An aerial view of Banda area settlements and roads, looking southwards from the north side of Banda-Ahenkro, district administrative center since 2012 of the Banda District in Ghana's Bono (formerly Brong-Ahafo) Region. The linear range of Banda hills is visible in the background (right, top) with the compact core of Banda-Ahenkro center photo. To the west (right), Ahenkro's houses are more dispersed than in its compact and older core. The left-hand fork of a Y-shaped road (center photo) is the main road that leads south towards Sabiye and Bofie to Menji. The right-hand fork is the now-bypassed old main road between Ahenkro and Kabruno. The road that extends horizontally across the left side of the photo is the paved road that extends from the Banda junction to the Wenchi-Bamboi road (N12). The clustered villages visible south of Ahenkro include Kanka, Kabruno, Sase, Gbao, Dompofie and Makala. To the east of Ahenkro (photo's far left) the angular straight edges and lighter green color of a cashew plantation stand out from the surrounding vegetation. Cashew has become an increasingly important cash crop grown in the area since the early 2000s. Ahenkro, 25 June, 2019.
Adult hippos monitor the presence of tourists in canoes on the Black Volta River in Bui National Park. Dense riparian forest covers the south bank of the river. The park was established as a Wildlife Refuge Area from 1971 and was home to one of West Africa's eight hippo populations. More than 300 hippos were counted in the park prior to the construction of the Bui Hydroelectric Dam which began in 2008. Two photos. Bui National Park, 12 June, 2009.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Banda
Subjects:
Savanna woodland; Vegetation; Bui National Park
Subjects Facet:
Wildlife refuges; Riparian forests; Tourism; Black Volta River; Hippopotamus
The road leading from Ahenkro to Bongase parallels the Banda hills. Visible on the right side of the road are electrical lines and a pole. Electrification was recent at the time of these two photos. North of Ahenkro, 16 June, 2009.
A mother hippo and her baby cool themselves in the Black Volta River while monitoring tourists in nearby canoes. Dense riparian forest covers the south bank of the river. The park was established as a Wildlife Refuge Area from 1971 and was home to one of West Africa's eight hippo populations. More than 300 hippos were counted in the park prior to the construction of the Bui Hydroelectric Dam which began in 2008. Two photos. Bui National Park, 12 June, 2009.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Banda
Subjects:
Savanna woodland; Vegetation; Bui National Park
Subjects Facet:
Wildlife refuges; Riparian forests; Tourism; Black Volta River; Hippopotamus
Looking southwest from the Banda rockshelter, the view encompasses land that since 1971 has been part of Bui National Park, a Wildlife Protected Area covering more than 1800 km2. Prior to that, these lands west of the Banda hills were important to local people as a source of "bush meat." Archaeological evidence suggests that for centuries hunting was provided an important food source for Banda peoples. This is the third of eight images in a south-to-north panorama from this viewpoint. Banda hills, 28 June, 2009.
Looking northwest from the Banda rockshelter, the view encompasses land that since 1971 has been part of Bui National Park, a Wildlife Protected Area covering more than 1800 km2. Prior to that, these lands west of the Banda hills were important to local people as a source of "bush meat." Archaeological evidence suggests that for centuries hunting was provided an important food source for Banda peoples. This is the seventh of eight images in a south-to-north panorama from this viewpoint. Banda hills, 28 June, 2009.
Looking southwest from the Banda rockshelter, the view encompasses land that since 1971 has been part of Bui National Park, a Wildlife Protected Area covering more than 1800 km2. Prior to that, these lands west of the Banda hills were important to local people as a source of "bush meat." Archaeological evidence suggests that for centuries hunting was provided an important food source for Banda peoples. This is the second of eight images in a south-to-north panorama from this viewpoint Banda hills, 28 June, 2009.
Looking northwest from the Banda rockshelter, the view encompasses land that since 1971 has been part of Bui National Park, a Wildlife Protected Area covering more than 1800 km2. Prior to that, these lands west of the Banda hills were important to local people as a source of "bush meat." Archaeological evidence suggests that for centuries hunting was provided an important food source for Banda peoples. This is the sixth of eight images in a south-to-north panorama from this viewpoint. Banda hills, 28 June, 2009.
Looking west from the Banda rockshelter, the view encompasses land that since 1971 has been part of Bui National Park, a Wildlife Protected Area covering more than 1800 km2. Prior to that, these lands west of the Banda hills were important to local people as a source of "bush meat." Archaeological evidence suggests that for centuries hunting was provided an important food source for Banda peoples. Banda hills, This is the fourth of eight images in a south-to-north panorama from this viewpoint. Banda hills, 28 June, 2009.
