A group of men and women stand in the doorways of the Banda Traditional Council building as the Traditional Council holds a meeting inside. The colonial-period building's interior is lit by natural light through large windows, with several panes of window glass intact on the rear side of the building. Several young people sit on the steps of the building. Visible to the left is the metal-roofed colonial-period village clinic and residence of the village nurse who was in this period the primary medical care personnel for the Banda area. Ahenkro, 12 August, 1986.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Colonial period buildings; Banda Traditional Council
A group of four clay jars cool after being removed from the bonfire and dipped in bark solution. The solution carbonizes as it comes in contact with the hot surface of the pot, creating a glossy darkened surface that reduces the jar's porosity. A portion of one jar's rim has broken off during the firing and finishing process. Visible on the lower pot surfaces is the maize cob (bledjukaan in Nafaanra) roulette applied to create a roughened surface prior to firing. Shallow grooves used to decorate the upper surfaces are visible on the jar in the foreground. Pieces of bark from the bark solution adhere to the jars' surfaces. Bondakile, October, 1982.
Looking northwest from the entrance to the Banda rockshelter, the view encompasses land that since 1971 has been part of Bui National Park, a Wildlife Protected Area covering more than 1800 km2. Prior to that, these lands west of the Banda hills were important to local people as a source of "bush meat." Archaeological evidence suggests that for centuries hunting provided an important food source for Banda peoples. Banda hills, 30 July, 1994.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Banda
Subjects:
Hunting; Rockshelter; Bui National Park; Savanna woodland; Vegetation
Family history interview with members of Gangoolo Katoo, including Tolԑԑ Sah Dongi, Oyokohene (seated, center), Kwaku Donkor (linguist, seated, light blue cloth), Kwado Fordjour and Ama Nyini (on left with head scarf), Samwa, 4 August, 1986.
A water level measurement pole (bottom right) at the base of a path through riparian forest leading to the Bui Dam site on the Black Volta River. These measuring devices were placed when Soviet engineers began laying groundwork for the dam under Nkrumah's government. On the other side of the river is the mountainside against which the dam was later built, beginning in 2008. View towards north. Bui Dam site, 1994.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Dam Site
Subjects:
Vegetation
Subjects Facet:
Bui Dam (Ghana); Riparian forests; Black Volta River
Finished and dried clay pottery jars are carefully placed on top of firewood in preparation for firing. Previously fired broken or flawed pots are used to bank the fuel, keeping it in place. Additional fuel will be placed on top of the stacked pottery and the fuel set on fire. The resulting bonfire will be allowed to burn down, after which the pots will be removed and finished while hot by being dipped in a bark solution. Mensah Listowell, Research Assistant (blue shirt), stands by as the potters prepare to place more fuel on the stacked pottery. Bondakile, October, 1982.
A potter uses a pole to carry a hot clay jar from the smoldering bonfire (behind). She is carrying it to a pottery bowl that contains a solution of pounded bark into which she will dip the jar to create a finish. Newly fired pots are visible in the remains of the bonfire, lying on their sides. A row of upturned, previously fired but broken pots forms a bank around the bonfire's edge. Bondakile, October, 1982.
The Banda Cultural Centre provides space for community gatherings and guest rooms for Banda Research Project and other community visitors. The Centre's motto/logo is "Nyu nunu," (Nafaanra) or "Unity." Commissioned in 1995, the main building was constructed in 1994-95 through a combination of Banda Research Project funding and communal labor supplied by Ahenkro's four Unit Committees. The free-standing annex (right in photo) was added in 2000. It houses additional guest rooms and storage and was also built through a combination of Banda Research Project funding and communal labor. The building is administered and maintained by the community. Ahenkro, July 2001.
Looking west-northwest from inside the Banda rockshelter, the view encompasses land that has been part of Bui National Park since 1971. Banda oral histories refer to this rockshelter as the place where people ran for safety when Asante attacked the area in the 1700s. These stories may relate to Asantehene Osei Kwadwo's campaign against Banda during the dry season of 1773-74. After this, in February 1774, Dutch officials at Elmina Castle reported purchasing captives from Asante's war against "Benda." Banda hills, 30 July, 1994.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Banda
Subjects:
Rockshelter; Bui National Park; Savanna woodland; Vegetation
Yaw Kyԑ paddles a canoe toward the Dam Site settlement, an Ewe fishing village on the south bank of the Black Volta River. Canoes like these were used to ferry people across the river and for fishing. In the foreground, a basket sits on the riverbank. The mountain in the background (looking northward) is the site where the Bui Dam was built, beginning in 2008. Dam Site settlement, June, 1994.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Dam Site
Subjects:
Vegetation; Dam Site
Subjects Facet:
Bui Dam (Ghana); Baskets; Canoes; Riparian forests; Black Volta River; Fishing
Potters place the pounded bark of specific trees (surom, layene, koko or lakroas they are known in Nafaanra) in water to create a solution used to finish pots. The red-colored solution carbonizes on the surface of hot pots just removed from the bonfire. Here, the prepared solution awaits as the pots are being fired. A plastic container floats on the surface. Bondakile, October, 1982.
