Owusu Alexander weaves a large raffia palm mat. He has tied the in-progress mat to a raffia palm stick to anchor the mat as he weaves. The mat is wound around the stick as weaving proceeds. To the left, wrapped on a stick that is leaning against a stack of sun-dried bricks, is a narrow mat that he wove to demonstrate mat weaving techniques. Four large pottery jars rest upside down near a house wall in the background. Sabiye, 22 July, 2022.
Owusu Alexander adds new fronds as he weaves a raffia palm mat. He has tied the in-progress mat to a raffia palm stick to anchor the mat as he weaves. The mat is wound around the stick as weaving proceeds. Sabiye, 22 July, 2022.
Owusu Alexander adds new fronds as he weaves a raffia palm mat. He has tied the in-progress mat to a raffia palm stick to anchor the mat as he weaves. The mat is wound around the stick as weaving proceeds. Sabiye, 22 July, 2022.
Owusu Alexander weaves a raffia palm mat. He has wrapped three split fronds around his left index finger and uses his left thumb to secure a frond laid across these. Sabiye, 22 July, 2022.
Owusu Alexander weaves a raffia palm mat. He has secured four split fronds around his left index finger as he weaves with his right hand. Sabiye, 22 July, 2022.
Owusu Alexander uses a knife to split dried raffia fronds in preparation for making a raffia palm mat. He removes the stiff rib and splits the resulting two side pieces of the frond in half, leaving a few centimeters at the base of each half unsplit. Here he folds the unsplit end in half, which allows him to easily layer the two halves when he adds them to his mat. Weaving with layered frond pieces makes a thicker and more durable mat. Sabiye, 17 July, 2022.
Ewe fishermen Maxwell Gbadago (left) and Dzobo Sebastian (right) use knives to remove knots and shape bamboo sticks that they will use in weaving a basketry fish trap. A number of unsplit bamboo stalks await processing. A large blue industrially made fish net is laid out behind where they sit. Akanyakrom, 18 July, 2022.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Akanyakrom (resettled)
Subjects:
Men's work
Subjects Facet:
Bamboo; Fish traps; Handicrafts; Ewe (African people)
