A man holds up for view a male and female pair of carved wooden baboon (Mbong in Ligbi) masks during a 2019 interview with Ligbi elders in Bongase. The male mask (left) has a reflective silver cloth attached. A pair of bush cow (Siginjuru-ayna in Ligbi) masks lays on the table behind. Masks such as these have been used in masquerade dances celebrating special occasions like weddings and public festivals, including the end of Ramadan, the annual month-long period of Muslim fasting. Scholars refer to this masking tradition as "Do," while locally it is termed "Bedu." These same masks were photographed in 1967 by René A. Bravmann during the course of doctoral dissertation fieldwork. For additional details, see Bravmann, René A. (1974) "Islam and Tribal Art in West Africa" (Cambridge University Press), pp. 147-177. The baboon masks pictured here were worn and photographed in 1995 when Ligbi people from Bongase brought the masquerade to the commissioning celebration for the Banda Cultural Centre. A June 2019 performance of Mbong at a Banda Heritage Event can be viewed through a link below. Bongase, 11 June, 2019.
A man holds up for view two carved wooden masks during a 2019 interview with Ligbi elders in Bongase. These masks are used in masquerade dances to celebrate special occasions like weddings and public festivals such as the end of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting. The mask on the left (13.25 inches in height) is a thrush (Kokogyinaka in Ligbi). The mask on the right (9.75 inches in length) is a "beautiful Gonja woman" (Gbanyamuso in Ligbi). Their features are highlighted by red, blue and white pigment. The Gbanyamuso mask is also adorned by a red hair band. A baboon mask (Mbong in Ligbi) lays on the table to the right. René Bravmann, an art historian, photographed these masks in 1967 during doctoral dissertation fieldwork. For additional details, see Bravmann, René A. (1974) "Islam and Tribal Art in West Africa" (Cambridge University Press), pp. 88-95. Scholars refer to this masking tradition as "Do," while locally it is termed "Bedu." A June 2019 performance of Gbanyamuso (center) at a Banda Heritage Event can be viewed through a link below. Bongase, 11 June, 2019.
A man holds up for view a female (left) and male (right) pair of carved wooden bush cow (Siginjuru-ayna in Ligbi) masks during a 2019 interview with Ligbi elders in Bongase. Masks such as these have been used in masquerade dances to celebrate special occasions like weddings and public festivals including the end of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting. The masks' features are highlighted by red, blue and white pigment. René A. Bravmann, an art historian, photographed the male bush cow mask in 1967 during doctoral dissertation fieldwork. For additional details, see Bravmann, René A. (1974) "Islam and Tribal Art in West Africa" (Cambridge University Press), pp. 147-177. Scholars refer to this masking tradition as "Do," while locally it is termed "Bedu." Bongase,11 June, 2019.
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.
Two Nafana men from Fawoman--center and right--beat out foundational rhythms on hippopotamus jaw bones using a hippo canine tooth to accompany a performance of hunters' dances (Bɔfɔɔrɔ in Nafaanra). Oral history recounts that the dances are those of animals observed and copied by ancestral hunters, generations ago. The percussion instruments are said to be those collected by ancestral hunters after they watched the animals dancing, then scared them off and collected their equipment. Left, a man plays an "apentemma" (Twi) drum with his hands. A June 2019 performance of the dances at a Banda Heritage Event can be viewed through a link below. Fawoman, 21 May, 2019.
An aerial view of Banda area settlements and roads, looking southeastward 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) and north (bottom), 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 west (photo's far right) of the Y-Junction, toward the base of the Banda hills, are light-green rectangular areas devoid of trees. These are fields once cleared for tobacco cultivation and now put to other forms of mono-cropping (single crop farming). 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. Two photos. Ahenkro, 25 June, 2019.
At a day-long celebration of the Banda area's rich cultural heritage at the Banda Cultural Centre in Banda-Ahenkro, a group of potters from Dorbour demonstrated their skills for a community audience. Using pre-prepared clay, the potters showed how they form the body and rim of pottery jars, which are then set aside to dry before the pot's base is added. The video showcases some of their finished products and an announcer describes to the audience in Nafaanra some of steps involved in firing and finishing pots. Afterwards, the potters look at examples of archaeological pots in the Banda Cultural Centre and talk with archaeologist Ann Stahl about what is known from archaeological sites about potting in the past. Ahenkro, 28 June, 2019. Length: 00:25:14.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Date:
2019-06-28
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Potting; Women's work
Subjects Facet:
Pottery; Jars; Heritage
Creator:
Dr. Ann B. Stahl
Contributors:
Mary Yakosua; Yaa Kofua; Yaa Fordjour; Ama Dadia; Yaa Tabla; Mafua; Elikpim Kuto; Esi Koah Arko
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.
At a day-long celebration of the Banda area's rich cultural heritage at the Banda Cultural Centre in Banda-Ahenkro, men associated with the Kralɔngɔ Royal Palace performed a Nafana version of Kete. Known primarily as an Akan royal practice, Nafana oral histories characterize Kete as a genre they learned from Kulango people. In this performance, four men simultaneously use brass rattles and play flutes that oral accounts say were taken from the Kulango in their performance of five Kete songs. They are accompanied by two drummers and a man playing an iron gong. Ahenkro, 28 June, 2019. Length: 00:13:14 minutes.
At a day-long celebration of the Banda area's rich cultural heritage at the Banda Cultural Centre in Banda-Ahenkro, Ligbi community members from Bongase performed a masquerade dance which today they call "Bedu" but scholars term "Do." Two masks performed: Mbong (Baboon) and Gbanyamuso (Beautiful Gonja Woman). Their costumes include metal jangles worn around their ankles. The dancers are accompanied by women singing in Ligbi and drumming on conga and box drums, as well as by young men drumming and fanning the dancers. Ahenkro, 28 June, 2019. Length: 00:15:26 minutes.