Informational posters on Banda history and archaeology are displayed on easels in the hall of the Banda Cultural Centre. Examples of pottery recovered from excavations at Banda area sites rest on shelves in the background. Banda Cultural Centre, Ahenkro, 18 July, 2011.
Several young men gather outside of Kafͻnͻ (Kafono) Katoo under the shade of a small thatched shelter. They are looking at a binder of photos that includes pictures of their family house taken in 1986 when its roof was being re-thatched. At that time the house was decorated with a painting of a bicycle, reputed to be the first bicycle in Banda. Ahenkro, 1 September, 2018.
The town of Ahenkro as seen from the Banda hills, view to the southeast. The first of the town's cellular phone towers is visible on the south side of town. The eastern range of Banda hills is visible in the distance. At the photo's bottom left, the angular edges of a tractor-plowed field are visible. Clear-cut fields like these were first established when Banda area farmers took up commercial tobacco farming during the 1980s and 1990s. Since tobacco farming was banned by the Banda Traditional Council in the early 2000s, these fields have been put to other types of cash cropping. Banda, June, 2009.
Banda-Ahenkro became the district headquarters for the newly established Banda District in 2012. This brought a number of new services to the area. Seen here is the Banda Branch of the Nafana Rural Bank, which opened on the main street of Ahenkro after the Banda District was established A satellite communications dish is placed nearby. Ahenkro, June, 2016.
The new Ahenkro market building was built on the site where a majestic kapok tree shading the outdoor marketplace formerly stood. The tree was downed in a severe storm in 1999/2000, after which the weekly market was moved to a nearby village. The new building houses commercial kiosks and storefronts for rent. View of the market's south and east sides. Two photos. Ahenkro, June, 2016.
View of Ahenkro main street, looking southwest, the Omanhene's (paramount chief) palace to the right. Advertising signs for a printing kiosk and for a mobile money supplier (MTN) appear along the roadside. Two cellular phone towers are visible behind the palace. Ahenkro, June, 2016.
A view looking northward on Ahenkro's main street. The paved road is bordered on either side by deep gutters. Electrical poles and wires run along one side of the street. A sign advertising MTN "Mobile Money" is placed roadside. Several motor vehicles are parked along the road. A bicycle is parked in the foreground. Ahenkro, June, 2016.
View of Omanhene's (paramount chief) palace on the main street of Banda-Ahenkro. Two cellular phone towers are visible behind the palace. A satellite dish appears to the right. Ahenkro, June 2016.
Photo of the exterior wall of the Kafͻnͻ Katoo compound in Ahenkro. The wall now occupied by a lace-curtained window was formerly a solid wall on which the image of a bicycle was painted, said to be the first bicycle in Banda and photographed in 1986. Other areas of the exterior wall were previously decorated with inscribed and painted geometric designs, the outlines of which can still be seen in the closeup image of the wall included here. The entire building is roofed with metal. A ewe and her lamb pass by in front of the house. Ahenkro, 1 September, 2018.
Banda Research Project team member Sampson Attah (left) presents a Banda chief (right) with copies of heritage documents at a community event celebrating Banda cultural heritage. Banda Cultural Centre, Ahenkro, 15 July, 2011.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Banda Cultural Centre; Community engagement; Community event
Banda Research Project team members present informational posters on Banda history and heritage to members of the Banda Traditional Council. Sampson Attah (kneeling, stripped shirt) describes the content of the "Banda in the 18th & 19th Centuries" poster to the paramount chief and elders. Project members Ann Stahl (kneeling) and Kofi "Photo" Manu (standing, brown print shirt) look on together with assembled elders. Banda Ahenkro Palace, 11 July, 2011.
The Banda Queen Mother (Lelԑԑ Akosua Kepefu) and her elders look at informational posters on Banda history and heritage prior to the community event at which they were launched. Lelԑԑ Kepefu (left) listens as as Elder and Linguist Afua Fofie points to an image of women spinning cotton thread on the "Banda in the 18th and 19th Centuries" poster. Banda Research Project team members Sampson Attah (standing, orange collar) and Timothy Fordjour (right) look on. Banda Cultural Centre, Ahenkro, 15 July, 2011.
