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1. Spindle and spindle whorl, 1982

Description:
A spindle (gԑndԑ in Nafaanra) and a spindle whorl (gԑndԑ kaan in Nafaanra) used to make cotton thread. A black camera lens cap shows scale. For much of the 20th century, spinning was a routine activity for women. Some of the spun cotton thread was dyed blue. The blue thread was woven together with white thread to make durable strip-woven cloths that were highly valued. The rounded spindle whorl is made from fired clay and painted with white and red designs. The spindle whorl's decoration inspired the Nafaanra proverb: "Chlͻ were nyu na gԑndԑ yi" (The woman is as beautiful as the spindle whorl." Archaeologists have found spindle whorls on Banda-area archaeological sites dating to the late 18th and early 19th century. Before that time it seems that spinning cotton was not a routine household activity and that cloth was made in market centers. The spindle whorl is laying on a courtyard floor, with an eroding plaster layer visible in the background. Gbao, September, 1982.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Relation:
https://exhibits.library.uvic.ca/spotlight/iaff/catalog/17-16831 ; https://exhibits.library.uvic.ca/spotlight/iaff/catalog/17-17202
Location(s) Facet:
Gbao
Subjects:
Cotton thread
Subjects Facet:
Handicraft; Spindle whorls; West African strip weaving; Spinning
Identifier:
28
Creator:
Dr. Ann B. Stahl
Contributors:
Dr. Ann B. Stahl
Date searchable:
1982
Date searchable:
1982-09
Genre Facet:
35 mm slide
Location(s):
Gbao;8.147021, -2.362744
Date Digitized:
2016
People Facet:
Dr. Ann B. Stahl
Commentary:
Slide scanned by Veronique Plante
Geographic Coordinates:
8.147021, -2.362744

2. Burned bone used in spinning, Gbao, 1982

Description:
A plastic bowl holds pieces of animal bone that have been burned at a high temperature (calcined). Calcined bone turns white and its texture becomes chalky. Women periodically rub this bone chalk on their fingers to aid handling of the cotton as they spin to make cotton thread from raw fiber. Also in the bowl is a round clay spindle whorl (gԑndԑ kaan in Nafaanra) painted with white lines and a daub of white-and black cloth. Gbao, September, 1982.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Relation:
https://exhibits.library.uvic.ca/spotlight/iaff/catalog/17-17202 ; https://exhibits.library.uvic.ca/spotlight/iaff/catalog/17-16830
Location(s) Facet:
Gbao
Subjects:
Burned bone; Plastic container
Subjects Facet:
Handicraft; Spindle whorls; Spinning
Identifier:
29
Creator:
Dr. Ann B. Stahl
Contributors:
Dr. Ann B. Stahl
Date searchable:
1982
Date searchable:
1982-09
Genre Facet:
35 mm slide
Location(s):
Gbao;8.147021, -2.362744
Date Digitized:
2016
People Facet:
Dr. Ann B. Stahl
Commentary:
Slide scanned by Veronique Plante
Geographic Coordinates:
8.147021, -2.362744

3. Banda in the 18th & 19th centuries. Poster, 2011

Description:
An educational poster with pictures and text which describes Banda-area village life during the 18th and 19th centuries based on oral histories, written sources and archaeology. It describes early written references to Banda and briefly summarizes what has been learned about handicrafts like potting and cloth-making based on archaeological excavations at Makala Kataa. It is one of five posters prepared for a Banda community event held in July, 2011. Printed versions of the posters are housed in the Banda Cultural Centre, Ahenkro.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Relation:
https://exhibits.library.uvic.ca/spotlight/iaff/catalog/17-17068 ; https://exhibits.library.uvic.ca/spotlight/iaff/catalog/17-17060 ; https://exhibits.library.uvic.ca/spotlight/iaff/catalog/17-17067
Location(s) Facet:
Banda
Subjects:
Makala Kataa; Community engagement; Poster
Subjects Facet:
Handicraft; Pottery making; Spinning; Elmina Castle (Elmina, Ghana); Wars; Oral history; Tobacco pipes; Beads; Heritage
Creator:
Dr. Ann B. Stahl
Contributors:
Dr. Ann B. Stahl
Date searchable:
1700-1875
Date searchable:
2011-06
Genre Facet:
Poster
Format:
Image
Language Facet:
English
Location(s):
Banda
Date Digitized:
2016
People Facet:
Dr. Ann B. Stahl

