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.
Women of Kafͻnͻ Katoo gather around multiple hearths in the compound's courtyard preparing the day's main meal. Kitchen equipment ranging from locally made pottery, metal pots, sieving baskets and headpans are visible. The women sit on low stools, some carved and others made from sawn boards. Posts surrounding several hearths create a rack for storing items. Thatch - and metal-roofed rooms surround the courtyard. Ahenkro, July-August, 1986.
Two Ligbi men from Bongase appear in masquerade regalia prior to a "Do" or "Bedu" performance at the commissioning celebration of the Banda Cultural Centre in Ahenkro. Their carved wooden masks represent a male and female pair of baboons (Mbong in Ligbi). Their heads and shoulders are draped in scarves, they wear raffia skirts around their waist, and over top of socks covering their feet they wear metal jangles on a chain wrapped around their ankles. They are accompanied by a number of men from Bongase. Pictured L-R: Fariah Salah, Kwame Yirikro, Abau Yaya, Abuu Doctor (masked dancer), Adoma, Ansoma Sala (masked dancer), Dandu, Alhaji Moro Mahama. A performance of Mbong at a June 2019 Banda Heritage Event can be viewed through a link below. Ahenkro, 21 July, 1995.
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 men work together to replace thatch on the roof of Kafͻnͻ (Kafono) Katoo. Part of the compound has a metal roof, and the building's exterior walls are richly decorated. The bicycle pictured on the wall belonged to an Elder in the house. It is said to have been the first bicycle in Banda. Ahenkro, July-August, 1986.
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.
A young boy has made a lorry (truck) from tin cans and other discarded materials. The wheels are made from worn-out "flip-flop" shoes and the string tied to the front allows him to pull the truck. Ahenkro, 1990.
A woman carries harvested tobacco leaves from farm to the area where the leaves will be tied for drying. Behind her, a ladder rests against the wall of a cement block metal-roofed tobacco drying barn. Tobacco was grown as a cash crop in the Banda area from the early 1980s into the early 2000s. Farmers received materials like bags of cement and roofing sheets to build drying barns as advances on their crop. South side of Ahenkro, July-August, 1986.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Headloading; Drying barns; Women's work
Subjects Facet:
Building; Tobacco; Metal roofing; Cash crops; Lifting and carrying
The Banda Cultural 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." Commissioned in 1995, the main building 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, July 1995.