Controlled fire has long been used as a way to improve forage for animals, aid hunting, and amend soil nutrients. Here a controlled burn within Bui National Park is visible on the mountainside west of Ahenkro. The town's thatch-roofed market stands are visible (right) as are branches of the majestic kapok tree that once shaded the market on the south edge of town. Thatched roofs could easily catch fire and Ahenkro suffered major fires several times during the 20th century. Ahenkro, December, 1982.
Controlled fires burn in the hills behind Banda-Ahenkro, part of the Bui National Park. The remains of a small grass fire are visible in the foreground. The thatched stalls of the weekly marketplace are visible beneath the majestic kapok tree that once stood at the south edge of town. To the left, near the smaller tree, is the reddish iron roof of the first town clinic, home to a nurse stationed by the goverment in town. Ahenkro experienced several major fires in the 20th century, prompting people to opt for metal roofs when they could afford them. Ahenkro, December, 1982
The weekly market at Banda-Ahenkro was formerly held at this marketplace, its thatch-roofed stalls located on the south edge of town beneath a majestic kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra). The tree was downed in a storm in the late 1990s, after which the market was relocated to an adjacent village. Ahenkro, June, 1982.
The road from Menji to the Black Volta River passes through the center of Banda-Ahenkro, pictured here in 1982, view to the north. Earthen-walled buildings line the main street. Houses on the right-hand side have thatched roofs while those on the left have metal roofs. People walk in the center of the street as they move about town. Ahenkro, December, 1982.
Unlike atakpame (coursed earth technique of building), wattle-and-daub structures can be built quickly. The structure has a frame of horizontal and vertical poles, into which molded earthen balls are pressed to create walls. Whereas atakpame must be allowed to dry thoroughly before the next course is added, the "wattle" framing allows the "daub" to be placed and the walls completed without waiting for lower levels to dry. Ahenkro, December, 1982.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Atakpame
Subjects Facet:
Thatched roofs; Wattle and daub; Building, Clay; Housing
Banda Paramount Chief Tolԑԑ Kofi Dwuru III and elders pause as they process down Ahenkro's main street on the day of the New Yam Festival (Finyjie Lie in Nafaanra). They stand under the paramount chief's umbrella topped with a blackened carved wooden figure. L-R: Kwame Gyani; Kofi Gyase (Gyasehene); Kupo Aboateaa (Bamuhene); Tolԑԑ Kofi Dwuru III (Omanhene); Kwadwo Gbao; Senyono Kyeame; Fordjour Major. Ahenkro, 30 August, 1982.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Elders; Gyasehene; New Yam Festival; Umbrella; Omanhene
Subjects Facet:
Chiefs; Rites and ceremonies; Royal regalia; Wood carvings
Muslims celebrate the end of Ramadan, the ninth and most sacred month in the Islamic lunar calendar during which Muslims fast during daylight hours. As Ramadan ends, men and women come together to dance beneath the majestic kapok tree that formerly shaded the market site located on the south side of Ahenkro. July, 1982.
An Elder (Kwame Ble) pours libations on the day of the New Yam Festival (Finyjie Lie in Nafaanra) at the Ahenkro palace. Front, L-R: Senyono ; Kwame Ble; Kwabena Kuma. Ahenkro, 30 August, 1982.
Muslims celebrate the end of Ramadan, the ninth and most sacred month in the Islamic lunar calendar during which Muslims fast during daylight hours. With Ramadan ended, women dressed in blue cloth socialize at the former market site located on the south side of Ahenkro. July, 1982.
The New Yam Festival (Finjie Lie in Nafaanra) marks the day when people can begin to eat the new crop of yams (finyjie in Nafaanra). Here women gather round a wooden mortar to pound cooked yam tubers to make fufu. Women pound with heavy, round-ended pestles. Working together, they use their pestles to pound and turn the fufu. Pestles hit the mortar's edge as they pound, creating a rhythmic accompaniment to their work. The musical sound of women and their helpers pounding fufu or grain was an integral part of the soundscape of village life in the earlier times. To the rear (right) calabashes (gourds, chrԑ in Nafaanra) wrapped in netting are ready to be sent to market. To the front sits a pottery grinding bowl (left), a calabash (center) and metal cooking pots (right). Ahenkro, 30 August, 1982.
Yaa Yable Wo carries firewood on her return from farm. Until recent years, meals were most often prepared over hearths fueled by firewood. Women and children collected downed tree limbs and other dry wood from farmlands surrounding the villages. Wood was headloaded back home and stacked on platforms raised above the ground to be stored until needed. Cooking over charcoal in fabricated metal coalpots became more common in the late 20th-early 21st century as charcoal burners moved into the Banda area and charcoal production increased. Recently, gas cookers have begun to be used by people able to afford industrial cookers and the bottled gas need to fuel them. Ahenkro, December, 1982.
Elders gathered at the Ahenkro palace on the day of the New Yam Festival (Finyjie Lie in Nafaanra). Back left, Mose Krontihene; Front, L-R: Kwadwo Kyeama (Linguist); Kupo Aboateaa (Bamuhene); Kofi Gyasi (Gyasehene); Tolԑԑ Kofi Dwuru III (Omanhene); Senyono Kyeame; Unknown man in kente cloth. Child seated in front, Kwasi K. Man in blue cloth to right front, Kwame Gbanari. Ahenkro, 30 August, 1982.
The New Yam Festival (Finyjie Lie in Nafaanra) is a day of celebration for everyone, including children. Here children gather under the shade of a large tree around play hearths made with stones and clay where they are preparing for their own celebration. The thatched roofs of nearby houses appear in the background. 30 August, 1982, Ahenkro.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Children; New Yam Festival; Finyjie Lie (Festival)
An elder dances to the rhythms of fɔntɔmfrɔm and atumpan (in Twi) drums at a funeral celebration held the day after an elderly woman died. The funeral is celebrated beneath the shade of the large kapok tree on the south side of Ahenkro at the market site. Two photos. Ahenkro, 15 October, 1982.