It is now the fashion for men to bare their chests when formally dressed in cloth. At first I felt uneasy when I found bare-chested men at funeral services. Now I am used to it although I will not follow the practice which many believe to be customary. It is true that our chiefs display their well formed chests in public, and it is customary to attend indigenous ceremonies bare-chested. This was and is the practice even in Accra. But it was never the custom in Accra to attend formal ceremonies bare-chested. It is, however, now the fashion to attend formal ceremonies in Accra such as funerals in cloth bare-chested. That was not the fashion not so long ago. In fact at funerals in Accra, Cape Coast and generally along the coast, gentlemen sported their best three piece dark suits. This was later replaced by ordinary dark suits without vests. The practice was followed by the small stream of people who gravitated to Accra from the country. I never, for example, saw the renowned, and I believe the first Ashanti lawyer Sir Edward Asafu-Adjaye in cloth as was customary, before he became Ghana's first High Commissioner in London. The sudden large influx to Accra after independence brought with it unsullied customary practices in the hinterland. Meanwhile, the weaving of cloth or traditional attire had become part of the assertion of the Ghanaian personality. Even educated Ghanaian women were proud to wear indigenous attire or cloth. The promotion of Ghanaian culture and practice was reinforced by the influx into the capital of proud citizens conscious of their unique heritage. Independent Ghana had to express the African personality. Ghanaian diplomats could not certainly wear foreign court or morning dress to present their credentials. Cloth was worn. But the practice of wearing a shirt of "buba" under the cloth was adopted. It was a wise move which not only protected the person from inclement weather, but also took account of the susceptibilities of the global village about the bare chest. These days the bare chest of men is not uncommon in the global village and I should not therefore feel bad about Ghanaian personalities baring their chests around the world. But I cannot help noticing that the exposure of the chest is not appreciated on formal occasions in the citadels of the global village. A recent article in the British New Statesman supports this view. Annalisa Barbieri entreats men to resist the urge even if they are hot to bare the chest in public. To Annalisa, "one of the good things about the summer in England being short-lived is that there is less likelihood of me being forced to look at men stripped down to their bare chest walking the street." Annalisa believes that "most men who so strip off are not worth looking at." This is a point worth noting. It is not the bare-chested men who are the centre of attraction at our traditional gatherings. Attention is directed at the dancing and ceremonies. The article continued. "The other day, I was walking in Abbey Park, Bury St. Edmunds when this boy/man slipped passed me so close that he left a trace of his sweat on my arm. This wasn't an exchange I had planned or wanted, and I felt strangely, but unwelcomely connected with the man ... Why do they do it? It's not like being half-naked cools you down. It doesn't." I shudder to think of the eyebrows raised and the comments made in private when our eminent men bare their chest at ceremonies in the metropolis of the global village. The argument is that if we want to exhibit our culture we should show the ancient one is not plausible. Customs and traditions change and the ‘buba’ together with cloth has been adopted as formal wear. Our diplomats have worn it as the national ceremonial dress. Kwame Nkrumah confirmed the practice and made Ghana proud when he appeared in resplendent kente with the chest covered at the United Nations. We should move forward and not backward. If we must maintain practices completely unchanged, then our women should not wear a blouse when they are in traditional dress. They should wrap themselves with cloth in the middle which exposes the top of the breast as they do at traditional ceremonies. We should not expose ourselves to ridicule. We should change the old order when necessary. We should allow God to fulfill himself in many ways lest one good custom corrupt Ghana. Credit: K.B. Asante [Voice from Afar] Source: Daily Graphic