Family history interview with Elders of Loobia Katoo dressed in customary attire for the Yualie Festival celebrated at the harvest time for sorghum and millet. Loobia Katoo supplies the custodian of the Jafun shrine to which offerings are made during the Yualie Festival. The family brought the shrine to Banda from Senyon (Northern Region) during the time of Dabla, paramount chief of Banda. In the background (left) calabash (gourd) bowls (chrԑgbͻͻ in Nafaanra) are set out to dry. Left: custodian of the Jafun shrine, Kwadwo Kamiekunu (Jafun Bͻͻnyiifun); right: Amman Nyiimor (female head), 24 July, 1986.
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.
Amma Bio of Gbaŋmbɛ Katoo demonstrates the dance associated with sinyeele (balo or xylophone) music played at funerals. Male family head Nyua Kwadwo plays the sinyeele. Lying beneath the partially assembled instrument are calabashes that serve as resonators and produce the instrument's distinctive sound. A small wooden stool lies on its side nearby. Sanwa, 6 August, 1986.
Gbԑԑnlԑԑ Katoo in Gbao celebrates the funeral of the caretaker of a shrine who was understood to have been killed by the 'fetish' because of harm he allegedly planned against family members. In this case, the funeral involves special forms of drumming, dancing and songs as part of a thanksgiving to the shrine. Here, (L-R) Abena Gyakari, Akua Bedu and Akua Asԑmpasa play calabash rattles as a young man to the right plays an apentemma (Twi) drum. Three photos. Gbao, 8 August, 1986.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Gbao
Subjects:
Rattles; Gbԑԑnlԑԑ (Gbeenlee) Katoo
Subjects Facet:
Gourd, Calabash; Drums (musical instrument); Funeral customs and rites; Rites and ceremonies
A youngster helps a woman remove a loaded headpan as she approaches the thatch-roofed veranda of a room in a compound house. A variety of metal containers used to prepare food and for other household tasks are placed about, along with several calabash bowls and low stools used in this kitchen area. A headpan containing dishes rests on a cluster of hearth stones, lower right. Makala, July, 1994.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Makala
Subjects:
Headloading; Metal pots; Headpans
Subjects Facet:
Stools; Thatched roofs; Gourd, Calabash; Courtyards; Lifting and carrying
Calabash drums accompany songs sung by Nafana women during the celebration of puberty (Manaa Ndiom) and marriage (Bijam) rites. These drums are played exclusively by women. The drums are made by filling a large hollowed-out calabash or gourd (chrɛ in Nafaanra) with water. A smaller calabash bowl (chrɛgbɔɔ in Nafaanra) floating upright in the water provides the surface on which the women drum. The small calabash ladles resting in the water are used to beat the up-turned floating calabash bowls and the rim of the large calabash. Visible at the bottom of the larger calabash drum are maize (bleju in Nafaanra) kernels tossed into the drum by passing dancers. Among the kernels are several pesewa coins also tossed in by dancers. Two views. Boase, 11 November, 2018.
The courtyard kitchen area of a partially enclosed compound has two hearths with cooking equipment placed around. Several low stools and a wooden chair sit among metal pots, calabashes (gourds) and other kitchen items. A mortar and a basket sit to the right. A stack of dried blocks (right, rear) suggests that an addition to the compound is planned. More blocks are stored inside the open room whose wooden door has been removed. Ahenkro, July-August, 1986.
Until the late 1980s when boreholes were drilled in many villages, people in the Banda area relied on nearby springs, streams and rivers for daily water supplies. During the dry season, streams often dried up, while in drought years, even river beds became dry. Finding water was particularly difficult during the severe drought years of 1982-83. Here women from Wewa painstakingly collect water from a dry river bed west of the mountains in a process known as 'lawala' in Nafaanra. They scoop water with calabash bowls (chrԑgbͻͻ in Nafaanra). They have walked several kilometers to reach this place and were often faced with long waits before they could fill a headpan with water. Two photos. West of Wewa, December, 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.
