A bow-shaped tool (klada in Nafaanra) made from flexible wood and taut string rests on a folded handwoven blue-and-white textile called Kyara. Women used the bow to prepare cotton for spinning into thread. After removing seeds from the cotton, they held the bow's string over the fibers. Plucking the string caused cotton fibers to stick to it. By pulling up on the bow, the cotton became fluffed and its fibers aligned, making it easier to spin. The klada and handwoven textiles seen in the picture were among heirloom objects on display as part of a Heritage Day and Olden Times Foods Fair held at the Banda Cultural Centre. Ahenkro, 2014-07-31.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects Facet:
Textiles; West African strip weaving; Weaving; Handicraft
A textile made of handwoven cotton strips, photographed while on display at a Heritage Day and Olden Times Food Fair held at the Banda Cultural Centre. This cloth is called Kyekye and is sewn from strips of similar dark blue-and-white design. Variation in patterning is created by offsetting strips. Sections of solid color created by weaving blue weft over blue warp threads are sewn to strip sections with horizontal stripes created by alternating blue and white weft threads. Ahenkro, 31 July, 2014.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects Facet:
Textiles; West African strip weaving; Weaving; Handicraft
Women work together to shape (foreground) and coat (center) fuura balls in preparation for an Olden Times Food Fair held at the Banda Cultural Centre with sponsorship from Amanda L. Logan. The cooked and pounded dough rests in an aluminum headpan, from which women take handfuls of dough that they will form into balls using a calabash bowl (chrɛgbɔɔ in Nafaanra). A smaller pan holds millet flour in which the finished balls are rolled before serving. Ahenkro, 30 July, 2014.
A folded white textile made of handwoven cotton strips, photographed while on display at a Heritage Day and Olden Times Food Fair held at the Banda Cultural Centre, with sponsorship from Amanda L. Logan. The name of this cloth design is Bɔfige. Ahenkro, 31 July, 2014.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects Facet:
Textiles; West African strip weaving; Weaving; Handicraft
Two folded textiles made from handwoven cotton strips, pieced together in a design called Dɔnkɔnfra. They were photographed while on display at a Heritage Day and Olden Times Food Fair held at the Banda Cultural Centre. One cloth rests on top of the other. The lighter colored strips in each cloth have white warp threads woven together with white, red and blue weft threads. Darker strips were woven from blue and white warp and weft threads. Ahenkro, 31 July, 2014.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects Facet:
Textiles; West African strip weaving; Weaving; Handicraft
A folded gray-and-white textile made of handwoven cotton strips, photographed while on display at a Heritage Day and Olden Times Food Fair held at the Banda Cultural Centre. Textiles of this design are called Gbenalekinu. A narrow band of red woven accent can be seen on two of the strips. Ahenkro, 31 July, 2014.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects Facet:
Textiles; West African strip weaving; Weaving; Handicraft
A textile made of handwoven cotton strips, photographed while on display at a Heritage Day and Olden Times Food Fair held at the Banda Cultural Centre. This cloth is called Mmɔlɔ and is sewn from strips of similar blue-and-white striped design. Ahenkro, 31 July, 2014.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
8.165892, -2.354363
Subjects Facet:
Textiles; West African strip weaving; Weaving; Handicraft
Two textiles made from handwoven cotton strips rest on an aluminum tray, together with a spindle wrapped with locally made cotton thread, next to which is some unspun fluffed cotton. This blue-and-white cloth design is known as Mmɔlɔ Kyara. Visible at the top of the image are two baskets in which women keep their spinning equipment. To the right, a calabash ladle rests inside a calabash bowl (chrԑgbͻͻ in Nafaanra). These heirloom objects were among displays at a Heritage Day and Olden Times Food Fair held at the Banda Cultural Centre with sponsorship by Dr. Amanda L. Logan. Ahenkro, 31 July, 2014.
