Bridge spanning the Tombԑ River near Sabiye on the road from Menji to Ahenkro, view to the south. Loose planks had to be arranged to allow vehicles to pass. Kwasi Mensah and Mensah Listowell (white shirt) arrange loose planks to enable a vehicle to pass. Sabiye, August, 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.
Afua Donkor, a Nafana potter burnishes a dried but as-yet unfired clay pot on which she has applied a red slip (chuma in Nafaanra). She uses a strand of Baobab tree seeds (wasawasa in Nafaanra) to rub the slip, helping the color to adhere to the pot's surface and giving it a sheen. The slip is a thin solution made by mixing a red soil found on the Brawhani road with water. Some is contained in a small can sitting on the ground (left). Finished, unfired pots sit in the room behind the potter. Dorbour, 1994.
Family members work together at farm to process calabash (gourd; chrԑ in Nafaanra) grown as both a cash crop and a source of household objects and its seeds as a soup ingredient. The men use large knives to split the calabash, after which they will remove its pulpy center and scrape its interior walls. Pictured here are (left to right) Maa Afia (girl), Ama Bosin (woman), O. K. Kwabena Krah, Nduo Wulo Kwadwo and Joshua Tandor. Farm on the outskirts of Banda-Ahenkro, August, 1982.
Afua Donkor, a Nafana potter, burnishes a dried but as-yet unfired clay pot on which she has applied a red slip (chuma in Nafaanra). She uses a strand of Baobab tree seeds (wasawasa in Nafaanra) to rub the slip, helping the color to adhere to the pot's surface and giving it a sheen. The base of the pot is left unslipped. Dorbour, 1994.
Typical farm from the 1980s, showing intercropping of yams (finyjie in Nafaanra), cassava (dwa), calabash (chrԑ) or gourd and other crops. Banda, 1982.
Women in the house of Brɛmawuo work together to prepare the main meal of the day. The wives of the house sit on low wooden stools as they prepare food at clustered hearths. Each hearth is made of three laterite stones which hold the cooking pot above the fire. The women use an array of metal cooking vessels, calabash bowls (chrԑgbͻͻ in Nafaanra) and a clay pot (on the front hearth). The clay pot was likely purchased from one of the potting villages on the west of the Banda hills. Beneath the thatched roof behind the women are hearths used during rainy weather. This house was revisited in November 2018 and several of the women pictured here were interviewed about how foodways have changed over the three decades since this photo was taken. Among the women pictured are (L-R) Adwoa Hana (stirring), Yaa Yaa Dankwa (Stirring), Ama Nwotwenwaa (holding a calabash), Abena Kuma, (standing in blue cloth) and Ama Mensah (standing in red cloth). Sabiye, 15 August 1986.
Kwasi Millah of Dompofie sits under the shade of a tree while processing calabash (gourd) bowls (chrԑgbͻͻ in Nafaanra). The interior is scraped clean and the calabash set aside to dry. While some are kept for household use, many are sold at market. Once dried, the calabash bowls are durable utensils used for cooking, bathing, and other household tasks. Dompofie, June, 1995.
Varied sizes of clay jars are stacked in the corner of a room inside a house. The adjacent wall is decorated with enamel-ware lids and plates. Several metal cooking pots and a wooden paddle used to stir food sit around the clay pots. Jneni, 1994.
Yakosua, a Nafana potter, mixes sifted potting clay with water in preparation for making a batch of clay pots. One large metal pot (left) contains the pounded, sifted clay and the other (right) contains water that she mixes with the clay. She mixes the two in a headpan, kneading the clay to achieve the right consistency for making pots. Dorbour, 1994.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Dorbour
Subjects:
Women's work; Metal pots; Clay; Dorbour; Headpans; Potting
A potter handles a lump of clay that she will use to make a clay pot. Other lumps, each of which will be used to make a pot, are stacked on a metal tray awaiting use. Dorbour, 1994.
Calabash (gourd) seeds (fnumu in Nafaanra) are a prized ingredient used to prepare a much-valued soup (fnumu chiin; calabash seed soup). The pulp is set aside to decay, making it easier to remove the seeds, which are then cleaned, dried, and cracked by hand to remove the seed coat. Here women on Nduo Wulo Kwadwo's farm outside Banda-Ahenkro prepare to carry seeds home for processing. Outskirts of Banda-Ahenkro, August, 1982.
Nduo Wulo Kwadwo at farm, preparing calabash (gourd) bowls (chrԑgbͻͻ in Nafaanra) for market. After removing the pulp and seeds, he scrapes the gourd's interior surface with a metal blade to clean and thin its walls before drying. Farm on the outskirts of Banda-Ahenkro, August, 1982.
