Yefre wo sen (What is your name?)? Yefre me Yaw Daniel (I'm called or they call me Yaw Daniel). So, this is Twi. Unfortunately, there are Twi letters and sounds I can't replicate here, but this is close.
The Akan people and also people from other parts of Ghana who have adapted the Twi language are often named after the day of the week they were born. Hence, I am Yaw Daniel because I was born on Thursday. I've written about the family who I live with, Ama, Yaw Bimpe, Kwaku Baah. These names are all based on the days of the week. Here are the names of the other days:
Sunday: Kwasiada, Boy's name: Kwasi, Girl's name: Akosua.
Monday: Dwoada, Boy's name: Kwadwo, Girl's name: Adwoa.
Tuesday: Benada, Boy's name: Kwabena, Girl's name: Abenaa.
Wednesday: Wukuada, Boy's name: Kwaku, Girl's name: Akua.
Thursday: Yawoada, Boy's name: Yaw, Girl's name: Yaa.
Friday: (E)Fiada, Boy's name: Kofi, Girl's name: Afua/Afia.
Saturday: Memenada, Boy's name: Kwame, Girl's name: Amma.
This info was taken from my Twi book, A Comprehensive Course in Twi (Asante) for the Non-Twi Learner by Florence Abena Dolphyne.
According to my Bradt Guide, the Akan believe the person's soul is linked to the day of the week they were born. I was told by one Ashanti that there are different personality types for each day of the week. He said "Yaw", Thursday born, are strong. I've asked around, but the people I've talked to don't know the personality types for the days.
Also, according to Bradt: Eight days after the child is born, the parents decide on another name to be given, often that of a respected family member. Kwaku Baah was named after his grandfather on his father's side.
Mr. Atta, the father of the household I'm staying at, is named "Atta" because he was a twin. Other spellings are "Ata" or for a female, "Ataa"
Two three year old girls who were twins stopped by over the weekend and did some drawing. Their names were Sefenica and Levina(most people I've met also have an English name). I've met some people with beautiful English names such as: Gifty, Comfort, Patience, Lovejoy.
For boys, the name, Ebenezer, is alive and well in Ghana. I spose Dickens put the kabosh on this name in most other English speaking countries. It's refreshing to ask a little boy his name and he responds, "Ebenezer". Also, Emanuelle is more common here than what I've heard in the States.
Yefre wo sen?
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
"The Beautiful Game", Ghana Black Stars, Asanti Kotoko
The U.S. football (soccer) team almost pulled it off on Sunday. They were ahead an unbelievable 2-nil at the half against the mighty Brazil in the FIFA Confederation Championship game!
I started thinking about the extra clout I'd have in the village if the U.S. won(Maybe I'd be invited to some fufu dinners in honor of our victory). But, alas, the Brazilians did what they do best and scored three goals in the second half to defeat the U.S.
It was an amazing run for the U.S. though. They started out losing two matches in a row, then they beat Egypt 3-0, then totally unexpectedly stopped Spain 2-0. Spain was ranked number one in the world I believe with a 35 game winning streak, and in this tournament, they hadn't had any goals scored against them. And then, the U.S. of all teams comes along and humbles them. So, maybe this will increase the popularity of the sport in the U.S. Maybe someday it will rank right up there with baseball, basketball, American football, and ice hockey. I don't know where it ranks now, but I'm sure it's gaining popularity.
I hardly ever watched soccer in the States. I did play soccer for two years in high school. Our coach was a Mankato State University student from Nigeria, Ebbi Clark, who had posters of Jimi Hendrix in his dorm room and taught me the opening chords to Foxy Lady. When I was 16 yrs. old, I spent two weeks in Germany and got to see Bayern Munich play 1860 Ingolstadt at the Olympic Stadium. When there was a goal, beer would rain down on us. Large groups of blue(1860) or red(Bayern)clad young men would gather outside and march together chanting their teams songs or name. Intense.
Football(soccer) is BIG here in Ghana! In fact, it was football that got the inkling going about Ghana as the country to go to. It was 2006, and I stopped into a Greek Cafe in Astoria, Queens for a coffee and baklava. The match between Ghana and the U.S. was on during World Cup. I sat down and watched it. Ghana won 1-0. I remember being really happy for them, enjoying all the dancing and wild red, yellow, and green outfits, and all the flags being waved. It was truly a jubilant experience, and I imagined the whole country celebrating.
