic groups. Southern Togo is mostly inhabited by the Ewe people (the W is pronounced like a V, like Ewa Beach in Hawaii). The Ewe also inhabit southern Ghana and southern Benin. In these areas Ewe is a child's first language. After this comes French, if you live in Togo and Benin, or English if you live in Ghana. The Ewe language is difficult for me. I can greet people and ask for things at the market, but for anything more than that I have to use my French. French is the official language in Togo and a unifying language in the country. If a man from the Ewe-speaking south meets a man from the Moba-speaking north, or Kabiye land, or someone who grew up with any one of the other 39 languages spoken in Togo, the men can communicate using French, the official language taught in all schools.

One tradition of the Ewe people is naming their children according to the day of the week they were born. One of the first questions I was asked by the Togolese was the day of my birth. I was born on a Monday, so I am called Adzo.

Day                             Women                            Men

Monday                       Adzo                                         Kodzo, Kudzo

Tuesday                      Abla                                          Komla

Wednesday                Aku                                           Koku

Thursday                    Yawa                                        Yawo, Ayawo

Friday                          Afi, Afua                                  Kofi

Saturday                     Ami, Ameyo                          Komi

Sunday                        Kosiwa, Akosiwa, Esi         Kosi

Naturally, it’s possible to have two girls or two boys in one family born on the same day of the week. Let’s say two girls in one family were both born on Monday. In order to avoid any confusion by calling them both Adzo, the names are changed a little. If you are the older sister “ga” will be added to the end of your name and if you are the younger sister, “vi” will be added to the end. So the family would have Adzoga and Adzovi. Literally, “ga” means big and “vi” means little.

This might make it seem confusing with everyone having one of only seven names, but fortunately, most people also have another name, usually a French name. In my class I have four girls named Adzo, so I rely on their second names. For example, one of my students is Adzovi Noelie Kplodziga. I call her Noelie. These children are part of a wave of change, caught between holding onto all the customs, tradition, and ethnicity of their ancestors, while at the same time, being introduced to a wider world where their chance for success will be greater if they can branch out and communicate with people from different cultures. 

As an English teacher here in Togo, I feel torn sometimes, knowing how the outside world works, and yet feeling empathy towards these lovely people who are trying hard to find a balance amid all the change and new ideas that are presented to them. The world would be a pretty boring place if we were all the same. I hope to learn as much from the Togolese people as they learn from me.