Controlled fires burn in the hills behind Banda-Ahenkro, part of the Bui National Park. The remains of a small grass fire are visible in the foreground. The thatched stalls of the weekly marketplace are visible beneath the majestic kapok tree that once stood at the south edge of town. To the left, near the smaller tree, is the reddish iron roof of the first town clinic, home to a nurse stationed by the goverment in town. Ahenkro experienced several major fires in the 20th century, prompting people to opt for metal roofs when they could afford them. Ahenkro, December, 1982
The road from Menji to the Black Volta River passes through the center of Banda-Ahenkro, pictured here in 1982, view to the north. Earthen-walled buildings line the main street. Houses on the right-hand side have thatched roofs while those on the left have metal roofs. People walk in the center of the street as they move about town. Ahenkro, December, 1982.
Adwoa Miwo (right) learns to make clay pots from her experienced potter mother, Peni Ngunu Chͻ (center), as they work together in the interior courtyard of their house. Mosi Nyuu (husband and father) looks on. Partially finished clay jars sit nearby, resting on the palettes (kapankpa in Nafaanra) on which they have been formed. The more experienced mother is making a larger jar than her apprentice daughter. Also placed around the house's interior courtyard are two dark-colored clay soup pots (chiin sinyjͻlͻ in Nafaanra) and a wooden mortar (right). Thatch- and metal-roofed rooms surround the courtyard. Dorbour, 1994.
Houses with metal roofs are interspersed with thatch-roofed dwellings. The house to the left has a partially constructed atakpame (coursed-earth) room in progress. To the right of this, a stand of maize (corn, bledju in Nafaanra) grows, protected from foraging goats by a hedge. The young boy, foreground, wears a school uniform. Makala, June-July, 1990.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Makala
Subjects:
Atakpame; Maize
Subjects Facet:
Gardens; Thatched roofs; Metal roofing; Corn; Housing; Building, Clay; Villages
A partially enclosed courtyard area of a house, with wall stubs of a collapsed room (right). One set of rooms was built with sun-dried blocks, then plastered and roofed with metal sheets. The other building is also plastered, but roofed with thatch. Two hearths are located in the courtyard and each building has a metal barrel used to store water. A headpan filled calabash bowls (chrԑgbͻͻ in Nafaanra) sits near one water barrel. A wooden mortar (left) is turned upside down, likely to protect it from foraging goats. Ahenkro, July-August, 1986.
Women of Kafͻnͻ Katoo gather around multiple hearths in the compound's courtyard preparing the day's main meal. Kitchen equipment ranging from locally made pottery, metal pots, sieving baskets and headpans are visible. The women sit on low stools, some carved and others made from sawn boards. Posts surrounding several hearths create a rack for storing items. Thatch - and metal-roofed rooms surround the courtyard. Ahenkro, July-August, 1986.
Several men work together to replace thatch on the roof of Kafͻnͻ (Kafono) Katoo. Part of the compound has a metal roof, and the building's exterior walls are richly decorated. The bicycle pictured on the wall belonged to an Elder in the house. It is said to have been the first bicycle in Banda. Ahenkro, July-August, 1986.
A view across a compound courtyard toward the courtyard of a neighboring house. Several hearths have clay pots resting on their hearth stones (gbunu in Nafaanra). Two wooden mortars are nearby. The house in the distance is made of sun-dried blocks, with one side of the house roofed with metal and the other side thatch. The ground is clear of plants and clean swept. Adadiem, 1994.
Banda Research Project team members wearing blue shirts with the "Unity" logo and dresses embroidered in blue process down Ahenkro's main street from the Paramount Chief's palace to the Banda Cultural Centre for the centre's commissioning ceremony. Ann B. Stahl-- just enstooled as an honorary Queen Mother by the Banda Traditional Council under the stool name Lelɛɛ Yadwo Gongo II--is carried in a palanquin lined with kente cloth and shaded by one of the chief's royal umbrellas. A woman in local-made strip woven cloth stands left, with Binghamton University MA student Alex Caton wearing local dress to her right. To her right in blue-embroidered dresses are project team members Doris Millah and Doris Mensah. Visible in the background are the thatched and iron roofs of houses lining Banda-Ahenrko's main street. Ahenkro, 21 July, 1995.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Queen Mother; Banda Cultural Centre; Umbrella; Palanquin; Banda Research Project
Subjects Facet:
Rites and ceremonies; West African strip weaving; Thatched roofs; Metal roofing; Textiles; Clothing; Kente cloth; Litters (vehicles); Royal regalia
A view of Makala's wide main street, standing under a mango tree at the east end of town looking westward. Houses with thatched roofs line the main street, with a metal-roofed house visible to the right. Makala, June-July, 1990.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Makala
Subjects:
Mango tree
Subjects Facet:
Thatched roofs; Metal roofing; Streets; Housing; Villages