The Ghana Black Stars are doing well this spring and summer. They did lose to The Democratic Republic of Congo 2-0 in the final of the Pan African Games, the Chan Tournament in March. These past three months, they shut down Benin, Mali, and Sudan. I was at a spot in Kumasi when they were playing Sudan. It was a huge crowd gathered around the T.V., mostly men with some children. When Ghana scored, the place erupted with everyone standing up and cheering. Ghana won 2-0. Hopefully they'll go far in the World Cup which is being held in South Africa next year.
For the Ashanti's, the team that is the favorite is Ashanti Kotoko. It's also the Asantahene's (Ashanti King's) team. I was told Kotoko is porcupine in Twi and that's their mascot. A couple weeks ago, they beat the Accra Hearts of Oak and the village was shouting and celebrating. In this area, there is also teams such as King Faisal, Kesben FC, and Obuasi has Ashanti Gold.
Here are the boys playing a local pick-up game near the house I'm staying at in Adugyama, Ghana. They play here often and have teams of usually 4-6 players on each side. The boys and many Ghanaians are really into European football. England's Chelsea FC is a really popular team because one of the Balck Stars, Michael Essien, plays for them. They also imitate their other favorite players. At the moment, Barcelona's Messi from Argentina is a favorite and so is Kaka from Brazil who I think will be playing for Real Madrid next year. Kwaku Baah, one of the boys at the house I'm at, likes Kaka, so I now call him Kaka Baah. I preferred Liverpool as a team this spring. I think they were the first team I watched play and they did well that game, so I liked them. Also, probably because of the Beatles.
So, I've finally gotten into what the rest of the world has been into for so long. Football (soccer), "The Beautiful Game", all you really need is a ball or something kind of round...
I started thinking about the extra clout I'd have in the village if the U.S. won(Maybe I'd be invited to some fufu dinners in honor of our victory). But, alas, the Brazilians did what they do best and scored three goals in the second half to defeat the U.S.
It was an amazing run for the U.S. though. They started out losing two matches in a row, then they beat Egypt 3-0, then totally unexpectedly stopped Spain 2-0. Spain was ranked number one in the world I believe with a 35 game winning streak, and in this tournament, they hadn't had any goals scored against them. And then, the U.S. of all teams comes along and humbles them. So, maybe this will increase the popularity of the sport in the U.S. Maybe someday it will rank right up there with baseball, basketball, American football, and ice hockey. I don't know where it ranks now, but I'm sure it's gaining popularity.
I hardly ever watched soccer in the States. I did play soccer for two years in high school. Our coach was a Mankato State University student from Nigeria, Ebbi Clark, who had posters of Jimi Hendrix in his dorm room and taught me the opening chords to Foxy Lady. When I was 16 yrs. old, I spent two weeks in Germany and got to see Bayern Munich play 1860 Ingolstadt at the Olympic Stadium. When there was a goal, beer would rain down on us. Large groups of blue(1860) or red(Bayern)clad young men would gather outside and march together chanting their teams songs or name. Intense.
Football(soccer) is BIG here in Ghana! In fact, it was football that got the inkling going about Ghana as the country to go to. It was 2006, and I stopped into a Greek Cafe in Astoria, Queens for a coffee and baklava. The match between Ghana and the U.S. was on during World Cup. I sat down and watched it. Ghana won 1-0. I remember being really happy for them, enjoying all the dancing and wild red, yellow, and green outfits, and all the flags being waved. It was truly a jubilant experience, and I imagined the whole country celebrating.
The Ghana Black Stars are doing well this spring and summer. They did lose to The Democratic Republic of Congo 2-0 in the final of the Pan African Games, the Chan Tournament in March. These past three months, they shut down Benin, Mali, and Sudan. I was at a spot in Kumasi when they were playing Sudan. It was a huge crowd gathered around the T.V., mostly men with some children. When Ghana scored, the place erupted with everyone standing up and cheering. Ghana won 2-0. Hopefully they'll go far in the World Cup which is being held in South Africa next year.
For the Ashanti's, the team that is the favorite is Ashanti Kotoko. It's also the Asantahene's (Ashanti King's) team. I was told Kotoko is porcupine in Twi and that's their mascot. A couple weeks ago, they beat the Accra Hearts of Oak and the village was shouting and celebrating. In this area, there is also teams such as King Faisal, Kesben FC, and Obuasi has Ashanti Gold.
