Ann B. Stahl (left) and Sampson Attah (right) stand in front of the Banda Cultural Centre shortly before the building was commissioned (21 July, 1995). The Banda Cultural Centre provides space for community events and guest rooms for Banda Research Project and other community visitors. The Centre's motto/logo is "Nyu nunu," (Nafaanra) or "Unity." This is symbolized by an Adinkra symbol showing two crocodiles who share a common stomach (two heads, two tails, one stomach; referred to as funtumfunafu in Twi). The symbol conveys the meaning "why fight over food when you share a stomach?" The Cultural Centre's main building pictured here was constructed in 1994-95 through a combination of Banda Research Project funding and communal labor supplied by Ahenkro's four Unit Committees. The building is administered and maintained by the community. Ahenkro, July 1995.
Tolɛɛ Kofi Dwuru II was the Paramount Chief of Banda from the time of his enstoolment in 1938 until his death in 1977. Here the Nafana chief is pictured seated on an Asante-style "akonkromfi" chair with his sandaled feet resting on a carved wooden white stool to which protective leather amulets made by Islamic clerics have been tied on to the stool's central column. Two large cast metal bells rest on either side of the stool at its base. The paramount chief wears a white cotton cloth bearing geometric designs and Arabic script written in black, blue and red inks. To the right, an Asante-style "assipim" chair is propped against the wall. Suspended from a cord on the wall behind him is a collection of animal bones among which are large ungulate (hoofed animal) and carnivore skulls and jaw bones. For additional details, see Bravmann, René A. (1974) "Islam and Tribal Art in West Africa" (Cambridge University Press), pp. 88-95. Two photos. Ahenkro, 25 November, 1967.
Two Ligbi men from Bongase appear in masquerade regalia during a visit to Bongase by René A. Bravmann, then a doctoral student at Indiana University studying African art history. Front and side views. Mama Dri (left) and Mama Panyini (right) wear carved wooden "Mbong" (baboon in Ligbi) masks decorated with ochre and white paint, representing a male and female pair. Their heads and shoulders are draped in scarves. They stand in front of a house with a thatched roof and a raffia shade. Scholars refer to this masking tradition as "Do," while locally it is termed "Bedu." For additional details, see Bravmann, René A. (1974) "Islam and Tribal Art in West Africa" (Cambridge University Press), pp. 147-177, plates 77-79. A June 2019 performance of Mbong at a Banda Heritage Event can be viewed through a link below. Bongase, December, 1967.
Photo of an everted-rim pottery jar (Vessel B) excavated from Kuulo Kataa, Mound 101, Unit 2W 2S, levels 6-7, where the jar was positioned upright. A broken pedestal base (Vessel A, originally part of another vessel) sat atop the jar. The jar has a carinated shoulder and a rounded base. Above the carination, the jar's exterior surface is decorated with four horizontal grooved lines, between which are lines of dentate impression. Immediately above the carination in three locations around the vessel's circumference are triangular clusters formed by three circulate punctates joined by short grooved lines enclosing dentate impressions. In a zone marked by two parallel grooved lines, the jar's base is surface treated with carved routlette impressions. Rim diameter 20.8 cm at interior lip. Vessel height (base to rim) 15.8 cm. Photo scale in cm. Kuulo Kataa, 9 June, 1995.