A folded textile made of handwoven cotton strips, photographed while on display at a Heritage Day and Olden Times Food Fair held at the Banda Cultural Centre. The name of this cloth design is Mmɔlɔ Kyara. A wood spindle wrapped with locally made cotton thread rests alongside the cloth. Ahenkro, 31 July, 2014.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
8.165892, -2.354363
Subjects Facet:
Textiles; West African strip weaving; Weaving; Handicraft
Two folded textiles made from handwoven cotton strips, pieced together in a design called Mmɔlɔ Kyara. They were photographed while on display at a Heritage Day and Olden Times Food Fair held at the Banda Cultural Centre. One cloth is made from alternating strips of white and blue-and-white striped cloth. The other is made of similar blue-and-white strips, in which white weft threads create a checkered design. Ahenkro, 31 July, 2014.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects Facet:
Textiles; West African strip weaving; Weaving; Handicraft
Sorghum grains (Sorghum bicolor) have been boiled in water to make pito, a fermented beer. The grain will be sieved away after the liquid ferments. A woman lifts a calabash bowl (chrԑgbͻͻ in Nafaanra) of the fermenting liquid from the aluminum headpan that holds the mixture. Ahenkro, 6 June, 2011.
Finished balls of fuura, a pearl millet dumpling, rest in an aluminum headpan. The food is made from fermented pearl millet, which is ground and mixed together with ground spices and water. The mixture is formed into balls, which are boiled. Boiled balls may be pounded and more spices added, after which the mixture is shaped into balls and rolled in ground millet before serving. The balls are smashed and enjoyed with pepper sauce or milk. This dish was prepared and served at the Olden Times Food Fair held at the Banda Cultural Centre with sponsorship from Amanda L. Logan. Ahenkro, 30 July, 2014.
A woman pulls fuura dough from a pounded mass that rests in an aluminum headpan. The food is made from fermented pearl millet, which is ground and mixed together with ground spices and water. The mixture is formed into balls, which are boiled. Here the boiled balls have been pounded into a dough in preparation for forming the balls. They will be rolled in ground millet before serving. This dish was prepared and served at the Olden Times Food Fair held at the Banda Cultural Centre with sponsorship from Amanda L. Logan. Ahenkro, 30 July, 2014.
Two textiles made from handwoven cotton strips rest on an aluminum tray, together with a spindle wrapped with locally made cotton thread, next to which is some unspun fluffed cotton. This blue-and-white cloth design is known as Mmɔlɔ Kyara. Visible at the top of the image are two baskets in which women keep their spinning equipment. To the right, a calabash ladle rests inside a calabash bowl (chrԑgbͻͻ in Nafaanra). These heirloom objects were among displays at a Heritage Day and Olden Times Food Fair held at the Banda Cultural Centre with sponsorship by Dr. Amanda L. Logan. Ahenkro, 31 July, 2014.
A textile made of handwoven cotton strips, photographed while on display at a Heritage Day and Olden Times Food Fair held at the Banda Cultural Centre. This cloth is called Nyankakya and is sewn from strips of similar white-and-blue design. Ahenkro, 31 July, 2014.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects Facet:
Textiles; West African strip weaving; Weaving; Handicraft
A textile made of handwoven cotton strips, photographed while on display at a Heritage Day and Olden Times Food Fair held at the Banda Cultural Centre. This cloth is called Surugukawa and is sewn from strips of similar blue-and-white striped design. Ahenkro, 31 July, 2014.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects Facet:
Textiles; West African strip weaving; Weaving; Handicraft
Several folded textiles made by sewing together handwoven cotton strips, photographed while on display at a Heritage Day and Olden Times Food Fair held at the Banda Cultural Centre. This cloth is called Yongokyara and is sewn from alternating strips of white or white-and-blue and dark blue-and-white designs. Ahenkro, 31 July, 2014.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects Facet:
Textiles; West African strip weaving; Weaving; Handicraft;
A textile made of handwoven cotton strips, photographed while on display at a Heritage Day and Olden Times Food Fair held at the Banda Cultural Centre. This cloth is called Yowɔɔ and is sewn from strips of similar dark blue-and-white striped design. Ahenkro, 31 July, 2014.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects Facet:
Textiles; West African strip weaving; Weaving; Handicraft
A metal pot holds a grain-based dish known as chobi in Nafaanra. Made from fresh maize, the kernels are cut from the cob and cooked together with a wild leaf (flewe in Nafaanra). It is served with oil and pepper. This dish was prepared and served at an Olden Times Food Fair held at the Banda Cultural Centre with sponsorship from Dr. Amanda L. Logan. Ahenkro, 30 July, 2014.