Here are the boys playing a local pick-up game near the house I'm staying at in Adugyama, Ghana. They play here often and have teams of usually 4-6 players on each side. The boys and many Ghanaians are really into European football. England's Chelsea FC is a really popular team because one of the Balck Stars, Michael Essien, plays for them. They also imitate their other favorite players. At the moment, Barcelona's Messi from Argentina is a favorite and so is Kaka from Brazil who I think will be playing for Real Madrid next year. Kwaku Baah, one of the boys at the house I'm at, likes Kaka, so I now call him Kaka Baah. I preferred Liverpool as a team this spring. I think they were the first team I watched play and they did well that game, so I liked them. Also, probably because of the Beatles.
So, I've finally gotten into what the rest of the world has been into for so long. Football (soccer), "The Beautiful Game", all you really need is a ball or something kind of round...
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
SaNsA International Artists' Workshop, Kumasi, Ghana, June 2nd - 15th, 2009.
Bernard Akoi-Jackson (Ghana) Installation, SaNsA International Artists' Workshop
Originally uploaded by Daniel Kerkhoff
The Asantahene of the Arts
This is Bernard Akoi-Jackson and his installation at the exhibition for The SaNsA International Artists' Workshop. The workshop took place from June 2nd to June 15th, 2009 at the Ghana Cultural Centre in Kumasi. Ten artists from different parts of the world and ten artists from Ghana came together for a two week workshop. In the evenings the artists gave presentations and had discussions in which I was very fortunate to attend a couple.
The artists attending were:
Adwoa Amoah (Ghana) Adwoa also teaches at the Foundation for Contemporary Art in Accra, www.fcaghana.org
Amenyo Dzikunu Bansah (Ghana)
Asokipaala Aberinga (Ghana) Asokipaala is a member of SWOPA (Sirigu Women's Organization for Pottery and Art) located in the village of Sirigu in northern Ghana. I'll be visiting there in July.
Atta Kwami (Ghana) Atta is also an art historian and a professor of art at The Univ. of Kumasi, K.N.U.S.T. He is the main organizer of SaNsA.
Bernard Akoi-Jackson (Ghana) Bernard lives in Accra and teaches at the Nubuke Foundation, www.nubukefoundation.org
Elias Tiger Oppong (Ghana)
Eugene Ampadu (Ghana)
Emmanuel Adjare (Ghana)
Isumaila Moro (Ghana)
Jennifer Opare Ankrah (Ghana)
Ji Hye Yeom (South Korea) www.jihyeyeom.com
Jorge Rocha (Portugal) www.jorgerocha.org
Goddy Leye (Cameroon) Goddy also runs an art center called Art Bakery in Cameroon.
Umesh Kumar (India)
Li Chuan (China)
Mary Hark (USA) Mary also teaches art at the Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison.
Rasheed Olaniyi Akindiya (Nigeria), Rasheed works with street kids in Accra, www.akirash-black-roots.net
Amara Hark-Weber (USA)
Tooraz Khamenehzadeh (Iran) www.tooraj.ir
Urmila Venugopal (India)
The photo below is of Atta Kwami's work. You can google his name and find more of his work on-line. Atta Kwami shows his work internationally and lives and works in Kumasi.
The workshop was held in a large building at the Cultural Centre. This allowed for artists to really use space. These paintings by Atta were very large.
Here is Jorge Rocha (below)singing some Fado. One of the installations was based on music. Two guitarists played and there was an open microphone. Many students came to the exhibition and often a student would go to the mic and start singing. I heard some wonderful music and often other students would begin to dance, a nice festive occasion. Jorge's art was based on food and would cook daily for the workshop. He would go to the market and would create meals based on Ghana dishes along with specialties from the various regions of all the participants. I was lucky to be able to taste some of his art as well.
Jorge Rocha (Portugal) Singing, SaNsA International Artists' Workshop, Kumasi Ghana
Originally uploaded by Daniel Kerkhoff
Thursday, June 4, 2009
The Family I'm Staying With, Adugyama, Ghana
Since the beginning of April, I've been staying with a family in Adugyama, Ghana. I was introduced to the Atta family by Andrew Roberts, a former Peace Corps volunteer who lived with them for three years. I'm paying rent for a room and for the hallway area as an informal art center for children. They have been gracious in taking me into their family, teaching me Twi and Ghanaian culture, and helping me get oriented to the village.