Kafͻnͻ Katoo, Ahenkro, has long provided swordbearers (Bͻͻnfiԑn Yiifun) to the Banda paramount stool. Yaw Fori, pictured here, held the position in 1986.
A potter tends the bonfire in which clay pottery jars are being fired. She uses a long pole to adjust the grass fuel laid on top of the pots and the wood fuel beneath them. A bank of previously fired and broken pots holds the fire in place. The bonfire burns rapidly, the firing process lasting between about 30 minutes to an hour. Bondakile, October, 1982.
Interior of the Banda rockshelter (sdekpͻͻ in Nafaanra). Its floor is covered with large boulders which sheared from the shelter's roof over time. Banda oral histories refer to this as the cave in which people hid during Asante's attacks on Banda in the 1700s. These stories may relate to Asantehene Osei Kwadwo's campaign against Banda during the dry season of 1773-74. After this, in February 1774, Dutch officials at Elmina Castle reported purchasing captives from Asante's war against "Benda." Banda hills, 30 July, 1994.
A group of men work together, gathered at farm, processing calabash (gourd; chrԑ in Nafaanra) for market sale. The calabash is split, its pulpy interior removed, and the gourd's interior surface scraped clean before drying. Shavings from this thinning process are scattered about on the ground. Several children are gathered nearby as the men work. A basket sits next to a pile of prepared calabash bowls (chrԑgbͻͻ in Nafaanra). Farm near Ahenkro, August, 1982.
Family history interview with Elders of Kofi Krԑma [Krema] Katoo. Seated center Donkor Amma, female head; seated right Kwadwo Abedi, male head. Banda-Ahenkro, 13 August, 1986.
View towards the east from the Banda hills north of Ahenkro. In the foreground (right) are farm fields that have been clearcut and plowed for tobacco farming.The houses of Ahenkro are visible beyond the farm fields. The mountain ranges in the distance are those near Fawoman (left) and Boase (right). Banda hills, 30 July, 1994.
The remains of a pottery-firing bonfire after the newly fired pots have been removed. Most of the jars visible here were fired prior to this bonfire. Broken or otherwise flawed, they were used to create a bank around the bonfire at its base. The bonfire's fuel has been reduced to an ash layer that remains in the center. Bondakile, October, 1982.
Sheep feed on the edges of a bonfire where clay jars are being fired. Grass has been laid as fuel over the carefully stacked pottery. Wood fuel lies beneath. At the bonfire's base, the broken pots used to bank the fire are visible. The fire will be allowed to burn down, after which the jars will be removed and, while still hot, dipped in a bark solution that coats the pot with a finish. Bondakile, October, 1982.
Black Volta River at the Dam Site settlement, an Ewe fishing village immediately downstream of the Bui Dam site. View from the south bank across the river toward riparian woodland on the river's north bank. Dam Site settlement, 1994.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Dam Site
Subjects:
Vegetation; Dam Site
Subjects Facet:
Bui Dam (Ghana); Riparian forests; Black Volta River
Exterior view of a shelter constructed at farm with walls made from woven mats and a thatched roof supported by wooden poles around the shelter's perimeter. In the foreground, right, a cutlass (machete) rests on a sharpening stone. In the shade of the shelter's eave to the right of its roof-support pole are a small fired clay eating bowl, a clay cooking pot turned upside down resting on its rim, and a larger fired clay water storage pot. Farm shelters provide shade, refuge from rain and a place to rest and prepare food while families are at their farms, which may be located some distance from their homes. Farm near Ahenkro, September, 1982.
Amma Bio of Gbaŋmbɛ Katoo demonstrates the dance associated with sinyeele (balo or xylophone) music played at funerals. Male family head Nyua Kwadwo plays the sinyeele. Lying beneath the partially assembled instrument are calabashes that serve as resonators and produce the instrument's distinctive sound. A small wooden stool lies on its side nearby. Sanwa, 6 August, 1986.