After drying, potting clay is stored in potters' houses until needed. When the potter is ready to make a batch of clay pots, she will first pound and then sift the clay. The sifted clay is then mixed with water and kneaded until it is the right consistency for making a pot. Dorbour, 1994
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.
Women of Sielͻngͻ Katoo (royal house) relax on the courtyard steps of the palace on the day of the New Yam Festival (Finyjie Lie in Nafaanra). L-R: Ama Nyeni; Yaa Krah; Akua Kuma; Yaa Kuma; Akua Kyenkyenku; Kosua Dooko. Ahenkro, 28 July, 1986.
The New Yam Festival (Finjie Lie in Nafaanra) marks the day when people can begin to eat the new crop of yams (finyjie in Nafaanra). Here women gather round a wooden mortar to pound cooked yam tubers to make fufu. Women pound with heavy, round-ended pestles. Working together, they use their pestles to pound and turn the fufu. Pestles hit the mortar's edge as they pound, creating a rhythmic accompaniment to their work. The musical sound of women and their helpers pounding fufu or grain was an integral part of the soundscape of village life in the earlier times. To the rear (right) calabashes (gourds, chrԑ in Nafaanra) wrapped in netting are ready to be sent to market. To the front sits a pottery grinding bowl (left), a calabash (center) and metal cooking pots (right). Ahenkro, 30 August, 1982.
Young boys (Kofi and Isaac, sons of James Anane) pound calabash seeds in preparation for making calabash seed soup (fnumu chiin in Nafaanra). They use a deep wooden mortar and pestles rounded at the base. A metal roof shelters the hearth in the background. A chicken searches for food as the boys work. Ahenkro, July-August, 1986.
A young boy stands at the base of the clay pit where potters from Bondakile mine the clay they use for making pottery. Soils from upper and lower levels are mixed together to make a workable potting clay. Children help relatives who are potters to dig and process the clay. Two photos. Bondakile, October, 1982.
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 Ma Millah (left) and another woman (right) dance. 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:
Rites and ceremonies; Funeral customs and rites; Gourd, Calabash
Yaa Yable Wo carries firewood on her return from farm. Until recent years, meals were most often prepared over hearths fueled by firewood. Women and children collected downed tree limbs and other dry wood from farmlands surrounding the villages. Wood was headloaded back home and stacked on platforms raised above the ground to be stored until needed. Cooking over charcoal in fabricated metal coalpots became more common in the late 20th-early 21st century as charcoal burners moved into the Banda area and charcoal production increased. Recently, gas cookers have begun to be used by people able to afford industrial cookers and the bottled gas need to fuel them. Ahenkro, December, 1982.
Women in the central courtyard of a house compound in Ahenkro prepare the evening meal. A woman seated in the foreground readies dishes while women in the background cook over clustered hearths. A number of low stools are placed amidst a variety of metal, plastic and fired clay containers including buckets and pots. Calabash bowls (chrԑgbͻͻ in Nafaanra) are among the containers being used. A repurposed metal drum (center, back) holds water for household purposes. A raised platform is stacked with firewood brought by the women from farm and stored until needed. Thatch- and metal-roofed rooms surround the courtyard. Ahenkro, July-August, 1986.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Metal pots; Plastic containers; Water barrels; Women's work
Adjua Anane (seated left) and Akosua, her young relative, prepare fufu by pounding cooked yams in a wooden mortar. Sister Yaa Yable Wo looks on. In the foreground is a metal grinding bowl styled after the locally made pottery grinding bowls that are found at archaeological sites dating back to the 1800s and earlier. Ahenkro, July-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. On the left, Yaw Ble plays an antelope antler horn while holding an iron gong in his right hand. To the right of women playing calabash rattles (Akua Bedu Wo and Akua Asԑmpasa) Kwame Fnaso (standing) plays the special drums associated with the shrine. Ma Millah (right, blue top) looks on. Gbao, 8 August, 1986.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Gbao
Subjects:
Rattles; Horn; Gbԑԑnlԑԑ (Gbeenlee) Katoo
Subjects Facet:
Drums (musical instrument); Rites and ceremonies; Funeral customs and rites; Gourd, Calabash; Gongs
Palace drummers play an ensemble of '"fontomfrum" (back), "atumpan" (center) and other drums as a woman (Kabrenga) dances at the Ahenkro palace during the celebration of the New Yam Festival (Finyjie Lie in Nafaanra). Drummer in orange shirt, center, Kofi Boakye. Man standing, far right over drums, Kwasi Peter. Ahenkro, 28 July, 1986.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Palace; Atumpan drum; New Yam Festival; Fontomfrom drum
Subjects Facet:
Drums (musical instrument); Rites and ceremonies; Dance
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
Elders gathered at the Ahenkro palace on the day of the New Yam Festival (Finyjie Lie in Nafaanra). Back left, Mose Krontihene; Front, L-R: Kwadwo Kyeama (Linguist); Kupo Aboateaa (Bamuhene); Kofi Gyasi (Gyasehene); Tolԑԑ Kofi Dwuru III (Omanhene); Senyono Kyeame; Unknown man in kente cloth. Child seated in front, Kwasi K. Man in blue cloth to right front, Kwame Gbanari. Ahenkro, 30 August, 1982.