At an event showcasing the songs and dances associated with puberty (Manaa Ndiom) and wedding (Bijam) rites, two Boase women sit on low wooden stools as they play drums made from hollowed-out calabashes or gourds (chrɛ in Nafaanra). The large lower calabashes are supported by another container (a large tomato paste tin on the left and a plastic bowl on the right). A smaller calabash bowl (chrɛgbɔɔ in Nafaanra) floats upright in water contained within the larger calabash. The women create a rhythm by tapping the calabash ladles held in their right hands on the surface of the floating calabash and the rim of the larger calabash bowl. The kernels of maize (corn, or bleju in Nafaanra) clustered at the base of the larger calabash in the foreground have been tossed into the drum by dancers as they pass by. Another woman, seated upper left, holds a small calabash bowl filled with maize kernels which dancers will use as offerings. Boase, 11 November, 2018.
At an event showcasing the songs and dances associated with puberty (Manaa Ndiom) and wedding (Bijam) rites, two Boase women play drums made from hollowed-out calabashes or gourds (chrɛ in Nafaanra). The large lower calabashes are supported by another container (a large tomato paste tin on the left and a plastic bowl on the right). A smaller calabash bowl (chrɛgbɔɔ in Nafaanra) floats upright in water contained within the larger calabash. The women create a rhythm by tapping the calabash ladles held in their right hands on the surface of the floating calabash and the rim of the larger calabash bowl. Women behind the drummers clap in accompaniment to the song. Boase, 11 November, 2018.
At a performance showcasing the rituals associated with Nafana wedding rites (Bijam) organized by the chief and female elders of Boase, a weathered calabash or gourd bowl (chrɛgbɔɔ in Nafaanra) holds money (Ghanaian cedis) offered by well-wishers. A calabash lid rests on the ground nearby, its side mended with stitches. Boase, 11 November, 2018.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Boase
Subjects:
Cedis; Bijam; Money
Subjects Facet:
Rites and ceremonies; Gourd, Calabash; Marriage customs and rites
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.
Members of Gbaŋmbɛ Katoo demonstrate the use of a (partially constructed) balo or xylophone (sinyeele in Nafaanra). The instrument is played at special funerals, including those of the paramount chief. A calabash with a small hole lies beneath the instrument. Together with other calabashes of graded size (small to large), it serves as the instrument's resonating chamber when fully assembled. By striking the sinyeele's wooden keys with a mallet, a range of musical notes are produced by the differently sized calabashes. Nyua Kwadwo (male family head) holds the mallets he uses to play the sinyeele. On each wrist he wears an iron bangle or bracelet with metal jangles. To the left, a family member plays a drum made from a clay pot. Sanwa, 6 August, 1986.
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
The glass beads considered sacred and used in the puberty (Manaa Ndiom) and marriage (Bijam) rites of Nafana women are stored within a calabash bowl, its lid lying next to it. Most of the beads are imported varieties typical of those that circulated in the Atlantic trade period. On top of two other lidded calabash bowls rests a pair of iron manacles or shackles which are included among ritual paraphernalia. Ahenkro, July 1995.
Large stones, some used as grindstones, are placed about the corner of this courtyard. Groundnut (peanut, boŋgrɛ in Nafaanra) shells lay on the ground at the feet of a child. A carved wooden stool appears alongside stools made from sawed boards, the latter typical of those taken to school by children each day and those used by women as they sit hearth-side while cooking. Two calabash bowls (chrԑgbͻͻ in Nafaanra) sit nearby. Makala, July, 1994.
A calabash bowl (chrԑgbͻͻ in Nafaanra) containing water rests on top of a small pedestaled clay bowl (kontoŋdԑԑ in Nafaanra) used in funeral celebrations. The clay bowl is used by women to present food to the ancestors (sro waa in Nafaanra). Calabash rattles used in funeral celebrations sit nearby, some next to a basket. Dorbour, 1994.
Young men prepare calabash (gourd; chrԑ in Nafaanra) ladles for market. The calabash is split, its pulpy interior removed, and the gourd's interior surface scraped clean before drying. Banda, July, 1982.
Joshua Tandor uses a metal blade and a mallet to split a calabash (chrԑ in Nafaanra) in half. The pulp and seeds are removed and the calabash walls scraped clean before being set aside to dry. The resulting calabash bowls (chrԑgbͻͻ) are sold at market while the seeds are a prized soup ingredient (fnumu). Farmstead on the outskirts of Banda-Ahenkro, August, 1982.