Ghanaians Slam TV Station For Using ‘Nigerian’ Word Ankara (Instead Of Ntoma)…But Here Is What They Really Don’t Know

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Despite blogging about African fashion for roughly 15 years, we underestimated the malice Ghanaians have for the word “Ankara” to describe the African print trend which stemmed from right here in Accra. However, there is a reason why they need to rethink this, which is explained at the end.

Ghanaian TV station TV3 took to compliment an outfit worn by Ghanaian presenter CookieTee, curated by Eugene d’Wise, which we featured as our outfit of the day on June 8, 2024, as seen here.

#OOTD: Cookie Tee Serves Serves Boss Levels In Powerful Print Suit By Eugene Wise

TV3 BECOMES PUBLIC ENEMY

TV3 used the caption “Feeling and looking like royalty in a regal Ankara look ☺️”

Feeling and looking like royalty in a regal Ankara look ☺️#TV3GH @TheCookieteeGH pic.twitter.com/LDAWT81cZG

— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) June 6, 2024

The use of what seems to be a Nigerian term angered quite a number of Ghanaians who flooded the comments section debunking it. Many denounced it and would have prefered the station use the Ghanaian term for African prints known as ‘Ntoma’. Some hurled insults in our local language and some even called for the admin to be fired, as seen below.

This admin need to be fired.. Since when did ghana indigenous print become Ankara.. ?

— Jason (@daysman02) June 10, 2024

What is ankara look? Copy copy y3 mu d3

— Pkay Duncan (@Abranti_pa) June 7, 2024

Which one is ankara? Cos I have never heard a ghanaian fabric called Ankara

— ThE ManiaC's Placenta 🥁 (@auntyconnieba) June 7, 2024

Ankara? Chale make you people shun the fooling. It be cringe

— Burner Account 🌙🇬🇭 (@almost6ftvc) June 7, 2024

Ankara? What's wrong with the local names we had for clothes before we head it's called ankara by our neighbours? Sua tra people with inferiority complex.

— Doflamingo (@Kwasi_Kayy) June 7, 2024

NIGERIA AND AFRICAN CULTURE

Having Nigerian terms dominate the description of attributes and cultures from various parts of Africa is very common, sometimes even when it is not the right term in the Nigerian language. Given the large number of Nigerians around the world and their integral role in being the face of anglophone Africa, most times their terms and claims become the social norm. For example, any adult in Nigeria can confirm to you Jollof was never a Nigerian dish until the past decade.

We saw a similar confusion after the debut of music genre Amapiano. In fact, not long ago we wrote an article correcting the use of the Nigerian word “Koroba” from describing ‘KIPETAKE’ braids which originated in Madagascar when the term Koroba has nothing to do with the trending hairstyle.

VIDEO: KIPETAKE – The Official Name For The Spiral Braids Trend Originating From Madagascar (Not Koroba)

BUT SHOULD ANKARA BE A PROBLEM?

However, despite that, most Ghanaians are actually unaware that the term Ankara is not a Nigerian word to describe African prints. According to contributors of Wikipedia’s historical records, “The term ‘Ankara’ originates from the Hausa name for Accra, the capital of what is now Ghana. Initially used by Nigerian Hausa tradesmen, it was meant to refer to ‘Accra,’ which served as a hub for African prints in the 19th century.”

In fact, the term Ankara is an ode to Accra, Ghana, acknowledging the trend and culture of the land. As a point of correction, Hausa is not a tribe limited to Nigeria but spans across the western hemisphere, namely Benin, Nigeria, Niger, and parts of Burkina Faso and Ghana itself.

So, in actuality, Ankara isn’t a Nigerian term; it is a term of the Hausa tribesmen and also another name for the city of Accra itself. So, in case TV station TV3 bruised your ego, you can now smile every time you hear the word.

PS: It will be very interesting to find that very first Hausa man whose dialect was so bad he damaged pronouncing Accra as Akara. 😂😂😂😂😂

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