Skip to content
WeddinginGhana

Free tool · No sign-up needed

The Ghanaian engagement list, made easy

Start from the common items for your tradition, match it to the list the bride’s family gives you, tick things off as you buy them — and share it with the family on WhatsApp.

Share WhatsApp
Loading the list builder…

Engagement lists by tradition

A general guide drawn from published lists — not any family's official list. The bride's family gives the actual list, and items and amounts are agreed through the families' spokespersons. Customs differ by ethnic group, hometown and faith; some families accept cash instead of drinks. Always confirm with the bride's family.

Akan engagement list

The core Akan pattern. The families speak through spokespersons (akyeame) before the elders; the bride's acceptance of the head drink (tiri nsa) is what seals the marriage.

For the bride

  • Engagement ring
  • Bible
  • Wax print cloth (GTP or Holland) × 6 — 6 pieces is common
  • Kente cloth — if the family asks for it
  • Suitcase of clothes
  • Shoes and sandals (ahenema)
  • Handbags
  • Jewellery
  • Underwear and toiletries
  • Cooking utensils

For the bride's mother

  • Cloth for the bride's mother
  • Duku (headscarf) and slippers
  • Cash for the bride's mother — About GH₵300–1,000 in recent lists

For the bride's father

  • Kente or GTP cloth for the bride's father
  • Ahenema (sandals)
  • Whisky for the bride's father
  • Cash for the bride's father — About GH₵500–1,000 in recent lists

For the bride's brothers

  • Akonta sekan — the brothers-in-law's 'cutlass', now an envelope of cash — About GH₵200–1,000 in recent lists

For the family and elders

  • Akye ma — the 'good morning' greeting envelope
  • Ɔsrɛ — 'the request': drinks and cash
  • Thanksgiving envelope — About GH₵200–500 in recent lists
  • Kola nuts

Drinks

  • Schnapps for the libation × 2 — At least 2 bottles
  • Tiri nsa — the head drink (schnapps or whisky)
  • Whisky, wine or champagne
  • Crates of beer or malt
  • Soft drinks and water

Cash items

  • Dwatire — money to start a business — About GH₵2,000 in one 2026 list
  • Knocking fee — About GH₵300 in a 2022 list
  • Tiri nsa cash (bride price) — About GH₵500–1,000 plus 2 schnapps in recent lists
  • Engagement or acceptance money — About GH₵200–1,000 in recent lists

Fante engagement list

Close to the Asante pattern, with the head drink called tri nsa and a separate head money (tsir sika).

For the bride

  • Engagement ring
  • Bible
  • Wax print cloth (GTP or Holland) × 6
  • Suitcase of clothes, shoes and bags
  • Jewellery

For the bride's mother

  • Cloth and duku for the bride's mother
  • Cash for the bride's mother — About GH₵1,000 in a 2026 list

For the bride's father

  • Cloth for the bride's father
  • Cash for the bride's father — About GH₵1,000 in a 2026 list

For the bride's brothers

  • Akonta sekan — cash for the brothers-in-law — About GH₵500–1,500 in a 2026 list

For the family and elders

  • Thanksgiving envelope for the family

Drinks

  • Schnapps for the libation × 2
  • Tri nsa — the head drink
  • Wine, beer, malt and soft drinks

Cash items

  • Knocking fee — About GH₵200–500 in a 2026 list
  • Tsir sika — 'head money'
  • Tri nsa cash (bride price) — GH₵2,000–10,000 in one 2026 list — varies widely
  • Domfa — only if a child was born before the marriage

If a child was born before the marriage, some Fante families add a customary fine (domfa). Ask the family.

Ewe engagement list

The knocking brings drinks to the bride's father and a knocking fee. The bride wealth (srɔnu) is carried in a trunk; the groom's paternal aunts traditionally carry the items.