Here's a photo of Mr. Atta, Auntie Bea, and their 15 yr. old son, Yaw Bimpe. We had just come back from church. It was Holy Thursday and we were at their Jehovah's Witness church, my first experience in a Jehovah's Witness Church. We sang in Twi and passed the bread and wine and afterwards everyone wanted to shake my head and welcome me. Mr. Atta is a successful farmer who is often working at his cocoa farm some distance away. He comes back every two weeks for a week or so and works on the farm he owns in Adugyama.
Auntie Bea is also very busy working on the farm. She is often bringing back cocoa, plantains, casava, yams or maize. At home, she drys the cocoa, prepares and sells maize, and cooks fufu (the main staple food made of plantains, casava, yams). Every Sunday, I eat fufu in the evening with the family. Fufu's the main staple in the Ashanti Region. It took me awhile to get used to the doughy texture but kakra kakra (little by little). It's usually served with a stew made of peppers, palm oil, and tomatoes.
Mr. Atta and Auntie Bea are often laughing and talking with those who stop by. The family spends a lot of time just enjoying each others' company and people are always stopping in for a chat. Pretty much everyone's speaking in Twi and someone will help me with a translation, usually Yaw Bimpe.
Yaw Bimpe goes to school in Abuakwa, about 25-30 km away on the way to Kumasi. He enjoys soccer and is often playing in the evening in neighborhood matches. He hangs out with his friends a lot and is singing songs he learns on the radio or on T.V. He likes to joke around and reminds me of so many other teenagers I know.
Sarah is going to nurses training school in Kumasi. She comes back to visit occasionally and is outgoing. Ama (in the middle) is close to finishing her high school studies. She attends a boarding school in Kumasi. She said she wants to go into business. She was home for the month of April and helped me with translating Twi which was really nice. She and Yaw Bimpe are really close and entertain each other a lot.
Becky has only been back home a couple of times while I've been here. She's studying geological engineering at K.N.U.S.T, The University of Kumasi. She has one more year left and says she'd like to visit the U.S. maybe in a year or two.
This is a picture of Nana. She has a good sense of humor and as you see in this picture is not camera shy. She's often listening to her radio in the evening. I've gotten into the habit of drinking Chelsea tea and will often share it with her which she appreciates. She reminds me of my own grandmother. She'll sometimes bow down to me as a gesture of respect and then I'll bow down to her a little lower as a gesture of respect until we're both close to the ground and chuckling.
Nana has a room in the adjacent bldg along with Kwaku Baah, her grandson whom she takes care of. Nana is the mother of auntie Bea and Rose. I wrote about Rose and her daughter Sandra in the hairstylist blog. Nana's other sisters stop by and chat and it seems like family of one type or another is always stopping by. Her son also lives in a little house in the back. I see him occasionally. There is also a couple of farm laborers that live in the house. And then of course the goats have a room of their own and in the evening mosey into it or are coralled into it.
Kwaku Baah with a Cold 500ml Sachet of Hygienic Water, Adugyama, Ghana
Originally uploaded by Daniel Kerkhoff
This is a picture of Kwaku Baah. He lives in the house with Nana, his grandmother. He likes to draw and has been drawing a lot of houses lately. He also like to play soccer, joke around, and tell stories. Yaw Bimpe and his friends, Kwaku Baah, and I have been going on walks to neighboring villages.
Besides the family I'm staying with in these pictures, there are so many other friends and family that are always stopping by. Just staying at the house seems to me a pretty active experience. I do a lot of my painting in the back now by Nana's room and the kitchen. I have a little space to work and still be a part of all the family happenings.
Here's a photo of Mr. Atta, Auntie Bea, and their 15 yr. old son, Yaw Bimpe. We had just come back from church. It was Holy Thursday and we were at their Jehovah's Witness church, my first experience in a Jehovah's Witness Church. We sang in Twi and passed the bread and wine and afterwards everyone wanted to shake my head and welcome me. Mr. Atta is a successful farmer who is often working at his cocoa farm some distance away. He comes back every two weeks for a week or so and works on the farm he owns in Adugyama.
Auntie Bea is also very busy working on the farm. She is often bringing back cocoa, plantains, casava, yams or maize. At home, she drys the cocoa, prepares and sells maize, and cooks fufu (the main staple food made of plantains, casava, yams). Every Sunday, I eat fufu in the evening with the family. Fufu's the main staple in the Ashanti Region. It took me awhile to get used to the doughy texture but kakra kakra (little by little). It's usually served with a stew made of peppers, palm oil, and tomatoes.
