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.
Banda Queen Mother Lelԑԑ Akosua Kepefu (blue head scarf) arrives at the Banda Cultural Centre together with members of the royal family on the day of a heritage celebration organized by the Banda Heritage Initiative. Ahenkro, 28 June, 2019.
Kofi Gyasi, Gyasehene, offers libations to the ancestors at the Ahenkro palace. The occasion was prompted by the return of Banda Research Project members, seeking to continue archaeological research. Ahenkro palace, 10 July, 2009. Length: .49 minutes.
Beyaa (standing) and Afirye (seated) process fufu in a shallow "Asante" style mortar. The heavy wooden pestle is frayed at the base. This helps to break down the fiber in cassava tubers and make a softer, smoother fufu. Afiriye periodically turns the fufu with a moistened hand as Beyaa pounds using a technique more characteristic of southern Ghana where cassava is a typical ingredient in fufu. The preference in Banda is to make fufu using only yam (Dioscorea sp., finyjie in Nafaanra). Heard in the background is the rhythmic sound of young women pounding in a deep mortar nearby. See the related video at the link below. Household of Sampson Attah, Ahenkro, 27 May, 2009. Length: 00:00:53 minutes.
At a day-long celebration of the Banda area's rich cultural heritage at the Banda Cultural Centre in Banda-Ahenkro, a group of hunters from Fawoman performed dances passed down through generations of hunters. Known as Bɔfɔɔrɔ, ancestral hunters learned these dances from animals in the bush. Using an unloaded gun and accompanied by drums and percussion instruments made from hippo jaws and canines, hunters and women from Fawoman shared ten dances with the assembled crowd. Ahenkro, 28 June, 2019. Length: 00:19:57 minutes.