Ma Mnama had a reputation as a successful farmer in the Banda area. Here she uses a short-handled hoe (kagbaan in Nafaanra; pl. kagbɛɛn) to cultivate her intercropped field, located to the east of Banda-Ahenkro, 1982
Enoch Mensah climbs down the steep slope below the Banda rockshelter, headed southward. He moves towards what elders described as the water source used by people who took refuge in the cave when Asante attacked Banda. Oral histories describe hardships in getting food and water while people hid in the cave. This attack may relate to Asantehene Osei Kwadwo's campaign against Banda during the dry season of 1773-74 when many Banda people were taken captive and sold by Asante to the Dutch at Elmina Castle. Banda hills, 30 July, 1994.
Interior of the Banda rockshelter (sdekpͻͻ in Nafaanra). Its floor is covered with large boulders which sheared from the shelter's roof over time. Enoch Mensah and Doris Millah sit in the foreground. 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." Banda hills, 30 July, 1994.
The cliff face of the of the Banda rockshelter (upper right) gives way to a rocky slope below which is partially covered in low-growing grass. View to the north. Banda hills, 30 July, 1994.
Interior view of a shelter constructed at farm with walls made from woven mats and a thatched roof supported by wooden poles around the shelter's perimeter. In the shelter's rear corner, calabash (gourd; chrԑ in Nafaanra) bowls and ladles rest on a low platform constructed of poles and thatch. Several other worn calabash and fired clay vessels are beneath the platform. A hearth, right foreground, is constructed of three stones in-between which dry wood collected from around the farm is placed. Several maize (corn; bleju in Nafaanra) shucks lie on the ground, lower left foreground. Farm near Ahenkro, September, 1982.
The Banda hills viewed from the small hill west of Kabruno, looking northward. To the right of the mountains (center photo) are tobacco fields. Tobacco began to be grown in the area as a cash crop in the mid 1980s. Banda hills, May, 1995
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." Banda hills, 30 July, 1994.
Interior view of a shelter constructed at farm with walls made from woven mats and a thatched roof supported by wooden poles around the shelter's perimeter. Pieces of firewood lay near the shelter's entrance with a small wooden double-ended pestle/grinder lying on its side in front of the wood. Several maize (corn) cobs (bledjukaan in Nafaanra) stripped of their kernels lay on the earthen floor of the shelter. Farm near Ahenkro, September, 1982.