A container of fish covered by leaves sits near a smoking over, awaiting processing. A plastic hanger and a Guiness carton site nearby in the resettled Ewe village of Akanyakrom. Akanyakrom, 16 July, 2022.
An aluminum headpan holds fish known as Asentewe (Alestes baremoze) that are ready for smoking. The fish have been scaled and gutted, and a bamboo skewer placed through their tail and head to hold them as they smoke. The pan sits on the edge of a smoking oven, next to two wooden and mesh smoking trays in the resettled Ewe village of Akanyakrom. Akanyakrom, 16 July, 2022.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Akanyakrom (resettled)
Subjects:
Women's work; Headpans
Subjects Facet:
Fishing villages; Food processing; Smoking of food
Fish known as Asentewe (Alestes baremoze) have been laid on their backs in a wood and mesh smoking tray. The fish are oriented on their backs to retain the fat in their belly. Multiple trays will be stacked and covered while smoking for up to four days. Trays are periodically rotated in the stack to ensure even smoking of all the fish. Two aluminum headpans used to carry the fish sit nearby. Akanyakrom, 16 July, 2022.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Akanyakrom (resettled)
Subjects:
Women's work; Headpans
Subjects Facet:
Fishing villages; Food processing; Smoking of food
Owusu Alexander weaves a large raffia palm mat. He has tied the in-progress mat to a raffia palm stick to anchor the mat as he weaves. The mat is wound around the stick as weaving proceeds. To the left, wrapped on a stick that is leaning against a stack of sun-dried bricks, is a narrow mat that he wove to demonstrate mat weaving techniques. Four large pottery jars rest upside down near a house wall in the background. Sabiye, 22 July, 2022.
Owusu Alexander weaves a raffia palm mat. He has secured four split fronds around his left index finger as he weaves with his right hand. Sabiye, 22 July, 2022.
Five wooden racks containing fish sit on top of a rectangular earthen smoking oven in the resettled Ewe village of Akanyakrom. A metal roofing sheet covers the stack. The metal-sided shed behind the oven is where women scale and gut the fish in preparation for smoking. A deep wooden mortar and five pestals of varying size and shape rest against a nearby house. Akanyakrom, 16 July, 2022.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Akanyakrom (Resettled)
Subjects:
Women's work
Subjects Facet:
Fishing villages; Food processing; Smoking of food; Mortars & pestles
Ewe fishermen Maxwell Gbadago (left) and Dzobo Sebastian (right) use knives to remove knots and shape bamboo sticks that they will use in weaving a basketry fish trap. A number of unsplit bamboo stalks await processing. A large blue industrially made fish net is laid out behind where they sit. Akanyakrom, 18 July, 2022.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Akanyakrom (resettled)
Subjects:
Men's work
Subjects Facet:
Bamboo; Fish traps; Handicrafts; Ewe (African people)
Dzobo Rubben, an Ewe fisherman, twists a vine that will be processed into rope for use in fish trap making. The twisted and coiled vine will be allowed to dry for several days before it is processed by pounding with a wooden mallet. The surrounding ground is covered with bamboo sticks and shavings, also part of the materials used in fish trap making. Akanyakrom, 18 July, 2022.
A dried raffia palm frond prepared for mat weaving. The stiff end of the frond has been removed and the frond has been split into two pieces almost to the base. Owusu Alexander folds and layers the two halves before weaving. Leaving the pieces attached at the base facilitates his weaving process. Sabiye, 19 July, 2022.
