The use of the left hand is considered disrespectful and some people also consider the left hand dirty. It is believed that the reason why the left hand isn’t accepted is because that is the hand you ‘wipe’ with.
However, the ban on using the left hand had little to do with sanitation or cleanliness; it had everything to do with trust and survival
Centuries ago, when most people were naturally right-handed, the use of the left hand was rare.
People were predominantly right-handed and eating with the left hand was uncommon. As a result, whenever anyone wanted to poison a king or a prominent person. They hid the poison in between the nails of their left thumb.
As they served meals or drinks, these treacherous individuals would dip their tainted thumb ever so slightly into the food or soup, thereby transferring the poison.
The unsuspecting victim would then consume the food or soup and then lose their life as a result.
Hiding poison in the nails of the left hand was a common practice because most people hardly used their left hand for anything especially eating.
Over time, the act of serving with the left hand became associated with treachery and danger. People grew wary of anyone using their left hand, fearing that they might be the next victim of a sinister plot
Consequently, this practice of avoiding the left hand became ingrained in Ghanaian culture as a means of self-preservation.
People have translated it to mean the left hand was unclean or the wrong hand to use, causing the tradition to continue up to this day.
As generations passed, the original reason for the avoidance of left hand evolved into a belief that it was impure or inappropriate.
This misunderstanding perpetuated the tradition, leading to the widespread perception that the left hand was unclean.
However, it is essential to recognise that this cultural custom in Ghana is not rooted in mere hygiene concerns but rather in the deeply unsettling history of poison concealed within the left thumb, a reminder of a time when trust was a matter of life and death.