For the bride

  • Cloths (avɔ)
  • Beads, including waist beads
  • Ring
  • Headscarf
  • Pillow
  • Stool (atizikpui)
  • Trunk or suitcase for the items
  • Bible or hymnal

For the bride's brothers

  • Cash for each of the bride's brothers — About GH₵100 each in a 2022 list

Drinks

  • Knocking drink for the bride's father (akpeteshie among the Anlo, or palm wine)
  • Akpedaha — the thank-you palm wine
  • Gin for the knocking fee (vɔlenu) × 2
  • Schnapps
  • Dubonnet or other wine
  • Malt and soft drinks

Cash items

  • Cash for each parent — About GH₵250 each in a 2022 list
  • Knocking money — About GH₵100 in a 2022 list

Ga engagement list

Ga marriage moves through stages — the family drink, the knocking, and the engagement (ga-woo), which is traditionally led by the women of both families.

For the bride

  • Suitcase
  • Kente
  • Beads
  • Cash for the bride
  • Sewing machine (in some lists)

For the bride's mother

  • Cloth and cash for the bride's mother

For the bride's father

  • Cloth and cash for the bride's father

For the bride's brothers

  • Cash for the brothers-in-law

For the family and elders

  • Cash or crates of drinks for the witnesses

Drinks

  • Weku daa — the family drink
  • Corn drink (nma-daa) with schnapps or gin
  • Crates of drinks

Cash items

  • Shiwo — the knocking fee
  • Kplemo — the acceptance fee
  • Shamóbo — a symbolic cash gift to the parents

Krobo engagement list

Krobo marriage includes a greeting drink, gifts to greet the mother-in-law, and the father's items (ngatsɛ).

For the bride

  • Cloths × 6
  • Umbrella
  • Cutlass
  • Beads
  • Small stool

For the bride's mother

  • Nganyɛ semi fɔmi — gifts to greet the mother-in-law

For the bride's father

  • Ngatsɛ: cloth for the bride's father
  • Ngatsɛ: cutlass
  • Ngatsɛ: umbrella
  • Ngatsɛ: sandals
  • Ngatsɛ: tobacco

Drinks

  • Ngami da — the greeting drink
  • Gin and schnapps

If a child already exists (la-pomi), the woman traditionally sets a sum, paid with gin, schnapps and a sheep.

Northern traditions engagement list

Practices vary a great deal between Dagomba, Frafra, Dagaaba and other traditions — livestock, kola and fowls are common. Treat this as a starting point only.

For the bride's father

  • A smock (in some traditions)

For the family and elders

  • Kola nuts
  • Fowls (a white fowl or a red cock, depending on the tradition)
  • Livestock — some traditions ask for cows or sheep, often paid over time
  • Tobacco (in some traditions)

Drinks

  • Drinks, including local gin

Cash items

  • Cash, or the equivalent of cowries in some traditions

We could verify less about northern customs than about southern ones. Build your list with the families' elders.

Common questions

What is on a Ghanaian engagement list?

Common items include cloth (often six pieces of wax print, and kente if the family asks), a ring and a Bible for the bride, a suitcase of clothes, shoes and jewellery, cloth and cash for her mother and father, cash for her brothers, drinks for the libation — at least two bottles of schnapps — and the head drink. The bride's family gives the actual list.

What is tiri nsa?

Tiri nsa (tri nsa in Fante) means the 'head drink': the drink, now usually schnapps or whisky and often with cash, presented to the bride's family. In Akan custom, her family's acceptance of it is what seals the marriage.

What is akonta sekan?

Literally the brother-in-law's cutlass — an Akan item for the bride's brothers that today is usually an envelope of cash.

How much is the bride price in Ghana?

It varies widely by family and tradition. Recent published Akan lists show the head-drink cash at about GH₵500–1,000 plus two bottles of schnapps, and one 2026 Fante list gives GH₵2,000–10,000. Treat any figure as a reference only — the families agree the amount through their spokespersons.

What is the difference between the knocking and the engagement?

The knocking (kɔkɔɔkɔ in Akan, agbo-shimo in Ga, ʋɔƒoƒo in Ewe) is the groom's family's first formal visit to announce their intention. The engagement comes later: the list is presented, the bride consents, and in customary law the couple is then married. Many families now hold both on the same day.

Can a customary marriage be registered?

Yes. A customary marriage can be registered under the Customary Marriage and Divorce (Registration) Law, 1985 (PNDCL 112), with the Registrar of Marriages at your metropolitan, municipal or district assembly. The certificate helps with visas, banks and anything abroad.

New to the traditional marriage? Read the traditional Ghanaian wedding, step by step, then put a number on it with the budget calculator.