This short Banda Heritage video made from still photographic images illustrates the potting techniques of Banda-area potters. It highlights the steps in their draw-and-drag forming method and the tools they use. Among the Nafana potters pictured in the video are Yaa Tenabrɛ, Adwoa Fodjoa, Peni Krah and Ama Donkor from Dorbour. Also pictured is a potter from Adadiem (1994) and an image from Bondakile (1982). Original images used to make the video are available in the Banda Heritage Repository. Dorbour, Adadiem, 1994. Bondakile 1982. Length: 5.05 minutes.
This short video made from still photographic images illustrates the firing techniques of Banda-area potters. It shows examples of bonfire firing and post-firing treatment of vessels in a solution of pounded bark. Images include a 1982 sequence following Mo potters in Bondakile and 1994 images of Nafana potters in Adadiem and Dorbour, featuring Afua Donkor and Yaa Nsiah Adiemu from the latter. Original images used to make the video are available in the Banda Through Time Repository. Bondakile, 1982. Adadiem, Dorbour, 1994. Length: 4.22 minutes.
Young women in the household of Sampson Attah pound cooked yam tubers in a deep mortar to make fufu. Mamee (left) and two other young women use round-ended pestles. Working together, they use the pestles to pound and turn the fufu in a pounding technique typical of food preparation in the Banda area. The pestles create a rhythmic accompaniment to the work as they strike the sides of the mortar. Household of Sampson Attah, Ahenkro, 27 May, 2009. Length: 00:00:54 minutes.
Kofi Gyasi, Gyasehene, offers libations to the ancestors at the Ahenkro palace. The occasion was prompted by the return of Banda Research Project members, seeking to continue archaeological research. Ahenkro palace, 10 July, 2009. Length: .49 minutes.
Beyaa (standing) and Afirye (seated) process fufu in a shallow "Asante" style mortar. The heavy wooden pestle is frayed at the base. This helps to break down the fiber in cassava tubers and make a softer, smoother fufu. Afiriye periodically turns the fufu with a moistened hand as Beyaa pounds using a technique more characteristic of southern Ghana where cassava is a typical ingredient in fufu. The preference in Banda is to make fufu using only yam (Dioscorea sp., finyjie in Nafaanra). Heard in the background is the rhythmic sound of young women pounding in a deep mortar nearby. See the related video at the link below. Household of Sampson Attah, Ahenkro, 27 May, 2009. Length: 00:00:53 minutes.
This short video made from still photographic images shows how potters mine and process the clay they use to make pots. The video includes images of Mo potters in Bondakile and Nafana potters in Dorbour, including Yakosua. Original images used to make the video are available in the Banda Through Time Repository. Bondakile, 1982. Dorbour, 1994. Length: 2.25 minutes.
Calabash drums accompany songs sung by Nafana women during the celebration of puberty (Manaa Ndiom) and marriage (Bijam) rites. These drums are played exclusively by women. The drums are made by filling a large hollowed-out calabash or gourd (chrɛ in Nafaanra) with water. A smaller calabash bowl (chrɛgbɔɔ in Nafaanra) floating upright in the water provides the surface on which the women drum. This short video shows the technique by which women strike the floating calabash and the rim of the large calabash with small calabash ladles held in their right hands. Visible at the bottom of the larger calabash drum are maize (bleju in Nafaanra) kernels tossed into the drum by passing dancers. The women sing as they drum. Boase, 11 November, 2018. Length: .23 minutes.
This short video made from still photographic images shows how Mo potters in Bondakile make clay jars using a draw-and-drag technique. The focus is on forming of the jar's body and rim. Original images used to make the video are available in the Banda Through Time Repository. Bondakile, 1982. Length: 2.59 minutes.
This short video made from still images and video footage shows calabash processing and use in the Banda area, Ghana. Original images and footage are available in the Banda Through Time Repository. Banda, 1982-2019. Length: 5:02 minutes.
This short video made from video footage shot by Patrick Mensah and still images by Dr. Ann Stahl shows some processes of roof thatching in the Banda area. Original still images are available in the Banda Through Time Repository. Banda, 1982-2019. Length: 2:26 minutes.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Date:
2020
Location(s) Facet:
Banda
Subjects Facet:
Roofing; Thatched roofs; Dwellings--Maintenance and repair; Housing; Repairing
Creator:
Holly Marsh
Contributors:
Dr. Ann B. Stahl; Patrick Mensah
Language:
English
Date searchable:
1982-2019
Genre:
Digital video
Genre Facet:
Digital video
Format:
Video
Language Facet:
English
Location(s):
Banda
Sketchfab Uid:
Commentary:
Video made from still images and video footage in Adobe Premiere Pro.
