I'm sure there are many more cultural do's and don'ts feel free to add them in the comments section :) Also thanks to True Vonne for collabing with me on this - kzfaq.info

OMG This lady is GORGEOUS.

This Ghanaian woman is so absolutely beautiful and gracious. I learned so much.

I had an old man friend who i had known since coming to Ghana. I used to call him daddy as respect. He was in his 70s. He was very educated, and an ex diplomat. He was traditionalist interms of culture aswell. He would often correct people who were younger than himself, even people in their 40s and 50s about respect, because people didnt even greet properly. He would get upset when somebody would pass and just wave their hand as a greeting. He would say, " is that how you greet me"? "Am i your age mate"? I realised through him that most people have lost the basics of their culture. He was a very principled respected man . Unfortunately he passed away recently... RIP DADDY.

Interesting! In Brazil we see those social habits very much as so many people came here from Africa (unfortunately forced as slaves). A while ago I was paying my rent and my landlord asked me to switch the money to right hand.

I live in Ghana and even this is a good refresher for me

With the elderly , u could ask ' how are you'. Just add please to it. "Pls how are you" Lol.

Its very similar in the Caribbean i remember when i was riding the bus back home in St kitts and when someone would enter the bus they would say good morning and EVERYONE would respond with good morning back its really nice. I just hope with the large influx of people to Ghana these traditions aren't eroded away that's a concern.

This is how we were raised in the Southern States of America, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, we live the same way

About not entering with shoes isn't just because of dust but more importantly, it has a spiritual connotations to it. It's regarded as sacred.

Yeah, the hand gesture is such a big deal! When I’m handing over something with my left had I have to apologise and say “sorry for my left”

Concerning the greetings, its more complex depending on the tribe.

The culture of children only being seen and not heard is one of the things I've always hated in Ghana. It teaches children to be silent and then they become adults who don't speak up.

The fact is I love Ghana 🇬🇭❤️🇬🇭❤️

I am Congolese and most of those etiquettes so far apply in congo too. I think it is an African thing, we are big on respect ,especially of elderly. Ok still watching

Vanessa and Vonne are very beautiful.

Almost all the " cultural etiquette" are built on/around RESPECT.

Very good video. Let me add. You dont point your left finger to the cemetery, reason being the belief its the home of our dead ancestors and all of us.

I remember being told that because we eat our delicious food with our hands, you always use your left for the bathroom.

I was raised in South Carolina (USA) and I was raised EXACTLY EXACTLY like this! A lot of us were. I raise my kids like this. 😍

And talking about greetings in Ghana, any time I am Ghana I always listen to political talk shows and i always hear the pundits prior to their submission say something like, " let me greet your listeners and viewers". Ghanaians dont joke with greetings. Greeting is a must in Ghana.

05:35 is why I gained 20kg since moving to Ghana. People are so offended when you don't accept food. So I'd force myself to eat even if I was not hungry.

In Haiti it's also an insult to smell the food.Thank you for those information

I like how elders are respected in Ghana. I cant wait to retire there.

Interesting...As an African-American Southern, many of the interactions like greetings is the same.

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹she’s so Beautiful.

I always have to slow down to greet everyone! My American ways trip me up on this one often. I train myself and constantly remind myself.

00:36 - Kwame Nkrumah did not declare independence at Independence Square as you said in the video. He did that at the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park. Where his statue is, that's the exact spot he stood and declared Ghana to be free. Those grounds were formerly 'White only grounds where the white British played polo and black people were not allowed. This is why he chose that spot to declare Ghana to be free.

Great info!

Thanks for this, am from Cameroun and plan soon coming to kumasi

Wonderful. Many things said here were done in the south in the US before integration . Much of traditions have changed among African Americans due to TV, integration and the assimilation that came with it. Many things she says is familiar to one in my age group. We truly see the damage it has done to leave these cultural traditions behind. Sankofa. Let’s go get them back to help us restore our natural traditions of order and peace and grace.

Awesome content, keep it coming

Your content is great!!!

One of cultures we practice in Nigeria that I'm Not a fan of is children are served last. In some cases, adults are served 2 pieces of meat while children don't get any. Another is, some children don't know their parents names. A boy named Chidi got lost on his way from school. He was asked of his mom's name so that they can trace his parents, he replied "Mama Chidi😊" because that's what everyone referred to her as.

Thank you Vanessa.

So good to know this!❤️🇬🇭🇬🇭

This was fun; it was. Kudos to you both.

