Akkrah and Adampe, Gold Coast, Africa. 



297 



name attached to it, and in accordance with the sex of the progeny, 

 whether male or female, is the derivation allotted. These distinctive 

 appellations may thus be enumerated : — 



To these also may be appended another series of names used in 

 the Akkrah and Adampe towns, solely derived from the number of 

 the offspring brought forth, and varied individually with reference 

 to their sex. By this peculiar system of nomenclature, each child, 

 as it may be boy or girl, occupies an allotted station conformable to 

 its age on the scale of family precedence, fulfilling to a great extent 

 the fundamental principles of primogeniture by the authoritative 

 sanction of a title. The subjoined list includes the whole : — 



Male. 



Female. 



As an illustration of the above, let us suppose that the accouche- 

 ment of the woman should transpire on a Friday for example, either 

 of her first or third son, as the case should happen, the designations 

 they would then claim would be Kufie-tetU and Kujie-mensah ; or 

 if, under similar circumstances, she should give birth to daughters, 

 they would become entitled to the respective cognomens of Affeah- 

 deddd and Affeah-mansah. With the local authorities a wide di- 

 versity of opinion abounds, regarding the sixth place in the preced- 

 ing numeration, the majority stating that, from some inexplicable 

 cause, the vacancy which may at present be said to exist, has never 

 been properly filled up, and that the words *' Shan and Shanshan,^"* 

 which some aver are the legitimate terms, are not of native appli- 

 ance but of foreign introduction, while their opponents argue stoutly 

 to the contrary. To avoid the various arguments brought forward 

 by both factions, I have provisionally omitted the " debateable 

 points," and have placed them as they now stand, since the mass of 

 evidence fully preponderates in favour of their non-retention. It is 

 somewhat singular that the few primary names should so closely 

 correspond with the Fulahne numerals Te«a (2), and Didde (3). 