Looking northwest from the Banda rockshelter, the view encompasses land that since 1971 has been part of Bui National Park, a Wildlife Protected Area covering more than 1800 km2. Prior to that, these lands west of the Banda hills were important to local people as a source of "bush meat." Archaeological evidence suggests that for centuries hunting was provided an important food source for Banda peoples. This is the eighth of eight images in a south-to-north panorama from this viewpoint. Banda hills, 28 June, 2009.
Looking west from the Banda rockshelter, the view encompasses land that since 1971 has been part of Bui National Park, a Wildlife Protected Area covering more than 1800 km2. Prior to that, these lands west of the Banda hills were important to local people as a source of "bush meat." Archaeological evidence suggests that for centuries hunting was provided an important food source for Banda peoples. This is the fifth of eight images in a south-to-north panorama from this viewpoint. hills, 28 June, 2009.
A plowed field at the base of the Banda hills near Ahenkro remains unplanted. Other previously plowed but now fallow fields are visible as light green areas against a background of savanna woodland. These clear-cut, tractor-plowed fields were first opened up in the 1980s and 1990s when many farmers took up commercial tobacco production, later banned by the Traditional Council. Looking eastward, the hills near Fawoman are visible in the background. Two photos. Northwest of Ahenkro, June, 2009.
Bui National Park, a Wildlife Refuge Area established in 1971, was home to one of West Africa's eight hippo populations. More than 300 hippos were counted in the park prior to the construction of the Bui Hydroelectric Dam. Here several hippos cool themselves in the Black Volta River several kilometers upstream from the site where the dam was under construction beginning in 2008. Dense riparian forest lines the south bank of the river. Bui National Park, 12 June, 2009.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Banda
Subjects:
Bui National Park; Savanna woodland; Vegetation
Subjects Facet:
Hippopotamus; Riparian forests; Black Volta River; Wildlife refuges
The road leading from Ahenkro to Bongase parallels the Banda hills. Visible on the far right (center) is an electrical pole. Electrification was recent at the time of this picture. The mountains near Jama on the north side of the Black Volta River are visible, center. North of Ahenkro, 16 June, 2009.
Yaw Frimpong stands next to a termite mound in the Banda hills near the Banda rockshelter. Termites nest in the ground below such mounds. Scientific studies suggest that the mounds act as vents, circulating air to the nest beneath the mound. Banda hills, 28 June, 2009.
Interior of the Banda rockshelter (sdekpͻͻ in Nafaanra). Its floor is covered with large boulders which sheared from the shelter's roof over time. Banda oral histories refer to this as the cave in which people hid during Asante's attacks on Banda in the 1700s. These stories may relate to Asantehene Osei Kwadwo's campaign against Banda during the dry season of 1773-74. After this, in February 1774, Dutch officials at Elmina Castle reported purchasing captives from Asante's war against "Benda." To the right, David Adjartey Tei-Mensah holds a video camera. Banda hills, 28 June, 2009.
View to the west from the Banda hills above Ahenkro. The mountains near Fawoman are visible in the distance. Rooftops of houses on Ahenkro's north side are visible (right). In the foreground a clear-cut tractor-plowed field awaits planting. Fields such as this were first established when Banda farmers began to plant tobacco as a cash crop, incentivized by commercial tobacco companies. After tobacco growing was banned by the Banda Traditional Council (early 2000s), these fields were put to other crops, including cashew. Banda Hills, 28 June, 2009.
Yaw Frimpong (seated, center), Enoch Mensah (standing, right) and Kofi Photo (rear) make their way down the eastern slope of the Banda hills from the Banda rockshelter. Banda hills, 28 June, 2009.
Looking northwest from the entrance to the Banda rockshelter, the view encompasses land that since 1971 has been part of Bui National Park, a Wildlife Protected Area covering more than 1800 km2. Prior to that, these lands west of the Banda hills were important to local people as a source of "bush meat." Archaeological evidence suggests that for centuries hunting was provided an important food source for Banda peoples. Banda hills, 28 June, 2009.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Banda
Subjects:
Hunting; Rockshelter; Bui National Park; Savanna woodland; Vegetation
Looking southwest from the Banda rockshelter, the view encompasses land that since 1971 has been part of Bui National Park, a Wildlife Protected Area covering more than 1800 km2. Prior to that, these lands west of the Banda hills were important to local people as a source of "bush meat." Archaeological evidence suggests that for centuries hunting was provided an important food source for Banda peoples. This is the first of eight images in a south-to-north panorama from this viewpoint. Banda hills, 28 June, 2009.