Mr. Atta and Auntie Bea are often laughing and talking with those who stop by. The family spends a lot of time just enjoying each others' company and people are always stopping in for a chat. Pretty much everyone's speaking in Twi and someone will help me with a translation, usually Yaw Bimpe.
Yaw Bimpe goes to school in Abuakwa, about 25-30 km away on the way to Kumasi. He enjoys soccer and is often playing in the evening in neighborhood matches. He hangs out with his friends a lot and is singing songs he learns on the radio or on T.V. He likes to joke around and reminds me of so many other teenagers I know.
Sarah is going to nurses training school in Kumasi. She comes back to visit occasionally and is outgoing. Ama (in the middle) is close to finishing her high school studies. She attends a boarding school in Kumasi. She said she wants to go into business. She was home for the month of April and helped me with translating Twi which was really nice. She and Yaw Bimpe are really close and entertain each other a lot.
Becky has only been back home a couple of times while I've been here. She's studying geological engineering at K.N.U.S.T, The University of Kumasi. She has one more year left and says she'd like to visit the U.S. maybe in a year or two.
This is a picture of Nana. She has a good sense of humor and as you see in this picture is not camera shy. She's often listening to her radio in the evening. I've gotten into the habit of drinking Chelsea tea and will often share it with her which she appreciates. She reminds me of my own grandmother. She'll sometimes bow down to me as a gesture of respect and then I'll bow down to her a little lower as a gesture of respect until we're both close to the ground and chuckling.
Nana has a room in the adjacent bldg along with Kwaku Baah, her grandson whom she takes care of. Nana is the mother of auntie Bea and Rose. I wrote about Rose and her daughter Sandra in the hairstylist blog. Nana's other sisters stop by and chat and it seems like family of one type or another is always stopping by. Her son also lives in a little house in the back. I see him occasionally. There is also a couple of farm laborers that live in the house. And then of course the goats have a room of their own and in the evening mosey into it or are coralled into it.
Kwaku Baah with a Cold 500ml Sachet of Hygienic Water, Adugyama, Ghana
Originally uploaded by Daniel Kerkhoff
This is a picture of Kwaku Baah. He lives in the house with Nana, his grandmother. He likes to draw and has been drawing a lot of houses lately. He also like to play soccer, joke around, and tell stories. Yaw Bimpe and his friends, Kwaku Baah, and I have been going on walks to neighboring villages.
Besides the family I'm staying with in these pictures, there are so many other friends and family that are always stopping by. Just staying at the house seems to me a pretty active experience. I do a lot of my painting in the back now by Nana's room and the kitchen. I have a little space to work and still be a part of all the family happenings.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Filling Stations, Tro-Tros, Chinese in Ghana
This is a filling station, not far from the Cultural Centre in Kumasi. It's an example of many that are popping up. They are very large, containing many stores like a mini-mall. Their glass structures stand out amongst the many concrete buildings. Oil was recently discovered off the coast of Ghana, maybe a year and a half ago it was announced in the news. The government quickly said that they will use the resouces to the benefit of all. This probably due to the troubles in the Nigeria Delta where the riches from oil production are not benefitting most of the people in the region.
This is where I'm typing right now. It's about 30 minutes from the village I live in, Adugyama. Kwame, a friend of Doris's first took me here, and it's the fastest internet cafe I have found in the area. The ones in Kumasi were much slower than here. Kwame and Doris both know the owner of this filling station and I had lunch with him one day. He lived in Germany for many years. He said the new addition (left in the photo) will be a Chinese language school. His wife does international trading and goes to China often.
The Chinese are very active in Ghana. They are doing joint partnerships with Ghana on road construction. On the road I travel on to Kumasi, I see advisors working on its expansion. I also have seen Chinese/advisors on the expansion of the highway north of Accra. There is a book that was making the news here in March called Dead Aid by Dambisa Moyo. She has degrees from Oxford and Harvard. She argues that aid has actually been detrimental to Africa and the business/partnership approach such as what China is doing is a better approach.
At Star Oil, there is also a grocery market, an MTN phone office, and a restuarant. I usually eat Jolof rice(fried rice), chicken, and a salad along with a Star beer.