Banda Research Project team member Yaw Frimpong (blue shirt with the Banda Cultural Centre "Unity" logo) serves as a docent for one of the informational posters on Banda history and archaeology launched at a 2011 community event. Project team member Frimpong from Nyire (tan shirt) shares insight as several community members listen. A young man in the rear uses his cell phone to take a photo of the poster as he listens to the conversation. Banda Cultural Centre, Ahenkro, 15 July, 2011.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Banda Cultural Centre; Community engagement; Community event; Poster
A man operates a diesel-powered corn mill in a roofed shed while another adjusts a grain bag nearby. He grinds grain into a plastic container resting in a headpan. Another headpan filled with maize (corn, bledju in Nafaanra) sits in front with a calabash used as a scoop sitting on top. Other plastic and metal containers sit nearby. Diesel-powered grinding mills first began to be set up in Ahenkro in the 1980s. They have become more common over the years, reducing the need for maize and other dried foodstuffs to be pounded by hand in wooden mortars. At the same time, they have expanded the need for cash income as grinding has become part and parcel of household budgets. Ahenkro, 2009.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Diesel engine; Automation; Headpans; Plastic containers; Men's work
In June 2011, Banda Research Project team member Amanda Logan collaborated with local artist Kwame K.B. 2 to develop paintings for the doors of the Banda Cultural Centre's courtyard. The paintings illustrate crafts practiced in the area for which we have archaeological evidence. This image shows a blacksmith forging iron. Based on the presence of byproducts like slag and the tools used to make metal, we know that blacksmiths smelted and forged iron in the Banda area from at least 1000 years ago. Banda Cultural Centre, Ahenkro, June, 2016.
A woman prepares soup over a a coal pot. In her left had she holds a metal grinding bowl and by her right hand is a commercially made ceramic grinding bowl. The blue plastic barrel (rear) holds water for the household. Ahenkro, June, 2016.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Metal pots; Grinding bowl; Water barrels; Ahenkro; Coal pot; Women's work; Plastic containers
In June 2011, Banda Research Project team member Amanda Logan collaborated with local artist Kwame K.B. 2 to develop paintings for the Banda Cultural Centre's courtyard doors. The paintings illustrate crafts practiced in the area for which we have archaeological evidence. This image shows a woman headloading pottery on her way to market. Pottery making and marketing has been practiced in the Banda area for thousands of years. Scientific studies of pottery from archaeological sites across the region show that pottery was made in different locations over time and was widely traded within and beyond the region. Banda Cultural Centre, Ahenkro, June, 2016.
Community members discuss one of the informational posters on Banda history and archaeology launched at a 2011 community event. Banda Cultural Centre, Ahenkro, 15 July, 2011.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Banda Cultural Centre; Community engagement; Community event; Poster
In June 2011, Banda Research Project team member Amanda Logan collaborated with local artist Kwame K.B. 2 to develop paintings for the Banda Cultural Centre's courtyard doors. The paintings illustrate crafts practiced in the area for which we have archaeological evidence. This image shows a woman spinning cotton thread (right) and a man wearing a locally made blue-and-white strip-woven cloth (left). Archaeologists find spindle whorls used to make thread on late 18th-and early 19th-century archaeological sites. This shows that households produced their own cloth during recent centuries. Before the 17th century, cotton cloth seems to have been less common and was probably acquired through trade from market centers. Banda Cultural Centre, Ahenkro, June, 2016.
Ann Stahl shares photos from Banda Project Archives with the Banda Queen Mother and her Elders as part of a consultation process leading to the Banda Heritage repository. L-R: Ann Stahl, __, __, __. Ahenkro, 19 June, 2016.
Boase Chief Tolԑԑ Ligbi Wulotei (center) looks at pottery from Banda area archaeological sites while Banda Project team member Boye (far right) looks on. Banda Cultural Centre, Ahenkro, 15 July, 2011.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Banda Cultural Centre; Community engagement; Community event
Banda Research Project team member Samuel Babatu (white shirt) serves as a docent for one of the informational posters on Banda history and archaeology launched at a 2011 community event. Young people gather to listen as he discusses the poster's content. In the background, other project team-member docents (Boye, Kofi "Photo" Manu and Yaw Frimpong) share other posters. Banda Cultural Centre, Ahenkro, 15 July, 2011.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Banda Cultural Centre; Community engagement; Community event; Poster
The Banda Queen Mother, (Lelԑԑ Akosua Kepefu) and her elders view archival photos on Ann Stahl's laptop. L-R: Afua Fofie, Lelԑԑ Kepefu and Lelԑԑ Yahͻͻ, Ann Stahl. Ahenkro, 19 June, 2016.
Young people look at and talk about the"Banda in the 15th to 17th Centuries" informational poster during a Banda Heritage community event. Banda Cultural Centre, Ahenkro, 15 July, 2011.
Banda Research Project team members present informational posters on Banda history and heritage to members of the Banda Traditional Council. Sampson Attah (kneeling, stripped shirt) describes the content of the "Learning about Life in the Past" poster to the paramount chief and elders. Project members James Anane (standing, red shirt) and Ann Stahl (kneeling, right) look on. Banda Ahenkro Palace, 11 July, 2011.
