Outdooring

What it is

An outdooring is the ceremony that brings a new baby out into the open. In Ghana it is also the moment a child receives a name. The word describes the act itself: the infant is carried outside the house and shown to relatives, neighbours and friends. Ga speakers call the ceremony kpojiemɔ, Akan speakers call it abadinto, and Ewe speakers call it vihehedego. Each community keeps its own details, but all of them centre on the same thing, welcoming the baby and presenting the child to the wider world.

Ga, Akan and Ewe

The ceremony belongs to several peoples, and each keeps its own form of it. The differences are slight and the focus is the same. Akan parents lift the child towards the sky three times, which introduces the baby to the gods and to the earth. Ewe families thank God, whom they call Mawu Sogbolisa, for the new life. They also thank the ancestors, asking that the child be protected. Libations are poured over the infant as protection as well. Everyone present is there to welcome the baby.

Names and family

Giving a name is the heart of the day. Families often choose a day name, tied to the weekday of the birth, and in addition they may name the baby after an elder relative, whether that person is living or has died. Names are handled differently by different households. Christian Ghanaians commonly give a child a local name alongside an English one. In Muslim families a mallam suggests several names and the parents pick from those. After the naming, friends and relatives bring gifts for the baby, and a feast follows.

Signs and blessing

Several small acts carry the day. Among the Ga and the Ewe, an elder lets a drop of water fall first, then dips a finger into alcohol and touches the baby's tongue. Water stands for good and alcohol for evil, so the child is shown what both look like. Ewe elders speak to the ancestors, thanking them for the baby and asking them to watch over the child. Gifts come after the name has been given, and then everyone eats together.

Today and change

The ceremony has become syncretic. Ghana's population has largely adopted Christianity or Islam, and the outdooring has changed with it, so families may keep older gestures alongside new prayers. Circumcision of boys and ear piercing for girls, once part of the day itself, now usually happen earlier, in hospital, and naming often takes place there too, soon after delivery. What the outdooring still does is gather people: a baby is brought out, named and given gifts, and the family and friends share a meal.

How Outdooring is kept

It happens on the eighth day after a birth, or later as a celebration. The family gathers and the parents carry the newborn outdoors. A name is given, after the day name and often after an elder relative. Among the Akan the baby is raised towards the sky three times. Ewe families thank God and the ancestors. Ga and Ewe elders touch water, then alcohol, to the baby's tongue. Libations are poured for protection. Gifts follow the naming, and then a feast.

When and where

Traditionally the eighth day after birth. The timing was not arbitrary: people held that a baby who survived those first days was likely to live, and only then could be named. Many families today hold the outdooring later, since naming and any hospital procedures now take place soon after delivery.

It belongs to Ghana. Ga, Akan and Ewe communities each keep their own version, and the differences between them are slight. The custom is found across the country, in Christian and Muslim households as much as in those that follow older religious practice. Each group's ceremony has its own details, and all of them are built around welcoming the baby.

What Outdooring means

The eighth day marks survival. Naming a child after a living or dead relative ties the baby to a family line and to people who are remembered. Water and alcohol placed on the tongue teach the child that life holds both good and evil. Raising a baby to the sky among the Akan introduces the child to the gods and the earth. Libations ask for protection. For the Ewe, the day also gives thanks to God, giver of life, and to the ancestors for the new child.

Questions people ask about Outdooring

See also

Fantasy coffinsCustom hand-carved burial caskets shaped as animals, tools and symbols in southern GhanaAgbadzaAn Ewe music and dance, born of war songs and kept for funerals, weddings and festivalsHomowoA harvest festival of the Ga people in Ghana to remember surviving famineDamba festivalA Ghanaian celebration of royal authority, ancestral memory, music and dance

Good reading and sources

• Outdooring on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.