The New Yam Festival (Finyjie Lie in Nafaanra) is a day of celebration for everyone, including children. Here children gather under the shade of a large tree around play hearths made with stones and clay where they are preparing for their own celebration. The thatched roofs of nearby houses appear in the background. 30 August, 1982, Ahenkro.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Children; New Yam Festival; Finyjie Lie (Festival)
Elders gathered at the Ahenkro palace on the day of the New Yam Festival (Finyjie Lie in Nafaanra). Seated, front row, third from left, Kwabena Dibi. Sixth from left, Kofi Gyasi (Gyasehene); Tolԑԑ Kofi Dwuru III (Omanhene); Kupo Aboateaa (Bamuhene). Seated, far right on chair, Yaw Fori (Swordbearer). Ahenkro, 28 July, 1986.
Young girls wear the sacred beads and necklaces associated with the girls' nubility rites, known in Nafaanra as Manaa Ndiom. They are dressed in Manaa Ndiom attire as part of a cultural celebration associated with the commissioning of the Banda Cultural Centre. Manaa Ndiom is a time when adolescent girls come together to learn from their female elders as they transition to womanhood. Here they walk alongside women carrying wooden stools to the Cultural Centre grounds. Adua Bedeaba leads the group as Almata follows. Ahenkro, 21 July, 1995.
Potters in Adadiem place bark over clay pots that have been stacked on top of a bed of firewood. The bonfire has been lit and the bark serves as additional fuel. More red-slipped clay pots sit behind, waiting for the next firing. One woman carries a child on her back. The bonfire will burn for between 30 minutes and an hour, after which the pots will be ready for use or sale. Abena Donkor (far right) assists while Solomon Kojo, young boy in brown shorts, looks on. Two photos. Adadiem, 1994.
A variety of charitable funding organizations sponsored the drilling of boreholes in villages across the Banda area from the late 1980s. Prior to this, families depended on local streams and rivers for water. Here a woman fills a headpan using a pump on the south side of Ahenkro. The thatched roofs of surrounding compounds are visible in the background. Ahenkro, June-July, 1990.
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, (left) Yaw Ble wears a strip-woven smock as he plays an antelope antler horn. He holds an iron gong in his right hand. Next to him Kwabena Nika plays a double iron gong and women (L-R: Abena Gyakari, Akua Bedu Wo and Akua Asԑmpasa) play calabash rattles. Amma Num (black head scarf, back right) looks on. Gbao, 8 August, 1986.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Gbao
Subjects:
Gbԑԑnlԑԑ (Gbeenlee) Katoo
Subjects Facet:
Drums (musical instrument); Rites and ceremonies; Funeral customs and rites; Gourd, Calabash; Gongs
Kwasi Millah, Elder of Kuulo Katoo and caretaker of Kuulo shrines, stands in front of the tree that sprang up at the spot where Lelɛɛ Wurache, the Kuulo ancestress, sank into the ground, as described in the family history of Kuulo Katoo. Outskirts of Dompofie, June, 1995.
Kwasi Millah (center, brown cloth) offers libations to Kuulo ancestors at the base of Lelɛɛ Wurache's tree. The occasion was prompted by the request of the Banda Research Project group to conduct archaeological excavations at Kuulo Kataa. Outskirts of Dompofie, June, 2000.
Kwasi Millah (left), aided by Daniel Kofi Nakpah (to his right, holding a bottle of drink), offers libations to Kuulo ancestors at the archaeological site of Kuulo Kataa. Left to right, archaeological team members Enoch Mensah, __, and Yaw Frimpong look on. Kuulo Kataa, July, 2000.
