Ewe fisherman Dzobo Sebastian forms a hoop from a flexible stick. He uses his feet to secure the stick as he makes a hoop of the right size to stretch and brace the bamboo sticks of the outer body of a basketry fish trap. Akanyakrom, 26 July, 2022.
Cordage used to secure a hoop formed from a flexible stick. The hoop will be used to stretch and brace the bamboo sticks of the outer body of a basketry fish trap. Akanyakrom, 26 July, 2022.
A partially complete basketry fish trap made with bamboo sticks and vine cordage. View looking to the interior after four bracing hoops have been inserted. The hoops are placed at intervals to expand and brace the bamboo sticks that make up the trap's outer body. Akanyakrom, 26 July, 2022.
Ewe fisherman Dzobo Reuben holds the woven triangular bamboo-and-rope cover to the basketry fish trap as Dzobo Sebastian secures it in place. This cover can be removed to access fish in the trap. Akanyakrom, 26 July, 2022.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Akanyakrom
Subjects:
Men's work
Subjects Facet:
Bamboo; Cordage; Fish traps; Handicrafts; Baskets; Ewe (African people)
Ewe fisherman Dzobo Reuben uses a cutlass to smooth a stick that will be used to make the interior hoops that open and brace the inside of basketry fish trap. Akanyakrom, 26 July, 2022.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Akanyakrom (resettled)
Subjects:
Men's work; Cutlasses
Subjects Facet:
Fish traps; Handicrafts; Baskets; Ewe (African people)
An in-progress narrow raffia mat used as a teaching/learning aid. The mat is tied to a raffia palm stick that holds the mat in place as weaving proceeds. Loose raffia pieces extending from the middle and top of the mat represent places where raffia strands have been added or ended. These loose ends will be trimmed when the mat is completed. The active row of weaving is seen at the bottom of the picture. Sabiye, 28 July, 2022.
A wooden mallet used in rope making lies on the ground to the right of a coil of rope. This rope was made by beating the surface of a vine to remove its bark and soften its texture. The rope will be used to weave a large bamboo fish trap. Akanyakrom, 23 July, 2022.
Mawell Gbadago (left), Dzobo Sebastian (center) & Dzobo Reuben (right) pictured with a basketry fish trap (exa in Ewe) that they made as part of a British Museum Endangered Material Knowledge Programme project to document Indigenous technologies in the Banda area. In his right hand, Sebastian carries a length of coiled stick (afɔtasi in Ewe) like that used to force open the trap body; a bundle of twisted vine used to make the rope with which the fishermen weave the bamboo trap; and a wooden mallet (ɛka fokpo in Ewe) used to pound the vine (adzɔ in Ewe) as they process it into rope. Akanyakrom, 29 July, 2022.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Akanyakrom (resettled)
Subjects:
Men's work
Subjects Facet:
Bamboo; Cordage; Fish traps; Handicrafts; Baskets; Ewe (African people)
Dzobo Reuben, an Ewe fisherman, carries a cutlass in his right hand and a long bamboo stalk over his left shoulder. He has harvested the bamboo from riparian forest along the Volta River in preparation for making a fish trap. Volta River, 16 July, 2022.
This short video made from still photographic images illustrates the firing techniques of Banda-area potters. It shows examples of bonfire firing and post-firing treatment of vessels in a solution of pounded bark. Images include a 1982 sequence following Mo potters in Bondakile and 1994 images of Nafana potters in Adadiem and Dorbour, featuring Afua Donkor and Yaa Nsiah Adiemu from the latter. Original images used to make the video are available in the Banda Through Time Repository. Bondakile, 1982. Adadiem, Dorbour, 1994. Length: 4.22 minutes.