In June 2011, Banda Research Project team member Amanda Logan collaborated with local artist Kwame K.B. 2 to develop paintings for the Banda Cultural Centre's courtyard doors. The paintings illustrate handicrafts practiced in the area for which we have archaeological evidence. Here Kwame K.B. 2 stands next to his painting of a woman carrying pottery to market. Ahenkro, 8 June, 2011.
View from the north edge of Ahenkro of the road leading northward to Bongase and the Bui Dam site. Electricty poles and wires are visible on the roadside. The newly grated road of a year before has suffered erosion in the intervening rainy season. Ahenkro, June, 2009.
Banda Queen Mother Lelԑԑ Akosua Kepefu (center) shows an example of locally made strip-woven cloth to a young painter as a model for a painting on the Banda Cultural Centre doors. Enoch Mensah holds one end of the cloth. To the right, Afua Fofie, Linguist, looks on with artist Kwame K.B. 2. They stand on Ahenkro's main street (view towards the south). Ahenkro, 5 June, 2011.
View from the north edge of Ahenkro of the road leading northward to Bongase and the Bui Dam site. Newly installed electricty poles and wires are visible on the roadside. Ahenkro, June, 2008.
Boys dress in traditional attire for the annual Children's Day festivities sponsored by local schools. Seated in front is an adolescent dressed as a chief. He and the two boys standing behind him (center and right) wear cloths made by strip-weaving. A boy standing left holds a linguist staff. Ahenkro, 23 June, 2009.
Members of the 1990 archaeological excavation team at Makala Kataa. Team members included Banda men from Ahenkro and Makala. Back row (L-R): Kwasi Donkor, Donkor Johnson, __, Lamini, Kwasi Mensah (driver), Kwadwo Manu, Obour Bartholomew, Yaw Francis, Enoch Mensah, Mensah Listowell (red shirt). Front row (L-R) Daniel Mensah, Kwabena Mensah, Malik Abrefa, Ann Stahl, Yaw Frimpong, Osei Kofi. Also pictured are Peter Donkor and Richard Aboabo. Makala, July, 1990.
Members of the 1989 archaeological excavation team at Makala Kataa. Team members included Banda men from Ahenkro and Makala. Left-right: Enoch Mensah, Yaw Frimpong, Kwasi Donkor, Obour Bartholomew, ___, Osei Kofi, Samuel Babatu, Yaw Francis, Mustapha, Donkor Johnson. Makala Kataa, July, 1989.
Young girls dress in nubility attire for the annual Children's Day sponsored by local schools. They wear snail shell necklaces and have applied white paint to their face, chest and midriff. This attire is associated with the nubility ceremonies of groups from southern Ghana and is adopted here as a generic form of ritual costume. L-R: Yaa Naa (in profile); Akosua Kojie (yellow head scarf); Naomi (back row); Isha Brimah (vertical stripes); Atta Forkour (center front); Yaa Manu (behind); Florence (behind); Akua Yaa Wale (red & black head scarf); Shallot Vasco (far right). Ahenkro, 23 June, 2009.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Banda Cultural Centre; Children's day; Nubility rites
A youngster (Mamee) in the household carries water from a nearby borehole in a headpan. By her feet ( to the right) are the wall stubs of a cistern once fed by rainwater from the metal roof. A small white plastic barrel (center) placed by the hearth makes water conveniently available while cooking. Two coal pots are in use (behind the cat) and a small wooden mortar sits nearby. Ahenkro, July, 2008.
A youngster (Mamee) pours water from her headpan into a small white plastic barrel for storage and household use in cooking, drinking and bathing. Behind her, a light green plastic basin floats on top of the water in a full metal water barrel. Several wooden pestles are stored nearby. Fetching water for the household is typically the responsibility of older children. Depending on the size of the household, they may fetch water in the morning before going to school and again in the late afternoon. Ahenkro, July, 2008.
Three spindles with painted spindle whorls made in Kokua in 1994 rest on a black-and-white strip-woven cloth worn by a woman attending the Banda Heritage Celebration held at the Banda Cultural Centre. In the past Banda area women used spindles and whorls like these to spin cotton thread. Ahenkro, 28 June, 2019.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution--NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Date:
2019-06-28
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Banda Cultural Centre
Subjects Facet:
West African strip weaving; Textiles; Spinning; Spindle whorls
Storytelling is an entertaining way through which elders convey wisdom to younger people. Here three of Ahenkro's storytellers share stories at a Banda Heritage Event held at the Banda Cultural Centre. A film of the storytellers sharing tales can be accessed through the "iaff_works" link below. L-R, Idisa Yaya, Akosua Mattah, and Alhasa Watara. Ahenkro, 28 June, 2019.