This was super informative ✨🥰🥰🥰

Nice one

Hi Vanessa! I've been following you, since your return to Ghana. I was so inspired I sold my home in the states, pack our bags, and now I am here in Ghana with my husband and 4 year old twin boys. I came in February for a two week visit...I thought about contacting you, but I didn't want to seem creepy. Lol I started a KZfaq about Ghana and received an unexpected, amazing, and loving response from so many people. Now, we are here living (Tema) as of this past Thursday. Hopefully, we can meet up one day? Thanks for the informative videos...we are currently relaxing in Prampram. My real name is Pebbles, Ghanaian name Akua, and KZfaq name Mother Oshea ASÉ.

Vanessa an Ms. True Vonne gave some Wonderful Advise!

Excellent information ! Bravo Queen’s ! 👏🏽💐💯😎🌍

Will be great to bring her on another chat thanks.

Great advice thank you

Very necessary educative vlog

❤️❤️ from 🇬🇭🇬🇭, correct info sis. love you

Really amazing 😻 More videos with her would be good

Aww this was fun and interesting to watch 💕🇬🇭

Beaucoup de courage

Thank you for the video Vanessa. I am Congolese and ny husband is Russian. I feel in love with Ghana by watching your videos. All of the etiquettes that you mentioned applies to the Congolese culture, at least this is how i was raised. When it comes to slippers, this is applicable in Russian culture too and they are really family oriented too. The most shocking thing that I heard from the Russian culture, is that you can't whistle inside the house or use your hand to wipe a table. So that is a big no in our house! Thank you for a great video!

Great content as always Vanessa. The issue with PDA's is skewed towards morality than "superstition" or jealousy lol. A larger population of our country are somewhat conservative with respect to morale codes and our general way of life. Basically if a practice is considered a bad example for children then it should be done indoors. Typically, men will date an average of 6 girls before marriage (lower amongst conservatives), you don't want young boys thinking it's ok(ideal) to "explore" relationships in that wise, since it mostly leaves their female counterparts at a disadvantage, not to mention having multiple partners during the course of one's life will for the most part do a person more harm than good (disease, traumas from bad experiences, etc). Teenage pregnancy has been a major canker in our society over the past few years, girls as young as 13yrs commonly get pregnant impeding their education. In the upper west region alone, nearly 700 teenage girls returned to school pregnant just this May when schools reopened, That's just 1 out of 16 regions in Ghana, imagine the negative impact that would have on their future considering we don't have the best support systems to help them through schooling. Our cultural values are mostly about providing good examples for youngsters and promoting general happiness in the simplicity of things...

This is very educative video for other citizens moving to ghana

This how you're doing thing is so true. Greet and 😷

Vanessa - That is Africa. Our elders are respected.

Wow when you come to Nigeria, everything mentioned here are same wow wow...No left...you must to greet and so on

Good job Vanessa, your guest is really on point 👉. She's well brought up thanks.

Please Sorry Thank you Remember these 3.

Greetings can even be more complex when the number of prominent or elderly are more and you have no idea who comes first and who follows next

Oh my goodness! These thing are so true, girl!! This is Ghana 😄😄

Thanks to God for her teaching you some stuff about culture.

This is very interesting, will be visiting Ghana in 2025. I am confused by a lot of this stuff especially the left hand thing because I am right handed and don't attempt to do anything with my left hand because it's awkward for me. Will definitely keep all of this for back-up.

I’ll be visiting soon so this video is a must watch for me. I’ll be chronicling this.

Excellent tips! I would always prepare (warn) non-African friends visiting my parents’ house!

What a beautiful African queen 😍

She’s gorgeous. This was SO informative! Imagine if everybody in the states greeted people. you can barely get a look 👀 LOL

Daaam she is gorgeous nice!!!

These rules of etiquette connects all of us together and brings respect, peace and harmony in the society. Very informative. Will visit again and again. 👏👌👍

I agree with everything this lady said, except the children have to be seen not heard. I really dislike this. Because, if someone is mistreating or abusing. They cannot voice it out. Furthermore, l was born in London England, but spent 12 years in Nigeria which l didn't like. Then relocated to US in my twenties. Now, l am 53 and l have three grown sons and one grandson. My children are American, educated and well respected and culture. However, l thought my children to express their thoughts and feelings when something is wrong or right. My main reason is that l experience a lot of abuse mentally, emotionally and physically when l was living in Nigeria. So, l vow to myself that my children will never experience what l went through.

I'm From The Southern Part Of The US And We Say: "Hey Y'all"... Morning, Noon And Night 😉

Ghana Africa is the best no stress and damn sure Better than the rest

Vaness🤗 you have a terrific interviewing style. You are curating interest in Ghana. Thank you for this amazingly insightful content‼️

Omg! I was born in Jamaica lived in tge USA for 50 years and Jamaica is exactly like Africa culturally I still say yes please, thank you, sorry all of that in America rudeness is the order of the day, even little children call you by your first name

Greetings Vanessa Kanbi,. thank you for this very informative information. Continue to enjoy yourself in your father's home land and tell Shawn "Hi" from blacks in Asia. Thanks for sharing.

