Kumasi

Quite some time ago now I traveled to Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Region. It is about five hours north of Accra, not quite at the center of the country. The trip was part of my program through ISEP so we had an organized bus to get us there and accommodations already set up. We stayed two nights in the Engineering Guest House at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
Friday we left early in the morning. When we arrived later in the afternoon we saw the Asantehene's (King's) Palace, although only in passing, and visited the Manhiya Palace which is now a museum. The Manhiya Palace was a beautiful home to many past Asantehene, or chiefs, of the Akan people. It was originally built by the British but because the Ashanti kingdom did not want to have any obligations to the British they insisted on buying it from them instead of accepting it as a gift (there was also some guilt involved over a case of the British demanding the sacred golden stool which the Asantehene sits on, thought to have been put on earth by the gods themselves, and a fake one being handed to the British unbeknownst to them).
After the tour of the museum we loaded back onto the bus and were taken to the Kumasi National Cultural Center which was a beautiful park-like area that sat on a hill above the central market. It consisted of different artist workshops and a few small places to eat. We spent only an hour there, but returned on Saturday where we had more time to shop around.
The rest of the night was spent at the Guest House where we caught up with our student leaders and advisers for ISEP and other ISEP members that we don't see on a regular basis. It was like a big family reunion!
Saturday was by far my favorite day. It was filled with so many wonderful participatory things that really just put me in the heart of the culture. After a lovely family breakfast of eggs, toast, and coffee (although there is no such thing as 'real' coffee here; unless you want to spend 5-8 cedi on a tiny little cup in a highly westernized institution which is by no means what I came here to do, so in the mean time I use Nescafe packets of 'coffee' which is more like coffee-flavored water), we headed to our first destination of Bonwire Village, a small village known for their production of Kente weaving. Kente cloth is a long strip of interwoven fabric, usually silk or cotton, that displays typically geometric shapes, but the shapes or symbols are meant to communicate meaningful messages to the observer. It is traditionally worn by important people of the Asnatehene's court and by the Asantehene himself. In more contemporary times, however, it is more acceptable to see kente patterns worn by anyone, but it still holds an important place in festivals held by the Akan. The colors are bold and colorful and each also has its own meaning.
The Kente itself is woven on looms. We observed men working on the looms in Bonwire, and some of us even got to try it out. Frank, one of the men weaving, taught me how to work the loom! It was actually a lot easier than I expected, although I was going at snail speed compared to him, not to mention I was doing a solid pattern where as typically there are so many different colors going and at so many different angles. I did it for some time and I was told I was a natural (this of course is probably told to any Obroni who trys).
The Kente really is a beautiful artwork and I bought myself a piece made by Frank that I plan to wear at graduation. I bargained hard for it and I was told I got a very fair price for it! There are two geometric figures repeated on it and I was told that one means "No two hands are equal" and the other means "One drop makes a mighty ocean."
Our next stop was to the village of Ntonso where Adinkra symbols are stamped on cloth. Adinkra symbols are used by the Akan in Ghana. They are typically used on cloth worn by chiefs or other people of importance during important festivals and ceremonies, such as the Kente cloth is used. Funerals are one of the most typical ones where you see men and women wearing red and black outfits with these symbols imprinted on the cloth. The symbols themselves each have a meaning attached to them, or rather a proverb. Some symbols communicate the same message, but they are always meant to tell something about the person wearing it and the reason they wear it. The Adinkra symbols are seen all around Ghana, from architecture (its common to see the symbols in railings or on on the side of buildings), to clothing or as decorative art on drums and such.
In Ntonso we were given a demonstration of how the dye used to stamp cloth is made and then we were given the chance to stamp our own cloth with the symbols of our choice. These villages that we went to are not 'set-up' villages like you might see at Williamsburg or other time period sights we are used to in America. These are actual villages where the every day hustle and bustle of life was going on. In fact, had we not been brought there by our group I may have never suspected these little places existed. So when we arrived at the place in Ntonso we walked through to a courtyard where houses were being occupied by local families. There was even a little cement building where someone was showering and women pounding fufu. We learned about how the bark from a particular tree is stripped and then soaked in water before being pounded and dried and later boiled to create the dyes. We all had the chance to pound the damp bark to extract the moisture and separate the dye. To be honest, I missed half the demonstration because I was interested in something else.
As I mentioned there were two women pounding fufu as we entered the compound. I had only had fufu once at this point but i knew that the process of making it was a physically taxing one. I told Susan, our director, that I wanted to try pounding fufu and she laughed at the fact that anyone would actually want to try it, but she said she would ask the women if it was alright. Now, fufu is a typical Ghanaian dish that consists of a plantain or yam mash mixed in with water and pounded into a large mass of dough-like consistency. It is served in ground-nut soup or light soup along with some sort of meat. It is eaten with the hands, pinching off parts of the fufu from the bottom of the soup. So Susan asked the women if it would be ok if I, Jenna, and Zuhra tried our skill at pounding fufu and the women graciously agreed, slightly amused at our curiosity. Pounding fufu involves lifting a large wooden staff with a rounded end and pounding down in the center of the fufu with as much force as you can. The tricky part is not catching your partner's hands in it as she turns the dough over with each pound making sure it is properly mashed through. The staff, or rod, was heavy, solid wood so it was hard to get a really powerful downward thrust, but it was fun to try. The women turning the fufu over while I pounded spoke to Susan in Twi and Susan told me that she had said I was doing well. Also just a quick fun note: I have seen some t-shirts on campus that say "Make fufu, not war" which, if you know the physical process that goes into fufu as you now do, it is pretty funny. Take your anger out on the fufu, not on other people is what it is saying.

After Ntonso we went to a wood carving village where we were given an hour or so to shop around in all these little shops. When we first stepped off the bus it was overwhelming because all the sellers were really aggressive, but at this time we were all a little more capable of handling ourselves in these situations, sort of politely brushing them off and ignoring their grabs as they try to take you to their shop. But once we broke off into smaller groups and started wandering around from shop to shop people were less aggressive and I actually had fun. I got to practice some of my Twi for bargaining. This is always fun. When someone sees you trying to use Twi they almost always smile and laugh, but its makes for a good interaction. And I'm pretty sure it helped me get prices down a lot. From my experiences with sellers I find that they always appreciate a good conversation and a little joking around. Jenna and I spent some time on the side of the road just playing on some drums with two sellers, and they tried to teach us some. Its safe to say that Africa has not brought out my sense of rhythm anymore that home does. So after a long day we made our last stop back at the Cultural Center. I got a Ghanaian dish of ampesi for lunch, It is boiled yams that you break with your hands and dip into palava sauce, a sort of spinach -like sauce. They provide bowls of water because you use your hands to eat it all. I love eating with my hands! Cutlery is so impersonal to the food that sustains us (ok perhaps I'm being a little extreme, haha).

The entire weekend was just a blissful experience of Ghanaian culture combined with amazing people. It reinforced just how amazing all the people in ISEP are. Our directors, Susan and Theresa, are beautiful people who take care of us every step of the way. Our student guides, Shadrach and Awushi, are like older siblings watching out for us and always there for a good laugh (even if its at my own expense). And all the students from all over the States, each with their own story, are such inspirations. I have said it before and i will say it again, I am blessed beyond belief to be in this beautiful country. It is thought that Ghana created the heart of Pangaea when it was one land mass, so is it too far to think that I am in the heart of the world right now?

Peace.

Katie