Part 1 of an interview with Yaw Manje of Banda-Ahenkro, family head of Hakolo Katoo. Yaw Manje talks about how farmers in the Banda area took up tobacco farming in the 1980s and 1990s and reflects on how growing cash crops like tobacco and cotton affected the land and local communities. This short video focuses on the English translation provided by interviewer Enoch Mensah. A version of Part 1 with the full dialogue in Nafaanra and English is available through a link below. Also available through the "iaff_works" link below through UVic Libraries is the full interview with Yaw Manje. Ahenkro, 13 August, 2018. Length: 00:13:57
Part 1 of an interview with Yaw Manje of Banda-Ahenkro, who is family head of Hakolo Katoo. Yaw Manje talks about how farmers in the Banda area took up tobacco farming in the 1980s and 1990s and reflects on how growing cash crops like tobacco and cotton affected the land and local communities. This video includes the full dialogue in Nafaanra and English. A shorter version focused on the English translation by Enoch Mensah is available through a link below. Also available at the "iaff_works" link below through UVic Libraries is the full interview with Yaw Manje. Shorter topically focused excerpts of this interview are available at the links below. Ahenkro, 13 August, 2018. Length: 00:19:36
At a day-long celebration of the Banda area's rich cultural heritage at the Banda Cultural Centre in Banda-Ahenkro, a group of potters from Dorbour demonstrated their skills for a community audience. Using pre-prepared clay, the potters showed how they form the body and rim of pottery jars, which are then set aside to dry before the pot's base is added. The video showcases some of their finished products and an announcer describes to the audience in Nafaanra some of steps involved in firing and finishing pots. Afterwards, the potters look at examples of archaeological pots in the Banda Cultural Centre and talk with archaeologist Ann Stahl about what is known from archaeological sites about potting in the past. Ahenkro, 28 June, 2019. Length: 00:25:14.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Date:
2019-06-28
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Potting; Women's work
Subjects Facet:
Pottery; Jars; Heritage
Creator:
Dr. Ann B. Stahl
Contributors:
Mary Yakosua; Yaa Kofua; Yaa Fordjour; Ama Dadia; Yaa Tabla; Mafua; Elikpim Kuto; Esi Koah Arko
A video made from a photo and original cassette tape audio recording of a 1986 family history interview with Elders of Kuulo Katoo in Dompofie, Banda. Female head of family, Lelɛɛ Afua Fofie (age, c. 90 yrs), shared in the Nafaanra language the history of Wurache, female ancestress of Kuulo Katoo. The interview was conducted by Dr. Ann Stahl and James Anane as part of a 1986 research project on family histories of the Banda area. Also participating in the interview were: Dompofie Odikro and male head of family, Tolɛɛ Kwadwo Fordjour (age, c. 95 yrs), Kwame Broma (age, c. 80 yrs), Kwasi Donkor (age, c. 70 yrs), Kwasi Millah (age, 60 yrs), Kwabena Mensah (age, 60 yrs), Kwame Dɔmeabra (age, 55 yrs) and Emmanuel Dwira (age, 33 yrs). The original audio has been edited to exclude (poorly audible) translations of Nafaanra dialogue into English. The original cassette recording ended prior to the conclusion of the interview, and thus does not capture the full exchange in Nafaanra. An English translation of the interview and the still image of Dompofie elders are available in the Banda Through Time repository (links below). Dompofie, 6 August, 1986. Length: 15.38 minutes.
At a day-long celebration of the Banda area's rich cultural heritage at the Banda Cultural Centre in Banda-Ahenkro, a group of hunters from Fawoman performed dances passed down through generations of hunters. Known as Bɔfɔɔrɔ, ancestral hunters learned these dances from animals in the bush. Using an unloaded gun and accompanied by drums and percussion instruments made from hippo jaws and canines, hunters and women from Fawoman shared ten dances with the assembled crowd. Ahenkro, 28 June, 2019. Length: 00:19:57 minutes.
