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
Young women in the household of Sampson Attah pound cooked yam tubers in a deep mortar to make fufu. Mamee (left) and two other young women use round-ended pestles. Working together, they use the pestles to pound and turn the fufu in a pounding technique typical of food preparation in the Banda area. The pestles create a rhythmic accompaniment to the work as they strike the sides of the mortar. Household of Sampson Attah, Ahenkro, 27 May, 2009. Length: 00:00:54 minutes.
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.
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.
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
Work in progress at the Bui Dam site by Sinohydro, a state-owned Chinese hydropower and engineering company. Here the river channel has been diverted and the base of the dam is under construction. View from the south bank, looking northwest. Two photos. Bui Dam site, 7 July, 2009.
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.
Work in progress at the Bui Dam site by Sinohydro, a state-owned Chinese hydropower and engineering company. Here they grate the southern mountain that will serve as part of the dam's infrastructure. To the left, the cleared site of the former Ewe fishing village of Agbegikrom is visible. Looking downstream, the braiding of the Black Volta River below the dam site is visible. Bui Dam site, 7 July, 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 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.
A temporary bridge spans the Black Volta River at the site where Sinohydro, a state-owned Chinese hydropower engineering and construction company began constructing the Bui Hydroelectric Dam in 2008. Bui Dam site, 7 July, 2009.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Bui
Subjects:
Sinohydro; Savanna woodland; Vegetation
Subjects Facet:
Bui Dam (Ghana); Bridges; Black Volta River; Mountains
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.
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." Pictured here are members of the Banda Research Project. Front L-R: Enoch Mensah, Yaw Frimpong, Kofi Photo, David Adjartey Tei-Mensah. Center: Ann Stahl. Back L-R: Devin Tepleski, Amanda Logan, Andy Gurstelle, Lamini. Banda hills, June/July, 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
Young Ewe fishermen from Akanyakrom paddle a group of tourists visiting Bui National Park upriver to see the park's resident hippo population. Thick riparian forest lines the banks of the Black Volta River. Akanyakrom and these upstream areas were flooded by Bui Lake as water levels rose behind Bui Dam after 2012. Hippos were driven upstream by flooding and locally made canoes could no longer be used to ferry tourists because of the lake's winds and waves. Upstream of Akanyakrom, 12 June, 2009.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Akanyakrom
Subjects:
Bui Lake; Bui National Park
Subjects Facet:
Bui Dam (Ghana); Hippopotamus; Canoes; Riparian forests; Black Volta River; Ewe (African people); Tourism
Dense riparian forest lines the southern bank of the Black Volta River upstream of Akanyakrom in Bui National Park. This forest provided habitat for rare monkey species and other animals and birds. Areas like these were flooded by Bui Lake as water levels rose behind Bui Dam after 2012. Upstream of Akanyakrom, 12 June, 2009.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Akanyakrom
Subjects:
Bui Lake; Bui National Park
Subjects Facet:
Landscapes; Animals; Riparian forests; Black Volta River
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.
An Ewe fisherman from Akayakrom works part time as a guide for tourists visiting Bui National Park. Here he readies a boat to take a group up river to view the park's resident hippo population. Akanyakrom was among the villages flooded by Bui Lake as water levels rose behind Bui Dam after 2012. Hippos were driven upstream by flooding and locally made canoes could no longer be used to ferry tourists because of the lake's winds and waves. Akanyakrom, 12 June, 2009.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Akanyakrom
Subjects:
Bui Lake; Bui National Park
Subjects Facet:
Bui Dam (Ghana); Hippopotamus; Canoes; Riparian forests; Black Volta River; Ewe (African people); Tourism
Dzobo Sebastian, an Ewe fishermen from Akayakrom, works part time as a guide for tourists visiting Bui National Park. He paddles a boat carrying tourists up river to view the park's resident hippo population. Thick riparian forest lines the north bank of the Black Volta River. Akanyakrom and these upstream areas were flooded by Bui Lake as water levels rose behind Bui Dam after 2012. Hippos were driven upstream by flooding and locally made canoes could no longer be used to ferry tourists because of the lake's winds and waves. Akanyakrom, 12 June, 2009.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Akanyakrom
Subjects:
Bui Lake; Bui National Park
Subjects Facet:
Bui Dam (Ghana); Hippopotamus; Canoes; Riparian forests; Black Volta River; Ewe (African people); Tourism
Dense riparian forest lines the southern bank of the Black Volta River upstream of Akanyakrom in Bui National Park. This forest provided habitat for rare monkey species and other animals and birds. Areas like these were flooded by Bui Lake as water levels rose behind Bui Dam after 2012. Upstream of Akanyakrom, 12 June, 2009.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Akanyakrom
Subjects:
Bui Lake; Bui National Park
Subjects Facet:
Landscapes; Animals; Riparian forests; Black Volta River
Ahenkro (left) and Kabruno/Kanka (right) as seen from the Banda hills, view to the southeast. Two of the early (red-and-white) cellular phone towers in the area are visible. The eastern range of Banda hills is visible in the distance. Banda, June, 2009.
Areas of the Black Volta River in Bui National Park are characterized by rocky outcrops. The river banks are lined with dense riparian forest. Upstream of Akanyakrom, 12 June, 2009.