4. Clothing the family. Poster, 2014

Description:
An educational poster with pictures and text focused on how past people in the Banda area clothed their families. It describes how people dressed, how they made cotton cloth, and why cloth is no longer made in Banda. It is one of five posters prepared for a Banda community event held in 2014. Printed versions of the posters are housed in the Banda Cultural Centre, Ahenkro.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Banda
Subjects:
Community engagement; Poster
Subjects Facet:
Handicraft; Spindle whorls; West African strip weaving; Spinning; Dyeing; Weaving; Heritage
Creator:
Dr. Amanda L. Logan
Contributors:
Dr. Amanda L. Logan
Date searchable:
1824-2009
Date searchable:
2014-07
Genre Facet:
Poster
Format:
Image
Language Facet:
English
Location(s):
Banda
Date Digitized:
2014
People Facet:
Dr. Amanda L. Logan

5. Banda Cultural Centre painting of spinning and strip-woven cloth, 2016

Description:
In June 2011, Banda Research Project team member Amanda Logan collaborated with local artist Kwame K.B. 2 to develop paintings for the Banda Cultural Centre's courtyard doors. The paintings illustrate crafts practiced in the area for which we have archaeological evidence. This image shows a woman spinning cotton thread (right) and a man wearing a locally made blue-and-white strip-woven cloth (left). Archaeologists find spindle whorls used to make thread on late 18th-and early 19th-century archaeological sites. This shows that households produced their own cloth during recent centuries. Before the 17th century, cotton cloth seems to have been less common and was probably acquired through trade from market centers. Banda Cultural Centre, Ahenkro, June, 2016.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Relation:
https://exhibits.library.uvic.ca/spotlight/iaff/catalog/17-17077 ; https://exhibits.library.uvic.ca/spotlight/iaff/catalog/17-17078 ; https://exhibits.library.uvic.ca/spotlight/iaff/catalog/17-17084
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Banda Cultural Centre; Community engagement
Subjects Facet:
Handicraft; West African strip weaving; Spinning; Markets
Creator:
Dr. Ann B. Stahl
Contributors:
Dr. Ann B. Stahl; Dr. Amanda L. Logan
Date searchable:
2016
Date searchable:
2016-06
Genre Facet:
Digital image
Format:
Image
Location(s):
Ahenkro;8.165961, -2.354312
People Facet:
Dr. Ann B. Stahl
Geographic Coordinates:
8.165961, -2.354312

6. Spinning cotton thread, Gbao, 1982

Description:
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.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Relation:
https://exhibits.library.uvic.ca/spotlight/iaff/catalog/17-16830 ; https://exhibits.library.uvic.ca/spotlight/iaff/catalog/17-16831
Location(s) Facet:
Gbao
Subjects:
Plastic containers; Chͻkoo (chokoo); Cotton thread; Techniques; Water barrels; Women's work
Subjects Facet:
Gourd, Calabash; Enameled ware; Handicraft; Spinning; Spindle whorls; West African strip weaving; Baskets; Water
Identifier:
27; 23; 24; 25
Creator:
Dr. Ann B. Stahl
Contributors:
Dr. Ann B. Stahl
Date searchable:
1982
Date searchable:
1982-09
Genre Facet:
35 mm slide
Location(s):
Gbao;8.147021, -2.362744
Date Digitized:
2016
People Facet:
Dr. Ann B. Stahl
Commentary:
Slide scanned by Veronique Plante
Geographic Coordinates:
8.147021, -2.362744

