Integrated but Unique:Social Policy in Ghana During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The Ga people of Central Accra (Ga Mashie) have over the centuries incorporated several migrant groups from West Africa and beyond into their fold, including the Afro-Brazilian returnees (Tabon) from Brazil who arrived in the early 19th century. Using a qualitative study that combines historical, in-depth interviews, archival and biographical methods conducted among descendants of the Tabon, the paper argues that the Tabon have over the decades adopted several cultural practices of the host Ga population and have become very well integrated into the society. However, they remain culturally unique and have maintained some key traditional practices that they brought along from Brazil including their music, dances, funerary and religious practices, among others. They have also blended some aspects of their cultural practices with those of the host Ga population. Inspired by Milton Gordon's acculturation theory and the concept of hybridity, the paper highlights the complex processes of a migrant group's acculturation into the dominant host society and indicates that cultural integration should not be regarded as a unilateral process. While some migrant groups may choose to wholly adopt the cultural practices of the host population and become fully integrated overtime, others like the Afro-Brazilian Tabon have developed a hybrid mix of Ga and Tabon cultural practices while at the same time claiming Ga ethnicity. Since the 1960s, the increasing population of new migrants in Accra have contributed to the emergence of groups with numerous cultural influences and multiple identities in a cosmopolitan city.