Owusu Alexander weaves a raffia palm mat. He has tied the in-progress mat to a raffia palm stick to anchor the mat as he weaves. He weaves with his right hand as he secures the work with his left hand, wrapping two frond portions around his index finger as he weaves. Sabiye, 19 July, 2022.
Owusu Alexander holds a bundle of raffia palm frond strips. He has removed these from the leaves as he prepared materials for mat weaving. Sabiye, 17 July, 2022.
Owusu Alexander demonstrates the process of starting a raffia palm mat, beginning by layering fronds that he has split down the middle. He folds one set of fronds over the other with his right hand, while using his left index finger to secure his work. Sabiye, 17 July, 2022.
Owusu Alexander demonstrates the process of starting a raffia palm mat, beginning by layering fronds that he has split down the middle. Sabiye, 17 July, 2022.
Owusu Alexander uses a knife to split dried raffia fronds in preparation for making a raffia palm mat. He removes the stiff rib and splits the resulting two side pieces of the frond in half, leaving a few centimeters at the base of each half unsplit. Here he folds the unsplit end in half, which allows him to easily layer the two halves when he adds them to his mat. Weaving with layered frond pieces makes a thicker and more durable mat. Sabiye, 17 July, 2022.
Dzobo Rubben, 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.
Owusu Alexander holds a cutlass, raffia palm fronds and a stick that he has cut from the base of raffia palm frond. He has harvested these raffia materials in preparation for weaving a mat. Sabyie, 15 July, 2022.
Owusu Alexander lays out raffia palm fronds to dry in the sun. He has harvested the fronds in preparation for making a raffia palm mat. Sabiye, 15 July, 2022.
Dried raffia palm fronds, sorted in preparation for mat making. Owusu Alexander has separated the portion of the fronds he will use for mat making from those portions that are not useful. The stiff ribs (right) can be used to make brooms and the thin pieces (left) will be used as tinder in making fires. The fronds in the center are those that he will use in mat weaving. The knife he has used to separate the fronds lies on a tree root at his feet. Sabiye, 17 July, 2022.
Owusu Alexander holds a raffia palm leaf from which he is stripping fronds that he will use to weave a mat. A group of stripped fronds lie on the ground by his feet. Sabiye, 15 July, 2022.
A raffia palm tree. Raffia palm leaves are used in mat weaving and the woody base of raffia palm fronds can be used to make household objects like chairs. Sabiye, 15 July, 2022.
Owusu Alexander uses a cutlass to trim the woody base of a raffia palm frond. He will use this stick as a base for weaving a raffia palm mat, rolling the mat on to the stick as the work progresses. Sabiye, 15 July, 2022
Owusu Alexander weaves a raffia palm mat. He has wrapped three split fronds around his left index finger and uses his left thumb to secure a frond laid across these. Sabiye, 22 July, 2022.
Owusu Alexander adds new fronds as he weaves a raffia palm mat. He has tied the in-progress mat to a raffia palm stick to anchor the mat as he weaves. The mat is wound around the stick as weaving proceeds. Sabiye, 22 July, 2022.
Owusu Alexander adds new fronds as he weaves a raffia palm mat. He has tied the in-progress mat to a raffia palm stick to anchor the mat as he weaves. The mat is wound around the stick as weaving proceeds. Sabiye, 22 July, 2022.
Ewe fisherman Dzobo Rubben weaves the top section of a basketry fish trap. He uses cordage to bundle bamboo sticks and narrow the trap toward its top. In lower rows, individual bamboo sticks are separated by two twists of rope. As the weaver nears the top, he reduces the twist between sticks to one, narrowing their spacing. In the next row he bundles two sticks separated by one twist. He then bundles four, then eight, creating a cone-shaped trap. Behind, another in-progress trap with narrower spacing between sticks stands upright against a shed. Akanyakrom, 23 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)
