Bragoro, also known as Brapue, is a
puberty rite
A rite of passage is a ceremony or ritual of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of social status, status in society. In cultural anthropology the term is the Anglicisat ...
performed by the
Akans especially among the
Ashantis
The Asante, also known as Ashanti () are part of the Akan ethnic group and are native to the Ashanti Region of modern-day Ghana. Asantes are the last group to emerge out of the various Akan civilisations. Twi is spoken by over nine million Asant ...
.
Traditionally, when a young girl experiences her first menstruation that is menarche, she undergoes this rite called Bragoro. It is believed that this ushers her into womanhood.
Soon after a young girl experiences her first menstruation, her mother reports it to the council of elders, queenmothers and community leaders to signal to them that her daughter is now ready and qualifies to be initiated.
Though Bragoro has a lot of cultural significance it is now disappearing.
[{{cite journal , id={{ProQuest, 1770385193 , last1=Crentsil , first1=Perpetual , title=Bragoro: A Disappearing Puberty Rite of the Akan of Ghana , journal=Ghana , date=2014 , pages=83–102 ]
References
Akan people
Rites of passage