Kenkey Has Shrunk In Size

�O mighty Caesar! Dost thou lie so low? Are all thy conquests,

glories, triumphs, spoils, Shrunk to this little measure?

Marcus Antonius,� Julius Caesar (Act III Scene 1).

Kari Dako�s �Ghanaianisms- A Glossary� is an authoritative book on �Ghanaianisms�. �[The] book brings to the fore some expressions from both local and foreign languages which have been absorbed into the linguistic repertoire to the extent that they are widely accepted as part of the Ghanaian vocabulary in English. [It] tries to trace the sources or history of these words or their meanings�.

The definition given in this book for �kenkey� is �staple of fermented, steamed corn dough�. This definition, however, appears too lean or scrawny, vis-�-vis the varieties of kenkey, the different methods of cooking it, and its overwhelming popularity in the Ghanaian menu.

There is the �Ga-kenkey� common among the Gas and enjoyed nation-wide; there is the �Fanti kenkey� also enjoyed nation-wide and having its popular production �headquarters� in Yamoransa in the Central Region; there is the �Asante (Effiduasi) kenkey� which is refined (no husk) and usually sweetened; there is �ade-bi-a-nkyene-wo-mu� (reddish- the result of a sprinkling of palm nut soup).

�Kenkey� has a tinge of history, tradition, sociology and politics. In the past, when Ashantis were �fasting� during a funeral celebration, one could eat �kenkey� and that would not constitute �eating�. It was rather abominable for one to eat corn-on-the cob during this fasting period.

When we entered the University of Ghana in the mid- 70s, there was an attendant in the dining hall of Commonwealth Hall, popularly called �Akosombo�. Whenever one was late for dining and missed the main menu for the day, he would approach the student and offer the advice: �Food finis, �kenkey� dey; you lack?� (Food is finished; �kenkey� is available; do you like it?) The striking paradox was that he talked as if �kenkey� was not food. �Kenkey� hit the political arena when in the Third Republic (Limann�s administration 1979-1981), Honourable Kwaku Baah (MP) carried some balls of �kenkey� to Parliament to complain about the shrinking size of a ball of �kenkey� for the same price as the previous year.

On Friday, July 22, 2011, one of the dailies, under the caption: �Jet brouhaha spills over� published: �In Parliament House a day earlier, the government had tabled an agreement under which the sovereign state of Ghana would benefit from a loan facility of US$105,370,177.09 from the Brazilian Development Bank for the purchase of one Embraer E 190 jet, together with a hanger (better: hangar) at a whooping (better: whopping) cost of $ 17m�.

The paper continued: �[Mr. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu] said he and his colleagues were not against the purchase of the aircraft, because they recognised the need to protect the people, especially the country�s oil. Their main concern was the protection of the national purse which was in danger of losing more than the actual cost of the five airplanes�.

A �hangar� is �a shed or a shelter or a building for housing aircraft� (Plural: aircraft not: aircrafts) or spacecraft. This should not be confused with �hanger� which means (1) a wood on the side of a steep hill. (2) a person who kills or causes another to be killed by hanging (a hang-man) (3) a person who selects and hangs pictures for an exhibition (4) a device on which something is hung. (5) something that overhangs.

Writers should not confuse �whooping� with �whopping�. �Whooping� as an adjective is developed from the nouns �whoop� or �hoop� which is a natural exclamation, expressing excitement, exaltation or defiance. It is also the sound of a siren. Again, �whooping� is usually a large, noisy, uproarious noise.

�Whooping cough� is a contagious disease chiefly affecting children, caused by the bacterium bordetella pertusis. The characteristic effects of whooping cough are convulsive coughs followed by long sonorous snorts.

�Whopping� is an adjective derived from the verb �whop� which means to strike with heavy blows; to beat soundly.

�Whopping� (which used to be �wapping� and is still pronounced as such) means �unusually large, big or huge (or to sound a bit showy or erudite: �gargantuan�). A �whopping lie� is a blatant lie. �Whopping� can be found in sentences like: �I have a whopping thrombosis in my left arm. �What you have said is a whopping untruth�. �James spent a whopping GH�20,000.00 on his birthday celebration�. �A whopping two-thirds of the world�s oil lies under the sands�. �Despite Zimbabwe�s financial problems, Robert Mugabe, the President spent a whopping US$300.000 to celebrate his 84th birthday in 2008�.

There were exchanges in Parliament as to whether our poor economy could sustain the purchase of a number of jets for the nation: with parents finding it difficult to finance their wards� education: with prices of goods escalating (with �kenkey� shrinking in size for the equivalent price of GH�0.50 last year), with graduate unemployment; with � with � with �.

When �kenkey� or balls thereof appear in Parliament, they are bound to stir up controversy, and in the heat of the argument in the heat of passion � not all rules of grammar need be obeyed. The Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, 1992, provides in Article 115. �There shall be freedom of speech, debate and proceedings in Parliament, and that freedom shall not be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of Parliament�. Hence, the question whether �kenkey� has shrunk in size (correct) or has shrink in size (wrong) cannot be addressed to any particular Member of Parliament. For, after all, those who prepare the �Hansard� are veterans in the job, and they are expected to proofread submissions before publishing them.

P.S. I dedicate this piece to Larry Bimi who was vivacious and affable. May his soul rest in perfect peace.

Source: Africanus Owusu-Ansah