Haffali Mulla: A Hollow Merry Making Under the Moon Light? A Critical Appreciation of Traditional Marriage and Marriage Songs among the Pasaalas in Ghana

Abstract

Haffali Mulla are traditional marriage songs among the Pasaalas of the Sisasali speaking ethnic group in Ghana. Like many oral compositions, haffali mulla are literary in nature and can be analysed from that perspective. The institution of marriage, in the rural set up, is not only strong and old, but it is replete with tradition and processes leading up to the union. This paper traces the mores and the processes of traditional marriage among the Pasaalas and critically examines the verbal aesthetics as well as the utilitarian aspects of haffali mulla. Analysis from this paper, using the theory of ethnopoetics, reveals that haffali mulla are compositions which embed verbal art and useful messages that can be used to improve social cohesion and to strengthen the institution of marriage. The traditional processes of marriage are also sound sources of lessons that the present generation can draw on.