Front view of the Banda Cultural Centre after repainting. The Centre provides space for community gatherings and guest rooms for Banda Research Project and other community visitors. The Centre's motto/logo is "Nyu nunu," (Nafaanra) or "Unity," symbolized by an Adinkra design showing two crocodiles who share the same stomach. Commissioned in 1995, the main building, pictured here, was constructed in 1994-95 through a combination of Banda Research Project funding and communal labor supplied by Ahenkro's four Unit Committees. The building is administered and maintained by the community. Ahenkro, 22 June, 2019.
A wooden spindle thickly wrapped with cotton thread rests in a large calabash bowl. The bowl sits on a wooden stool adjacent to the legs of blue plastic chairs on which elder women sit at a Banda Heritage Celebration held at the Banda Cultural Centre. One woman wears a strip-woven textile made with black, white, red and yellow threads. Bottom right is the basket in which she stores her spinning supplies. Ahenkro, 28 June, 2019.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution--NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Date:
2019-06-28
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Banda Cultural Centre; Cotton thread
Subjects Facet:
West African strip weaving; Gourd, Calabash; Textiles; Spinning
The new Ahenkro market building was built on the site where a majestic kapok tree shading the outdoor marketplace formerly stood. The tree was downed in a severe storm in 1999/2000, after which the weekly market was moved to a nearby village. The new building houses commercial kiosks and storefronts for rent. View of the market's south side. Ahenkro, June, 2016.
A large cast-metal pot rests on a raised, semi-circular hearth structure. A long piece of wood used for fuel rests in the hearth's mouth, covered over by another piece of wood. Charcoal from previous fires is strewn about outside the hearth. As seen in its cross-section, the hearth is made from laterite stones covered in clay. The hearth's interior is blackened from use. The special purpose hearth is used by Adjua Tini to make beer (pito) from maize. Ahenkro, 1 Sept 2018.
A woman uses a calabash bowl ( chrɛgbɔɔ in Nafaanra) to form a ball of fuura. 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 some of the boiled, pounded dough is being shaped into a ball, which 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.
A partially covered ball of fuura rests in a bowl of millet flour. 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. The cooked, pounded dough has been shaped into a ball and is being 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.
Close up of finished koto papa, a dumpling made from pearl millet. The food is made by grinding pearl millet on a grinding stone, adding a sprinkle of water and shaping the moistened pounded millet into a ball. The balls are boiled. After cooking, the balls are broken open and served with a stew made from shea oil, onion leaves (gabu) and pepper. This dish, which was often eaten in the morning, 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 uses her hand to mix water into a flour made from ground dawadawa (Parkia biglobosa) beans and cassava flour held in a calabash bowl (chrɛgbɔɔ in Nafaanra). The moistened mixture will be steamed in a pot to make wehan. The cooked cake is eaten with a sauce made from shea oil, pepper, garden eggs and salt. 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, 31 July, 2014.
A youngster (Mamee) uses a wooden paddle to stir a pot as a woman (Afiriye) tests the texture of its contents with her right hand. They are cooking T.Z. in an aluminum pot resting on three laterite hearth stones. T.Z. is short for "tuo zafi," which means hot porridge in Hausa. Surrounding the hearth are a series of plastic and metal containers used in food preparation. A large blue plastic barrel, used to store water, stands in a corner by the house wall. Partially obscured by Mamee's right hand and her paddle is a portable "coal pot" on which an aluminum pot with two handles sits. Unlike the stone hearth, which is fueled with wood, this portable hearth is fueled with charcoal and may be used to prepare soup while starchy staple foods cook over the wood fire. Ahenkro, 28 October, 2009.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Women's work; Metal pots; Water barrels; Plastic containers
An adolescent girl (Mamee) uses a wooden paddle to stir T.Z. cooking in an aluminum pot over a wood fire. T.Z. is short for "tuo zafi," which means hot porridge in Hausa. The pot sits on a hearth made of three laterite stones. Surrounding the hearth are aluminum and plastic pots and bowls used in preparation. A proper stirring technique is needed to achieve the springy texture of this starchy staple, which is served with a soup. Aluminum sheets in the background enclose a bathing area, behind which a raised platform holding firewood can be seen. Ahenkro, 28 October, 2009.
An adolescent girl (Mamee) sifts grain flour into a plastic bucket in preparation for making T.Z. (short for "tuo zafa," which means hot porridge in Hausa). T.Z. The fine flour will be added to boiling water to make a thin porridge, which is gradually thickened by adding more flour. Ahenkro, 28 October, 2009.
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 Kakya. Single strands of blue warp thread create vertical lines against a background of 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