For the greeting part, there is much to it, it is also a sign of acknowledging the person and also let’s say you are on a pathway going somewhere and you meet somebody on the way, there could be a danger on the way ahead of you, and if you don’t greet the person opposite you, he/she may not alert you or warn you about what is on your way. So it is important you greet people and also is a sign of respect.

Actually most of what you are talking about is what is practiced in high society in the Western Hemisphere. Kids brought up in private schools and upper middle class and royal societies can relate to the Ghanaian culture

Wow @ how are you doing. Good to know!

Beautiful tradition n culture learn a lot # yes plz #akwaaba# love fr Jamaica 🇯🇲

True Vonne 😍

Great to know! Thanks so much Vanessa. Some of these things are just signs of being a decent respectful person: please, thank you/no thank you. I've definitely found myself being more empathetic, saying sorry when someone hurts them; showing that we've have some humanity and care for others in us which, unfortunately, many in the world DO NOT have. CAN'T WAIT FOR MY HUSBAND & I TO GET OVER THERE. We already have a friend who moved back with his family and another Ghanaian friend, living in UK, trying to set up a business to eventually move back. Knowing someone already in Ghana takes such a weight off to us westerners. I'm seeing so many negative videos of British, American and even other African countries, who have moved back or in the process of leaving Ghana because of something or other.

Nice 🙂

Weldone for telling:visitorst our cultural stuff

Wow! She is beautiful

So excited to watch this, I know Im going to learn a lot!

your host is a beauty

Camera quality is 👌🏽

My people 😍💙💜

Good Afternoon Vanessa. Great video. Another taboo in Ghana is greeting people on the way to the toilet. I always wondered about this. In the village, people would actually get angry and curse you out if you greeted them on your way to the public toilet. Sometimes, they would ask you angrily if you wanted them to come along to clean you up. I never understood this until I started thinking about it. I thought that it was just disrespectful in light of what the person was on his or her way to do. However, I came up with a different explanation. Among we the Ewes (from the Volta Region) a greeting is not just good morning or good afternoon or good evening. It is an elaborate process in which the greeter asks about the other's households members individually by name and the other person reciprocates. It goes like this: Good Morning, Reply: Good Morning. How is your household? They are fine. Kofi? He is fine, Adjoa? She is fine. Mansa and her children? They are fine. and on and on. This could take a minute. Imagine you are pressed to use the public toilet and on your way you have to stop and greet many people you know this way. You may end up with the unthinkable. Hence the rule or custom not to greet on the way to the toilet. If you pass by someone and the person takes offense in your not greeting him or her, you can just tell them later you were on the way to the toilet. The other taboo against giving things with the left hand was a custom to prevent the spread of germs. Before indoor plumbing and handwashing soap dispensers, people used public outdoor toilets and cleaned themselves with things other than toilet paper. Since the population was usually right-hand dominant, people cleaned themselves with the left hand. In the process, the left hand may (or was usually) contaminated. To pass things from the left hand would spread germs and other things hence the rule which then became a custom.

This is so interesting, the similarities in etiquette. In the Caribbean where my dad is from, we are the same too, you must greet each other with: good morning/ afternoon/evening and we call all our elders auntie or uncle even if they’re not related to us, as a sign of respect. Even in the U.K. where I live all my African/ Caribbean colleagues, canteen staff or cleaners at work I ALWAYS greet them by saying good morning Auntie (followed by their name). Also when going to the Caribbean as a child we were likewise meant to be seen but not heard especially when in the company of adults. I love how similar we black diaspora in the Caribbean, are to the mother land 🙌🏽🥰

11:36 also comes from fear of losing the child. In Ghana maternal death and infant mortality is a major problem.

I'm liking your culture more and more manners, decency ,and appropriateness .

I did not know that

You can say it

Hi ms vanessa,good interview. I am interested in your dress and it looks good on you.Please give me information of where to find this dress.love from U.S.A.

Good good good

I'm a Belgian, and lived in Ghana from 2014 to 2019.. And honestly, best way to get used to everything is experiencing it in real life.. This video might be helpful, but it still is different to experience and learn it in real life.. I must admit I spent a lot of time in Cameroon and Nigeria before Ghana.. It's all a bit similar actually..

I think now things are changing,you can still ask how they are doing in polite way

Amazing content 🤩. For Ghana flights #flysentra 🛫from Ghana 🇬🇭 to UK🇬🇧

Jesus Christ! The left hand. Some of us are left-handed and we use the left hand for all the good things 🤓. Based on my culture in Uganda, 🇺🇬 I would never guess the reason behind that. Thanks for sharing.

It's going to be new things that's my Father's land love Y'all pay attention to weather

Yes that is every where in Afrika always right hand 😀