Back to whose “Eden”?: Social Evolution of Akan Marriage and Pentecostal Enforcement of Pre-Nuptial Ethical Boundaries

Abstract

Since independence in the 1950s, several Africans have engaged in a counter-hegemonic use of the camera to turn the gaze of the equipment from the colonial objectification of women to the postcolonial empowerment of women. The goal of this paper is to contextually discuss the social evolution of marriage practices among the Pentecostal youthful constituency, focusing on how young men and women in the Church of Pentecost (CoP), Ghana’s largest protestant denomination, are re-deploying a counter-hegemonic use of photography to stage their autonomy, choreograph their nuptial choices, as well as secure their marriages. I argue that since the CoP embarked on theological and cultural reforms in 2010 that offered significant “freedom” to women to determine their sartorial preferences, the church has more recently, in 2019 sought to recalibrate its control over how its youthful constituency engages in pre-nuptial practices. Framed as a return to “Eden” to reflect the “naked but unashamed innocent life of Adam and Eve,” these women interpret their actions as showcasing “nakedness” as a signification for transparency in marriage - in the social media world of invisibility, impersonation, and duplicities. The CoP interprets all this as youths’ violations of the church’s pre-nuptial ethical boundaries. I interrogate the question: “What are the complex engagements between the CoP and its youthful constituency, as the CoP seeks to control its nuptial ethical boundaries, as opposed to the “freedoms” the youth are seeking to enforce? The data for the study is based on ethnographical in-depth interviews, and my positionality as a member of the CoP and Akan, and it also draws from church archives and circulars.