Often, persons are unaware of how peculiar or offensive their customs can be to people of other backgrounds. There are many times when we come across other people who think their customs are the best, and view that of others as nothing.
A few months ago, a friend from U.S.A. went to the Madina market to buy some fish. The woman pointed freely to the fish she wanted to purchase with her left hand. This got the seller angry and asked my friend to take her left hand off from the fish.
When she later told me about the incident, I explained the actions of the market woman to her.
To us Ghanaians, the left hand is considered unclean. This is because it is associated with lavatory matters. So it is never used to greet, give or receive things, or to eat food. Even though one may wash both hands equally well, according to our custom the left is still considered unclean.
“How do they know which hand I use for what?” That’s what my friend asked me (She is a left-handed though).
