Exploring Ideological Constructions in Contemporary Ghanaian Weddings: A Critical Theory Perspective

Abstract:

Traditionally, Ghanaian weddings functioned as modest, communal rites of passage that reinforced kinship solidarity, spirituality, and collective responsibility. In the past two decades, however, they have been reconfigured into elaborate, highly commercialisesed spectacles. This study critically examines this transformation through a Marxist theory of ideology, with particular attention to commodity fetishism, the culture industry, and Althusser’s concept of Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs). The study's primary objective is to explore how dominant capitalist ideologies are constructed, performed, and legitimisesed in contemporary Ghanaian weddings. Specific objectives are (1) to investigate how class distinctions and social status are performed and reproduced through wedding practices. The study adopts a qualitative critical inquiry grounded in systematic non-participant observation of contemporary wedding ceremonies in urban Ghana, complemented by critical discourse analysis of wedding-related media representations and secondary literature. The Marxist Ideological Critique was used to analyse the data thematically. Findings show that combining traditional symbols (such as kente, knocking rites, and bride price) with modern luxury aesthetics (designer branding, professionalisesed planning, and curated social media performance) facilitates the commodification of culture. Wedding consumption operates as conspicuous display and sign-value, masking labour relations and naturalizing economic inequality. In this way, the contemporary Ghanaian wedding functions as an ideological apparatus that reproduces class hegemony, legitimiseses elite status, and engenders a form of false consciousness that equates material expenditure with moral and social legitimacy. The study contributes to critical cultural studies in postcolonial Africa by moving beyond descriptive anthropology to theorisese weddings as sites of ideological labour and capitalist reproduction.