Yaw Kyԑ paddles a canoe toward Bui Dam settlement, an Ewe fishing village on the south bank of the Black Volta River. A path leading to the fishing village of Agbegikrom on the river's opposite bank is visible (center, right). Canoes like these were used to ferry people across the river and for fishing. The mountain in the background (looking northward) is the site where the Bui Dam was built, beginning in 2008. Bui Dam settlement, June, 1994.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Dam Site
Subjects:
Vegetation; Dam Site
Subjects Facet:
Bui Dam (Ghana); Canoes; Riparian forests; Black Volta River; Fishing
Dried clay jars are carefully placed on top of firewood in preparation for firing. Their surfaces have been textured by rolling a maize cob (bledjukaan in Nafaanra) over the jars' lower surface (maize cob roulette) and decorated with shallow arched grooves made when the pot was in a leather-hard state. Additional fuel will be placed on top of the stacked pottery before the fire is lit. After the fire has burned down the pots will be removed and finished by being dipped while hot in a bark solution. Bondakile, October, 1982.
Family history interview with Elders of Kuulo Katoo including (seated front, left to right) Kwame Broma, Tolԑԑ Kwadwo Fordjour (Odikro), Lelԑԑ Afua Fofie (female head). Standing in brown cloth, Kwasi Millah, and to his right Emmanuel Dwira. Other members of Kuulo Katoo pictured are Kwasi Donkor and Kwabena Mensah. James Anane (interviewer) standing left. Dompofie, 6 August, 1986.
View from the Banda hills above Ahenkro toward the range of hills near Boase. The north end of Ahenkro is visible mid photo. Banda hills, 30 July, 1994.
Large, shallow blackened clay bowls with interior striations are used in cooking and for eating. Cooks use them together with a small double-sided wooden pestle to grind pepper and cooked vegetables like "garden eggs" (small eggplants) for soups. They are also used as men's eating bowls (pԑԑ in Nafaanra). Bowls with striated interiors are occasionally found on archaeological sites in the Banda area, but this particular blackened form was not common until the 20th century when it was introduced from areas to the south. Potters in the region began to produce the bowls for sale both locally and at regional markets. During the 1980s and 1990s, this became one of the most popular pots made for market sale. Ahenkro, 1986.
Villages of Ewe families who made their livelihood through fishing lined the banks of the Black Volta River on its northern and southern shores during the 20th century. Viewed here from the south bank, looking northward from Agbegikrom South, is the fishing village of Agbegikrom North. Because their homes were located a short distance downstream from the site of Bui Dam, villagers in both settlements were relocated beginning in 2008 as construction on the dam began. Agbegikrom North, 7 October, 1982.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Agbegikrom North
Subjects:
Relocation
Subjects Facet:
Bui Dam (Ghana); Black Volta River; Fishing villages; Ewe (African people); Housing
View to the east-southeast, standing on the small hill west of Kabruno. The mountains in the distance (left) are those near Fawoman. To the right is the range that extends northward from Boase. The rooftops of Kabruno and Dompofie are visible, center. Banda area, June, 1995.
Controlled fire has long been used as a way to improve forage for animals, aid hunting, and amend soil nutrients. Here a controlled burn within Bui National Park is visible on the mountainside west of Ahenkro. The town's thatch-roofed market stands are visible (right) as are branches of the majestic kapok tree that once shaded the market on the south edge of town. Thatched roofs could easily catch fire and Ahenkro suffered major fires several times during the 20th century. Ahenkro, December, 1982.
Early in his career, art historian Roy Sieber toured Ghana studying the country's indigenous art forms (Interview with Roy Sieber, "African Arts", Vol. 25, no. 4, Oct. 1992, pg. 48). Several years later Sieber's student René Bravmann returned to west central Ghana to study the region's masking traditions. This photo of masks taken by Roy Sieber is Included in René Bravmann's photo archives with the label "Do masks at Banda, R. Sieber photo, 1960s." Masks like these are used in masquerade dances to celebrate special occasions including weddings and public festivals such as the end of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting. In his 1974 book "Islam and Tribal Art in West Africa" (Cambridge University Press, pg. 166), René Bravmann notes that at the time of his 1967 fieldwork there were in the "Ligbi village of Bungazi [Bongase] six Do [masks]... Interestingly enough, only three years prior to my fieldwork [1964], Roy Sieber recorded twelve Do face masks at Bungazi. My inquiries in 1967 revealed that five of the masks had been stolen and a sixth had deteriorated to the point where it was no longer usable." The masks pictured here (1964) may be among the Bongase masks that were stolen or deteriorated by the time of Bravmann's 1967 visit. Bongase, 1964.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Bongase
Subjects:
Do
Subjects Facet:
Wood carvings; Rites and ceremonies; Dance; Islam; Masquerades; Marriage customs and rites; Regalia; Masks
View of the Banda hills extending southward, standing on the small hill west of Kabruno. Two cleared fields are visible in the foreground. The rooftops of Makala are faintly visible to the left of center. Banda area, June, 1995.