This is a tro-tro. It is the primary way I get around and it's inexpensive. Kwame explained to me that the lowest pesewa is called a tro-tro, basically a penny. And it usually costs pennys to get from place to place, thus the name. The vans I see mostly are Nissan vans. They can get fourteen passengers in, not counting the driver, the "mate" (coin collector), or children.
The "mate" operates the van door, will chant the names of the destinations alerting people on the sides of the road. He often sounds like an auctioneer and it took me awhile to get used to the chanting. Abuakwaabaukwaabuakwa was what I would listen for. Or when I was staying in Kumasi studying batik at the Culture Center, I would listen for Santasisantasisantasi. This was where I went to for the night, my teachers residence.
Hand signals are also used. In Accra, I often would go to Nkrumah Circle, also called Accra Circle, or just Circle. The hand jesture I would look for from the tro-tro would by an index finger pointing down and making a circle. The chant would often be Circcirccirccirc.
When I was staying at Lincoln School and needed to get to Kumasi, the tro-tros would be going to Kejetia Market. The hand signal used would be an index finger pointing upwards and jabbing upwards.
If a tro-tro is not full, the driver would beep his horn and he or his mate will make a hand gesture with the hand open and upward going in a twisting manner, saying which way you heading? I often mouth the name of the city and they would stop. If it's the next place coming up, I will often make a gesture pointing downward and that's sufficient.
I've had to wait a long time for a tro-tro and sometimes it gets competetive getting into one. In some cases, I'll opt for a taxi. A shared taxi is cheaper and fills with usually four other people. A drop taxi is one you take by yourself and I've hardly taken that one. Oftentimes I might wait inside of a parked tro-tro until it gets filled up. I've only had to wait 20 minutes or so, but I've heard it can be hours in some remoter places.
I like the tro-tros. It's not the safest way to get around, but when you're packed in with so many other people, there can be a community experience, an intimacy. Some of my favorite moments in Ghana have been looking out the windows of a tro-tro at the beautiful, lush countryside--trees, plantains, fields of green, maize, and rocky hills. When there's some nice African music, it doesn't get any better. Oftentimes, there's talk radio in Twi. It sounds similar to talk radio in the States, often very loud and constant.
Friday, April 17th: From Adugyama to Kumasi. This morning there were 4 goats stuffed into the back end. I was near the back and one of the passengers was complaining about the goats nipping them or hoofing them in the heels. The owner who looked like he came from the north because he had on a moslem like scarf gently moved to the back so that a woman complaining could be further from the goats.
Between Accra and Kumasi, I've taken the government buses called STC and also the O&A buses. They're similar to Greyhound. A 5-6 hour trip between Kumasi and Accra costs 10 cedis on STC buses and 9 cedis on O&A buses. They show movies during the trip, usually Nigerian movies because they're in English and are entertaining. I watched one that was about a father an son, called Ibu and his son. The father is a mechanic and his son is usually getting into all sorts of trouble. They make for a comical pair. I watched a horror movie based on African witchcraft about a young woman defying her father and going to a party. A demon comes and haunts them and kills them off one by one. There was another movie where a woman is tired of the way men can marry more than one woman. She ends up courting three men and gets three marriage proposals from them. In the end, they find out what she's up to and play a trick on her.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Ghana Money, Perspectives on Ghana, Cell Phones, Misc.
The cedi is the main currency of Ghana. I've been mainly using the one, five, and ten cedi notes. One dollar is equivalent to about 1.35 cedis. Only about a year ago, I believe, the cedi and the dollar were fairly equivalent. In the past few months, there has been inflation which has many people concerned.
The pesewas are the coins used. The ones in the picture from top to bottom are 5, 10, 20, and 50 pesewas. There are signs around Kumasi encouraging people to use coins. The coins were not too long ago meaningless until the new cedi notes were introduced.
The notes used to be in the thousands before the new system was introduced. One cedi was equivalent to 10,000 cedis before the change. 10 pesewas was 1,000 cedis. People often prefer will use the older system when asked about prices.
Perspectives on Ghana and Africa in General:
People often have certain ideas of Africa that are often overly simplistic from what the west is given in the media. I've talked to Ghanaians who tell me that the west only reports about the negative aspects of Africa and lump the whole continent together as if it was one country. When people asked me why I was going to Ghana, one of the reasons I gave was because my own ignorance was intolerable. I didn't want to just believe what I read in the papers. I wanted my own experience.