People gather to watch as offerings are made at the base of Lelɛɛ Wurache's tree on the outskirts of Dompofie. Kwasi Millah (seated, center) holds a glass as Daniel Kofi Nakpah pours drink in preparation for the offering of libations. Dompofie chief Tolɛɛ Emmanuel Dwiri stands far right (blue cloth). The occasion was prompted by the request of the Banda Research Project group to conduct archaeological excavations at Kuulo Kataa. Outskirts of Dompofie, June, 1995.
Afua Donkor, a Nafana potter, selects and places fuel as she prepares to fire clay soup pots (chiin sinyjͻlͻ in Nafaanra) that have been slipped red. Other clay pots sit nearby awaiting firing, some in a headpan. The pots are carefully stacked on top of the wood and additional fuel placed on top. Additional firewood is stacked behind and in front lays the bark that she will use to cover the clay pots before lighting the bonefire. Once lit, the bonfire will burn for between 30 and 60 minutes, after which the fired pottery will be hardened, useable and ready for sale. Two photos. Dorbour, 1994.
Magdalene Attah uses a small wooden mortar and pestle to process cassava flour while two goats forage in the background. The large wood pile to the rear (left) is associated with the tobacco drying barns that line the south edge of Ahenkro. Ahenkro, May, 1995.
Hearths in a Dorbour household. One of three visible hearths is in use, a metal cooking pot suspended over a fire fueled by firewood. A wooden mortar and several pestles are at ready in the background. In the foreground (right) a clay cooking pot rests on top of a metal basin that has been re-purposed as a pot stand. A large metal pot, a calabash bowl (chrԑgbͻͻ in Nafaanra) and a plastic cup sit behind the clay pot. Dorbour, 1994.
Villagers from Dompofie gather beneath Lelɛɛ Wurache's tree. People have come to witness libations and offerings to the shrine, prompted by the request by members of the Banda Research Project to conduct archaeological excavations at Kuulo Kataa. Standing center in the blue strip-woven cloth is Kwasi Millah. A member of the Banda Research Project team (Andy Black; bearded, on left) joins the group. Outskirts of Dompofie, June, 1995.
Kwasi Millah offers libations to Kuulo ancestors at the base of Lelɛɛ Wurache's tree. The occasion was prompted by the request of the Banda Research Project group to conduct archaeological excavations at Kuulo Kataa. Outskirts of Dompofie, June, 1995.
A courtyard hearth in a Dorbour household. The hearth "stones" are clay pots turned upside down and embedded in the ground. A pottery cooking jar rests on the hearth, the firewood pulled away from the hearth while it is not in use. A metal cooking pot and headpan have caught the interest of a foraging goat. Dorbour, 1994.
Young girls wear the sacred beads and necklaces associated with the girls' nubility rites, known in Nafaanra as Manaa Ndiom. They are dressed in Manaa Ndiom attire as part of a cultural celebration associated with the commissioning of the Banda Cultural Centre. Manaa Ndiom is a time when adolescent girls come together to learn from their female elders as they transition to womanhood. Pictured, front row, L-R: Mariyama Puwee, Ama Kyerah (wearing white), Adua Bedeaba, Sarah Photo, Yaa Broni, __, Alamata, Adwoa Fordjour. Swordbearer, right: Kwabena Sekedua. Women in back row, L-R, Toryaa (center) and Afua Basabasa. Ahenkro, 21 July, 1995.
Potters and their helpers place hot clay jars, just removed from the bonfire, into a solution made from pounded tree bark. They use their long wooden poles to carry the pots to large pottery bowls containing the bark solution. They dip and turn the pot in the solution, allowing it to carbonize on the surface of the hot jar. This finishing step colors the jar's surface and makes its walls less porous which is said to improve its cooking performance. The remains of the bonfire, banked by previously fired broken pots, can be seen in the rear center. Four photos. Bondakile, October, 1982.
Kitchen area of a household in Dorbour. Several hearths are clustered in the center of the open courtyard surrounded by low wooden stools. Several wooden mortars of varying sizes and a number of pestles are clustered along a porch. Pottery and metal pots used in cooking are near the hearth. A goat forages for food amid the hearths. Large vessels to the far left store liquid (water, or possibly pito, locally made beer). The courtyard is surrounded by thatch- and metal-roofed rooms. Dorbour, 1994.
Kwasi Millah, seated right, makes offerings to Kuulo ancestors at the base of Lelɛɛ Wurache's tree. The occasion was prompted by the request of the Banda Research Project group to conduct arcaheological excavations at Kuulo Kataa. Outskirts of Dompofie, June, 1995.