Brief notes on the "Mfantra" people living along the road between Menji and Sampa in the British Gold Coast Colony's Wenchi District. Prepared by the District Commissioner ("WP") stationed in Wenchi and submitted to the Commissioner, Western Province Ashanti in Sunyani, the report describes the relationship of these Mfantra (Nafana) people to "Ashanti" (Asante) and "Jaman" (Gyaman). Brief descriptions of origin stories, population, housing, livelihoods and marriages customs are accompanied by three pages of word lists. To cite: "The Mfantra," District Commisioner's Report, 9 November, 1925. Kumasi National Archives, Kumasi, Ghana, 2000/91/23 (WP 91/73). 9 pages.
Part 1 of an interview with Yaw Manje of Banda-Ahenkro, family head of Hakolo Katoo. Yaw Manje talks about how farmers in the Banda area took up tobacco farming in the 1980s and 1990s and reflects on how growing cash crops like tobacco and cotton affected the land and local communities. This short video focuses on the English translation provided by interviewer Enoch Mensah. A version of Part 1 with the full dialogue in Nafaanra and English is available through a link below. Also available through the "iaff_works" link below through UVic Libraries is the full interview with Yaw Manje. Ahenkro, 13 August, 2018. Length: 00:13:57
Part 1 of an interview with Yaw Manje of Banda-Ahenkro, who is family head of Hakolo Katoo. Yaw Manje talks about how farmers in the Banda area took up tobacco farming in the 1980s and 1990s and reflects on how growing cash crops like tobacco and cotton affected the land and local communities. This video includes the full dialogue in Nafaanra and English. A shorter version focused on the English translation by Enoch Mensah is available through a link below. Also available at the "iaff_works" link below through UVic Libraries is the full interview with Yaw Manje. Shorter topically focused excerpts of this interview are available at the links below. Ahenkro, 13 August, 2018. Length: 00:19:36
At a day-long celebration of the Banda area's rich cultural heritage at the Banda Cultural Centre in Banda-Ahenkro, a group of potters from Dorbour demonstrated their skills for a community audience. Using pre-prepared clay, the potters showed how they form the body and rim of pottery jars, which are then set aside to dry before the pot's base is added. The video showcases some of their finished products and an announcer describes to the audience in Nafaanra some of steps involved in firing and finishing pots. Afterwards, the potters look at examples of archaeological pots in the Banda Cultural Centre and talk with archaeologist Ann Stahl about what is known from archaeological sites about potting in the past. Ahenkro, 28 June, 2019. Length: 00:25:14.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Date:
2019-06-28
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Potting; Women's work
Subjects Facet:
Pottery; Jars; Heritage
Creator:
Dr. Ann B. Stahl
Contributors:
Mary Yakosua; Yaa Kofua; Yaa Fordjour; Ama Dadia; Yaa Tabla; Mafua; Elikpim Kuto; Esi Koah Arko
At a day-long celebration of the Banda area's rich cultural heritage at the Banda Cultural Centre in Banda-Ahenkro, men associated with the Kralɔngɔ Royal Palace performed a Nafana version of Kete. Known primarily as an Akan royal practice, Nafana oral histories characterize Kete as a genre they learned from Kulango people. In this performance, four men simultaneously use brass rattles and play flutes that oral accounts say were taken from the Kulango in their performance of five Kete songs. They are accompanied by two drummers and a man playing an iron gong. Ahenkro, 28 June, 2019. Length: 00:13:14 minutes.
At a day-long celebration of the Banda area's rich cultural heritage at the Banda Cultural Centre in Banda-Ahenkro, Ligbi community members from Bongase performed a masquerade dance which today they call "Bedu" but scholars term "Do." Two masks performed: Mbong (Baboon) and Gbanyamuso (Beautiful Gonja Woman). Their costumes include metal jangles worn around their ankles. The dancers are accompanied by women singing in Ligbi and drumming on conga and box drums, as well as by young men drumming and fanning the dancers. Ahenkro, 28 June, 2019. Length: 00:15:26 minutes.
At a day-long celebration of the Banda area's rich cultural heritage at the Banda Cultural Centre in Banda-Ahenkro, Kuulo people from Dompofie share customs associated with their wedding celebrations. A bride and groom accompanied by two girls sit as women sing songs of praise and dance in a circle around them. A pot containing pito (locally brewed grain beer) sits in front of them. The women wear strip-woven local cloth wraps around their waists. In an opening song, the women beat rhythms with calabash gourd drinking bowls as they dance. The gourds are placed in front of the newly married couple after the first dance. After the final dance, the calabash bowls are used to catch overflowing beer poured from the pito pot, signaling that the bride was a virgin when married. Ahenkro, 28 June, 2019. Length: 00:20:21 minutes.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Date:
2019-06-28
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Performance; Kuulo, Dompo (African people)
Subjects Facet:
Dance; Songs; Music; Rites and Ceremonies; Marriage customs and rites; Gourd, Calabash; West African strip weaving; Heritage
Part 4 of a four-part video, based on an interview with Adjua Tini of Habaa Katoo. Though the interview was concluded, Adjua Tini wanted to close the session with a song. One song led to another, and soon she was joined by Lelԑԑ Yahͻͻ, with whom she sang a number of songs associated with courtship, marriage and funerals. Several songs toward the end of the short film are not accompanied by video footage. Ahenkro. Length: 00:36.05 minutes.
Part 2 of a four-part video, based on an interview with Adjua Tini of Habaa Katoo. Adjua Tini describes the process of making pito (local beer) from maize. Some people brewed pito for sale, but Adjua Tini describes the social and ceremonial occasions for which families brewed pito, including funerals, marriages, and to thank people for helping with communal tasks like farming. Length: 00:17:14 minutes.
At a day-long celebration of the Banda area's rich cultural heritage at the Banda Cultural Centre in Banda-Ahenkro, Nafana people from Boase share customs associated with their wedding celebrations (Bijam). Two young women dressed as brides wear local strip woven cloth and carry walking sticks as they approach the Banda Cultural Centre, accompanied by female relatives and young girls dressed in nubility attire. After circling the event grounds, the girls are seated and the women perform a series of songs and dances accompanied by calabash drums. Men and women well-wishers toss maize kernels in the water of the calabash drums as they dance. Afterwards, the brides, covered by cloth, dance behind an elder relative as other women prepare their path by pouring water from a bucket. Afterwards, locally made grain beer (pito) is poured into a calabash, overflowing to signal that the brides were virgins at the time of their marriage.In a final dance, female relatives dance with a bowl of food, after which gifts are presented to the bride's family. Many of the women wear locally made strip-woven blue-and-white textiles as wraps. Ahenkro, 28 June, 2019. Length: 00:22:01 minutes.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Date:
2019-06-28
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Performance; Nafana (African people)
Subjects Facet:
Dance; Songs; Music; Rites and Ceremonies; Marriage customs and rites; Gourd, Calabash; West African strip weaving; Drums (musical instrument); Heritage