Cordage used to secure a hoop formed from a flexible stick. The hoop will be used to stretch and brace the bamboo sticks of the outer body of a basketry fish trap. Akanyakrom, 26 July, 2022.
The completed interior trap (tongue, exa woade in Ewe) made of bamboo that will be inserted into the outer body of the basketry fish trap. Once inserted and secured, the tongue allows fish to enter but blocks their exit from the trap. A twisted vine lies on the ground in front of the inner trap. This is the first step in processing the vine into rope like that used to weave the trap. A bale of industrially made blue fishing net sits in the background. Akanyakrom, 26 July, 2022.
Ewe fisherman Dzobo Sebastian uses rope made from a vine to secure bamboo sticks as he weaves a basketry fish trap. He has woven a first row, now secured by pegs, and is moving in the opposite direction as he weaves a second row. He uses his feet to secure the bamboo sticks as he twists the cord between sticks. Behind him is a wooden mallet used to process the cordage. A large blue industrially made fish net is stretched out behind him. Akanyakrom, 21 July, 2022.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Akanyakrom (resettled)
Subjects:
Men's work
Subjects Facet:
Bamboo; Cordage; Fish traps; Handicrafts; Baskets; Ewe (African people)
A fleet of motor-powered fishing boats along the shore of Bui Lake, formed by flooding behind Bui Dam as waters rose from 2012. Winds and waves on the lake require use of these larger motor-powered boats compared to the smaller canoes from which people fished on the Black Volta River prior to dam construction. Large fishing nets lay bundled near the boats. Fishing with industrially made nets has largely replaced alternatives like fishing with basket traps that were an effective and sustainable practice used by local Ewe fishermen. Bui Lake, near Bongase, 16 July, 2022.
View of the old Bongase to Ahenkro road, roughly three km south of Bongase, now inundated by the waters of Bui Lake as it rose behind Bui Dam after 2012. A canoe is visible on the shallow lake waters and the Banda hills rise steeply from the surrounding low rolling landscape. Concrete plinths line a cemented walkway, constructed as part of a foot bridge intended to replace the unpaved road, visible on the other side of the lake. Waters continued to rise, ultimately flooding the walkway. View to the south. Banda-Bongase, 16 July, 2022.
Junior High School students pose for a picture with their teacher and members of the Banda Heritage Initiative after participating in a consultation on a draft heritage learning resource ("Learning From Our Past. Banda District, Ghana"). Allison Balabuch (left), a University of Victoria PhD student in Curriculum and Instruction, drafted the resource. The girls hold weaving projects that they worked on during the consultation. The girls' teacher and Banda Heritage Initiative members Patrick Mensah (black cap) and Enoch Mensah (far right) stand with the girls. Model School, Ahenkro, 25 July, 2022.
Two Junior High School students try their hand at weaving on a simple stick loom as part of a consultation on a draft heritage learning resource ("Learning From Our Past. Banda District, Ghana"), which lays on the desk in front of them. The booklet is open to pages that describe how local people in the past wove textiles on strip looms. Teacher Jerry Tsito looks on as they weave. Model School, Ahenkro, 25 July, 2022.
Two Junior High School students try their hand at weaving on a simple stick loom as part of a consultation on a draft heritage learning resource ("Learning From Our Past. Banda District, Ghana"), which lays on the desk in front of them. The booklet is open to pages that describe how local people in the past wove textiles on strip looms. Model School, Ahenkro, 25 July, 2022.
A group of students at the Calvary Methodist Junior High School in Banda-Ahenkro consult a draft heritage learning resource ("Learning From Our Past, Banda District, Ghana") as they try their hand at weaving on simple stick looms. Teacher Jerry Tsito (blue shirt) coordinated classroom visits to gauge student interest in learning from heritage resources. Ahenkro, 27 July, 2022.
University of Victoria PhD student in Curriculum and Instruction Allison Balabuch helps two Junior High School students at the Model School who are learning to weave on simple stick looms as part of a consultation on a draft heritage learning resource ("Learning From Our Past, Banda District, Ghana"). Ahenkro, 25 July, 2022.
A group of Junior High School students who participated in a consultation on a draft heritage learning resource ("Learning From Our Past, Banda District, Ghana") display weaving projects that they worked on as part of a hands-on learning project. Ahenkro, 29 July, 2022.
Mawell Gbadago (left), Dzobo Sebastian (center) & Dzobo Reuben (right) pictured with a basketry fish trap (exa in Ewe) that they made as part of a British Museum Endangered Material Knowledge Programme project to document Indigenous technologies in the Banda area. In his right hand, Sebastian carries a length of coiled stick (afɔtasi in Ewe) like that used to force open the trap body; a bundle of twisted vine used to make the rope with which the fishermen weave the bamboo trap; and a wooden mallet (ɛka fokpo in Ewe) used to pound the vine (adzɔ in Ewe) as they process it into rope. Akanyakrom, 29 July, 2022.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Akanyakrom (resettled)
Subjects:
Men's work
Subjects Facet:
Bamboo; Cordage; Fish traps; Handicrafts; Baskets; Ewe (African people)
Ewe fishermen Dzobo Reuben (left), Maxwell Gbadago (center) and Dzobo Sebastian (right) stand alongside a bamboo fish trap that they made from locally harvested resources. The trap is oriented in the way it would be placed in the water, braced by two long sticks that would be driven into the river bottom. The trap would also be secured by a rope anchoring the trap to a nearby tree or other secure object. Akanyakrom, 26 July, 2022.
Ewe fisherman Dzobo Reuben holds the woven triangular bamboo-and-rope cover to the basketry fish trap as Dzobo Sebastian secures it in place. This cover can be removed to access fish in the trap. Akanyakrom, 26 July, 2022.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Akanyakrom
Subjects:
Men's work
Subjects Facet:
Bamboo; Cordage; Fish traps; Handicrafts; Baskets; Ewe (African people)
Dzobo Reuben, an Ewe fisherman, carries a cutlass in his right hand and a long bamboo stalk over his left shoulder. He has harvested the bamboo from riparian forest along the Volta River in preparation for making a fish trap. Volta River, 16 July, 2022.
Ewe fishermen Dzobo Sebastian (center), and Dzobo Reuben (left) weave the tongue (exa woade in Ewe) of a basketry fish trap. They use vine cordage to secure the bamboo sticks. This portion of the trap is inserted into the woven cylindrical trap body, allowing fish to enter but blocking their exit from the basketry trap. Maxwell Gbadago (right) uses a wooden mallet to pound a vine that has been twisted and dried in order to remove its bark and make it pliable. The resulting rope will be used to weave remaining parts of the fish trap. Akanyakrom, 23 July, 2022.
