Yaw Kyԑ paddles a canoe toward the Dam Site settlement, an Ewe fishing village on the south bank of the Black Volta River. Canoes like these were used to ferry people across the river and for fishing. In the foreground, a basket sits on the riverbank. The mountain in the background (looking northward) is the site where the Bui Dam was built, beginning in 2008. Dam Site settlement, June, 1994.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Dam Site
Subjects:
Vegetation; Dam Site
Subjects Facet:
Bui Dam (Ghana); Baskets; Canoes; Riparian forests; Black Volta River; Fishing
A group of men work together, gathered at farm, processing calabash (gourd; chrԑ in Nafaanra) for market sale. The calabash is split, its pulpy interior removed, and the gourd's interior surface scraped clean before drying. Shavings from this thinning process are scattered about on the ground. Several children are gathered nearby as the men work. A basket sits next to a pile of prepared calabash bowls (chrԑgbͻͻ in Nafaanra). Farm near Ahenkro, August, 1982.
Exterior 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 foreground, right, a cutlass (machete) rests on a sharpening stone. In the shade of the shelter's eave to the right of its roof-support pole are a small fired clay eating bowl, a clay cooking pot turned upside down resting on its rim, and a larger fired clay water storage pot. Farm shelters provide shade, refuge from rain and a place to rest and prepare food while families are at their farms, which may be located some distance from their homes. Farm near Ahenkro, September, 1982.
Ma Fiԑn of Gbao (left) and Abena Wusu of Dompofie (right) spin cotton thread. Their spindles (gԑndԑ in Nafaanra) are weighted by fired clay spindle whorls (gԑndԑ kaan in Nafaanra) which help the spindle to maintain an even spin. Ma Fiԑn uses a calabash bowl as a spinning surface. Abena Wusu uses an enamel-ware bowl placed on a basket. They use their right hand to guide thread onto the spindle as it spins. In their left hand they hold the raw cotton from which the thread is being spun. They control the tension and flow of the cotton by alternately pulling back and easing their left hands. Thread forms as the spindle spins, with the finished product building up in layers toward the spindle's lower end, near the whorl. The baskets on top of which they spin used to store spinning equipment when not in use. Until recent decades, spinning was a routine household activity for women who then gave thread to men skilled in weaving to make cloth for the household. Spindle whorls found on archaeological sites dating to the late 18th and 19th centuries tell us that spinning was also a household activity during those centuries. In the photo's background harvested foods are drying (groundnut, cassava, chili pepper). A large basket and other containers (including a plastic tub) sit next to dried calabash ready to be sent to market. To the right, a clay water pot (chͻkoo in Nafaanra) rests on a metal basin and in the top right is a metal water barrel. Four photos. Gbao, September, 1982.
A basketry fish trap (exa in Ewe) made and used by Ewe fishermen in the Banda area, Ghana. Traps like these were used for fishing between the months of August and November. They were effective in catching different types of fish three inches in length or longer. Agbegikrom South, December, 1982.
Kitchen area in the center of a courtyard house, with a large wooden mortar visible in the foreground. Women and youngsters are seated near hearths with a variety of serving and cooking vessels made of basketry, metal, calabash and plastic placed around the courtyard. The large metal drum in the background is used for water storage. Makala, June-July, 1990.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Makala
Subjects:
Metal pots; Water barrels; Plastic containers; Headpans
A woman in Dumboli spins cotton thread. She holds raw cotton fiber in her left hand. She has attached a strand of fiber to her spindle (gԑndԑ in Nafaanra), and she prepares to set it and the spindle whorl (gԑndԑ kaan in Nafaanra) which weights it in motion with her right hand. The whorl spins inside a small white vessel (possibly an animal skull or turtle shell) resting on a basket lid. The woman sits on a low stool. Various containers used in food preparation sit behind her. The basket on which she is spinning is used to store her equipment when not in use. Seeing women spinning in their homes would have been common before the second half of the 20th century. Archaeologists find spindle whorls in houses on sites dating to the later 18th and 19th centuries. In earlier times, however, it appears that thread was primarily made in market centers rather than in households. Two photos. Dumboli, 1994.