Ghanaians who travel overseas hear all sorts of crazy stories from Europeans and Americans who believe that they still live in trees or are all in little thatched roofed houses. They can't believe that Ghanaians would even want to return to their own country. This is what I've heard several times from Ghanaians.
Although there are certainly major problems in Ghana, it is considered one of the model countries on the continent for its stability, democracy, and economic growth. I have read that Uganda and Botswana are the other two model countries. Many people here in Ghana are thriving in business, building big houses, driving BMWs, Mercedes, Toyota SUVs, and all sorts of models associated in the west with wealth and financial status. Some Ghanaians I have talked to wish the west were more aware of these aspects as well.
Unfortunately, I am not that interested in taking photos and writing about nice cars, successful businesses, big houses, and other affluences and modern developments. I'm staying in a little village where they don't have as much financially. They are mainly a tight knit farming community who have some modern conveniences but also live traditionally.
I'm interested in witnessing how traditions combine, coexist, or get deferred to what is considered modern. I'll be mainly writing about these things and the people that I live with and meet.
That being said, I'll probably devote a couple blogs to modern developments and the increased affluence that is happening here in Ghana. Cell phones are everywhere now. Many people have maybe two cell phones, each from a different company. Those that don't have a phone, can go to a little kiosk, often a wooden box with an umbrella and pay to use the attendants phone. Kiosks and phone shops are everywhere The main phone companies are: MTN, Zain, Tigo, Kasapa, and Vodaphone.
Vodaphone, the recent merger of Ghana One Touch and Ghana Telecom, has done a big media blitz. Their color is red. Many buildings around Kumasi have been recently painted in a gloss red with the white Vodaphone symbol. Zain has T.V. commercials showing young people dancing and singing. One of their pitches is: Zain, your world of freedom...
My favorite T.V. commercial if from the cell phone company, Kasapa. It shows an older couple in their living room. It's late at night. The man is wearing a muscle shirt sitting on the couch watching T.V. The woman is in her night gown and wearing curlers. She is heavy set.
Her cell phone rings, she answers and begins a lively conversation. While talking, she walks back and forth blocking the T.V. Her husband gets irriated that she's blocking his view. Finally, she sits down and says goodbye to the caller. Her husband, exasperated, says something like, "Who was that? You were talking for two hours." She says, "Ahhhh, it was the wrong number."
Kasapa was advertizing reduced rates in the evening and night time. I bought one of the cheapest phones I could get for 30 cedis. The company I'm using is Tigo. I buy little cards of time that I punch into my phone.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Hair Stylists: Sandra and Her Mother, Rose
This is Sandra doing a really cool hair style for her friend using little sticks placed in her friend's hair. Sandra is five yrs. old. She spent a lot of time and was very focused on creating this really interesting hair fashion. I'd like to see this catch on and be seen on the streets of New York. An expansion of the two chopsticks style.
Sandra lives at the same place I do and is often drawing with me or hanging out and playing. She has many friends in the neighborhood. I see them playing hand games and 'kitchen' with tin cans and dirt and water. Her and her friends have all sorts of games they devise. They're often dancing and singing songs as well. Sandra's mother, Rose, runs a successful hair salon in town right on the Sunyani Rd.
Here is a top view of the hair style by Sandra.
This is Rose, Sandra's mother. She is Auntie Bea's sister and lives in the place that I'm at where there are two houses right next to each other. Here she is having fun posing for a photo in her hair salon.
She's usually very busy in her salon coloring hair, adding extensions and wigs, and doing various types of hair cuts. She has a couple of assistants as well who are learning from her.
Rose taught me how to hand wash my clothes properly and will occasionally cook me local Ghanaian dishes. I also have difficulties with my back on occasion and she teaches me different exercises and stretches.
Here is the view of her hair salon on the Sunyani Rd., the main highway between the cities of Kumasi and Sunyani.
A fashion note or cultural note: I noticed girls wearing two or three rows of beads around their waist, a belt of beads. I was told girls wear these beads because it will help them have wider hips and a larger bottom. Girls wear them up to ten yrs. of age or even older.
Another fashion note: I watched on the news that in Burkino Faso, the country north of Ghana the latest fashion trend is to create very dark, pronounced eyebrows using eyeliner. They showed all sorts of very long and interesting shaped dark lines on the eyebrows of women in Burkino Faso.
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