Young Ewe fishermen from Akayakrom work part time as guides for tourists visiting Bui National Park. They await a group of tourists making a trip up river to view the park's resident hippo population. Thick riparian forest lines the north bank of the Black Volta River. Akanyakrom was among the villages flooded by Bui Lake as water levels rose behind Bui Dam after 2012. Hippos were driven upstream by flooding and locally made canoes could no longer be used to ferry tourists because of the lake's winds and waves. L-R: Michael Dzobo, Williams Enam, Davis Lumor, Gordon Kumordzi. Akanyakrom, 12 June, 2009.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Akanyakrom
Subjects:
Bui Lake; Bui National Park
Subjects Facet:
Bui Dam (Ghana); Hippopotamus; Canoes; Riparian forests; Black Volta River; Ewe (African people); Tourism
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.
Approach to Bui village by road from the south seen in a series of five photos panning from north (001) to northeast (005). The mountain behind the village is part of the range associated with the Bui Dam. Bui villagers were relocated in advance of flooding caused by dam construction that inundated the village seen here. Five photos. Bui, June, 2009.
The clustered villages of Kabruno, Kanka, Sase and Gbao are visible from the hills west of Ahenkro, as is the road leading south to Sabiye. The eastern range of Banda hills is visible in the distance. Banda, 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.
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
The mountain range near Jama, north of the Black Volta River, is visible in the distance (center). Electrical lines (foreground) parallel the Ahenkro-Bongase road from which this photo was taken. North of Ahenkro, 16 June, 2009.
Ahenkro (left) and Kabruno/Kanka (right) as seen from the Banda hills, view to the southeast. The eastern range of Banda hills is visible in the distance. Banda, June, 2009.
Sinohydro, the state-owned Chinese hydropower engineering and construction company, began constructing the Bui Hydroelectric Dam in 2008. Here the river's course has been diverted along the south bank as construction of the dam is underway. The land in the background lays within Bui National Park, a Wildlife Protection Area first established in 1971. Following completion of the dam, the area between the dam and the distant mountain was flooded by the newly formed Bui Lake. Viewing the scene, L-R, are Enoch Mensah, Devin Tepleski, unknown dam employeee, Ann B. Stahl and Sampson Attah. Bui Dam site, 7 June, 2009.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Bui
Subjects:
Bui Lake; Bui National Park; Savanna woodland; Sinohydro; Vegetation
Subjects Facet:
Bui Dam (Ghana); Landscapes; Mountains; Wildlife refuges
In the foreground, right, work in progress at the Bui Dam site by Sinohydro, a state-owned Chinese hydropower and engineering company. Grating of the mountain slope is underway. Beyond that (right center) buildings associated with the Chinese operational site are visible. The braided channel of the Black Volta River downstream from the dam site is center frame. Bui Dam site, 7 July, 2009.
Work in progress at the Bui Dam site by Sinohydro, a state-owned Chinese hydropower and engineering company. Here standing on the south bank looking northwest with a view of the diversion channel and the base of the dam under construction. The Bui National Park lands in the background were flooded by Bui Lake as it formed behind the dam from 2012. Bui Dam site, 7 July, 2009.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Dam Site
Subjects:
Sinohydro; Bui National Park; Savanna woodland; Vegetation
Subjects Facet:
Bui Dam (Ghana); Landscapes; Black Volta River; Mountains
Members of the 2009 archaeological excavation team at Ngre Kataa. Team members included graduate students from the University of Ghana and North America, a representative of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board and Banda men from Ahenkro and Nyrie. Back row (L-R): David Adjartey Tei-Mensah, Peter, Frimpong, Enoch Mensah, Yaw Mensah, Yaw Francis, Devin Tepleski. Middle row (L-R): Amanda Logan, Sampson Fordjour, Kofi Paul, Felix Ochra, Yaw Frimpong; J.K. Mensah; Kofi "Photo" Manu; Ann Stahl, Kwakye Eric, Frank, Kofi Nsia; Front, seated (L-R): Abass Iddrisu, Osei Kofi, Andrew Gurstelle (kneeling). 9 July, 2009, Ngre Kataa.
Sinohydro, the state-owned Chinese hydropower engineering and construction company, began constructing the Bui Hydroelectric Dam in 2008. Here on the north bank of the Black Volta River at the base of the mountain is the cleared site of an Ewe fishing village, Agbegikrom (two views). The village was leveled after its inhabitants were resettled. Bui Dam site, 7 July, 2009.
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
Archaeological team member Enoch Mesah (left, white shirt) explains what archaeologists have been learning through excavation of Mound 7 at Ngre Kataa. He addresses Tolɛɛ Gbankama, chief of Nyire (standing, center, white shirt) and accompanying Nyire elders during a site visit. Archaeological team member Kofi Nsia pauses excavation during the conversation, the short-handled hoe with which he is working resting on the ground in front of him. Ngre Kataa, 6 July, 2009.
Children from Bui village fetch water from the nearby Black Volta River. They work together to hoist water-filled headpans in which they have placed leaves to stop the water from sloshing from the pan as they walk back to their homes. Bui, May, 2009.
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.