7. Spinning cotton thread, Dumboli, 1994

Description:
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.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Dumboli
Subjects:
Cotton thread; Women's work; Techniques
Subjects Facet:
Handicraft; Spinning; Spindle whorls; Baskets
Identifier:
18
Creator:
Dr. M. Dores Cruz
Contributors:
Dr. Ann B. Stahl
Date searchable:
1994
Date searchable:
1994
Genre Facet:
35 mm slide
Location(s):
Dumboli;8.090342, -2.517137
Date Digitized:
2016
People Facet:
Dr. M. Dores Cruz
Commentary:
Slide scanned by Veronique Plante
Geographic Coordinates:
8.090342, -2.517137

8. Spinning cotton thread, Bondakile, 1994

Description:
A woman in Bondakile spins cotton thread from raw fiber held in her left hand. She holds the raw cotton between her thumb and index finger, using her middle finger to provide tension as she stretches and thins the fibers using her right hand. The thread is wound thickly toward the base of the spindle (gԑndԑ in Nafaanra) above the spindle whorl (gԑndԑ kan in Nafaanra) which is barely visible at the base of the spindle. The woman uses (what appears to be) a turtle shell (carapace) as a surface on which to spin. She has stabilized the shell with a piece of folded cloth which sits on top of an enamel ware plate. A calabash and a plastic bucket site nearby. Spinning was a routine household activity done by women until commercially manufactured cloth became commonplace (second half of the 20th century). Two photos. Bondakile, 1994.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Bondakile
Subjects:
Plastic containers; Women's work ; Cotton thread; Techniques
Subjects Facet:
Enameled ware; Handicraft; Spinning; Spindle whorls
Identifier:
36
Creator:
Dr. M. Dores Cruz
Contributors:
Dr. Ann B. Stahl
Date searchable:
1994
Date searchable:
1994
Genre Facet:
35 mm slide
Location(s):
Bondakile;7.986031, -2.546331
Date Digitized:
2016
People Facet:
Dr. M. Dores Cruz
Commentary:
Slide scanned by Veronique Plante
Geographic Coordinates:
7.986031, -2.546331

9. Spindle wrapped with cotton thread, Ahenkro, 2019

Description:
A wooden spindle thickly wrapped with cotton thread rests in a large calabash bowl. The bowl sits on a wooden stool adjacent to the legs of blue plastic chairs on which elder women sit at a Banda Heritage Celebration held at the Banda Cultural Centre. One woman wears a strip-woven textile made with black, white, red and yellow threads. Bottom right is the basket in which she stores her spinning supplies. Ahenkro, 28 June, 2019.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution--NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Date:
2019-06-28
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Banda Cultural Centre; Cotton thread
Subjects Facet:
West African strip weaving; Gourd, Calabash; Textiles; Spinning
Creator:
Dr. Ann B. Stahl
Date searchable:
2019-06-28
Genre Facet:
Digital image
Format:
Image
Location(s):
Ahenkro;8.165961, -2.354312
Geographic Coordinates:
8.165961, -2.354312

10. Spindles and whorls resting on a strip-woven cloth, Ahenkro, 2019

Description:
Three spindles with painted spindle whorls made in Kokua in 1994 rest on a black-and-white strip-woven cloth worn by a woman attending the Banda Heritage Celebration held at the Banda Cultural Centre. In the past Banda area women used spindles and whorls like these to spin cotton thread. Ahenkro, 28 June, 2019.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution--NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Date:
2019-06-28
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Banda Cultural Centre
Subjects Facet:
West African strip weaving; Textiles; Spinning; Spindle whorls
Creator:
Dr. Ann B. Stahl
Contributors:
Dr. M. Dores Cruz
Date searchable:
2019-06-28
Genre Facet:
Digital image
Format:
Image
Location(s):
Ahenkro;8.165961, -2.354312
Geographic Coordinates:
8.165961, -2.354312