A woman (Yaa Nsiah Adiemu) headloads pottery that she has brought from Dorbour to the marketplace in Ahenkro, a distance of about 20 km which she has traveled on foot. She is accompanied by her niece (right). She carries in her headpan clay pots used for cooking food and making soup (sro chͻ and chiin sinyjͻlͻ in Nafaanra). She sells her clay pots at the weekly market and by going house-to-house. The load that she is carrying here is at the end of a market day, after she has sold some of her pottery. 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. Here, (left) Yaw Ble plays an antelope antler horn while holding an iron gong in his right hand. He wears a strip-woven smock to which amulets enclosed in leather packets are sewn. Another protective amulet is sewn to the front of his hat. To the right, Kwabena Nika plays a double iron gong with a wooden mallet. Afua Tikya and Abena Donkor (center) look on. Two photos. Gbao, 8 August, 1986.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Gbao
Subjects:
Amulets; Gbԑԑnlԑԑ (Gbeenlee) Katoo; Horn
Subjects Facet:
Gongs; Funeral customs and rites; West African strip weaving; Rites and ceremonies
The clay pottery jars (sro chͻ in Nafaanra) used to prepare food vary in size. Round-based jars like these are used to boil yams and other starchy foods. They are supported by hearth stones as they sit on the fire. Their lower surface is often textured or surface-treated with maize cob roulette (visible on the largest pot on the right) which may make them easier to handle when full of liquid and food. Ahenkro, 1986.
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
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 a young man to the right plays an apentemma (Twi) drum. Three photos. 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:
Gourd, Calabash; Drums (musical instrument); Funeral customs and rites; Rites and ceremonies
The weekly market at Banda-Ahenkro was formerly held at this marketplace, its thatch-roofed stalls located on the south edge of town beneath a majestic kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra). The tree was downed in a storm in the late 1990s, after which the market was relocated to an adjacent village. Ahenkro, June, 1982.
As the bonfire burns down, a helper uses a long pole to prepare the newly fired clay pots for removal. The neatly stacked pots lie on their sides. Around the edges, a bank of previously fired and broken pots, some turned upside-down, were used to hold the fuel and pots in place as the bonfire was built. The bonfire burns rapidly, the firing process lasting between about 30 minutes to an hour. Bondakile, October, 1982.
View to the southeast, standing on the small hill west of Kabruno. The mountains in the distance are those near Boase. Center left are the rooftops of Kabruno. Center right is the village of Dompofie. Between the two in the distance is Gbao. Banda area, June, 1995.
With moistened hands, a standing potter smooths the rim of a partially finished clay jar. As she works, she moves clockwise around the wooden stump that supports the palette (kpankpa in Nafaanra) on which the pot is being molded. Bondakile, October, 1982.
The Banda hills viewed from the small hill west of Kabruno, looking northward. Center photo are tobacco fields that have been clear-cut and tractor-plowed. Tobacco began to be grown as a cash crop in the area during the mid 1980s. Banda hills, May, 1995
In the foreground are two clay pots used to prepare soup. A soup pot (chiin sinyjͻlͻ in Nafaanra) has sharp-angled (carinated) shoulders and an everted rim. They are simply decorated with grooved lines above the shoulder, but otherwise plain. The larger one on the right has been blackened, a treatment that is not commonly seen on archaeological pottery from Banda sites. Ahenkro, 1986.
View to the southeast, standing on the small hill west of Kabruno. The mountains in the distance are those near Boase. Center left are the rooftops of Dompofie. Center right is the village of Samwa. Banda area, June, 1995.
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.
View to the southeast, standing on the small hill west of Kabruno.The mountains in the distance are at the southern end of the Boase range. The village left of center is Gbao. Right of center is Samwa. Banda area, June, 1995.