At a day-long celebration of the Banda area's rich cultural heritage at the Banda Cultural Centre in Banda-Ahenkro, men associated with the Kralɔngɔ Royal Palace performed a Nafana version of Kete. Known primarily as an Akan royal practice, Nafana oral histories characterize Kete as a genre they learned from Kulango people. In this performance, four men simultaneously use brass rattles and play flutes that oral accounts say were taken from the Kulango in their performance of five Kete songs. They are accompanied by two drummers and a man playing an iron gong. Ahenkro, 28 June, 2019. Length: 00:13:14 minutes.
At a day-long celebration of the Banda area's rich cultural heritage at the Banda Cultural Centre in Banda-Ahenkro, Ligbi community members from Bongase performed a masquerade dance which today they call "Bedu" but scholars term "Do." Two masks performed: Mbong (Baboon) and Gbanyamuso (Beautiful Gonja Woman). Their costumes include metal jangles worn around their ankles. The dancers are accompanied by women singing in Ligbi and drumming on conga and box drums, as well as by young men drumming and fanning the dancers. Ahenkro, 28 June, 2019. Length: 00:15:26 minutes.
At a day-long celebration of the Banda area's rich cultural heritage at the Banda Cultural Centre in Banda-Ahenkro, Kuulo people from Dompofie share customs associated with their wedding celebrations. A bride and groom accompanied by two girls sit as women sing songs of praise and dance in a circle around them. A pot containing pito (locally brewed grain beer) sits in front of them. The women wear strip-woven local cloth wraps around their waists. In an opening song, the women beat rhythms with calabash gourd drinking bowls as they dance. The gourds are placed in front of the newly married couple after the first dance. After the final dance, the calabash bowls are used to catch overflowing beer poured from the pito pot, signaling that the bride was a virgin when married. Ahenkro, 28 June, 2019. Length: 00:20:21 minutes.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Date:
2019-06-28
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Performance; Kuulo, Dompo (African people)
Subjects Facet:
Dance; Songs; Music; Rites and Ceremonies; Marriage customs and rites; Gourd, Calabash; West African strip weaving; Heritage
T.Z. (short for "tuo zafi," which means hot porridge in Hausa) is a staple food made from milled grain and served with soup. This short video shows the skilled stirring technique used in the final stages of preparing T.Z. as Abena Kuma prepares her family's evening meal over a stone hearth. Sabiye, 13 November, 2018. Length: 00:00:17 minutes.
T.Z. (short for "tuo zafi," which means hot porridge in Hausa) is a staple food made from milled grain and served with soup. This short video shows how T.Z. and cassava leaf soup are prepared, following Abena Kuma as she makes her family's evening meal. The video is excerpted from a longer interview with women of Sulɔɔ Katoo, who shared information on changing practices of food preparation and sharing over recent decades. The full video is available at a link shown below. Sabiye, 13 November, 2018. Length: 00:04:27 minutes.
Three women (L-R, Ama Mensah, Ama Nwotwenwaa and Adwoa Hana) remove the kernels from calabash seeds by bending the individual seed to crack it open. The dried kernels are a valued ingredient (fnumu in Nafaanra) used to flavor soups and stews. Sabiye, 11 November, 2018. Length: 00:00:20.
Part 4 of a four-part video, based on an interview with Adjua Tini of Habaa Katoo. Though the interview was concluded, Adjua Tini wanted to close the session with a song. One song led to another, and soon she was joined by Lelԑԑ Yahͻͻ, with whom she sang a number of songs associated with courtship, marriage and funerals. Several songs toward the end of the short film are not accompanied by video footage. Ahenkro. Length: 00:36.05 minutes.
Part 2 of a four-part video, based on an interview with Adjua Tini of Habaa Katoo. Adjua Tini describes the process of making pito (local beer) from maize. Some people brewed pito for sale, but Adjua Tini describes the social and ceremonial occasions for which families brewed pito, including funerals, marriages, and to thank people for helping with communal tasks like farming. Length: 00:17:14 minutes.
At a day-long celebration of the Banda area's rich cultural heritage at the Banda Cultural Centre in Banda-Ahenkro, Nafana people from Boase share customs associated with their wedding celebrations (Bijam). Two young women dressed as brides wear local strip woven cloth and carry walking sticks as they approach the Banda Cultural Centre, accompanied by female relatives and young girls dressed in nubility attire. After circling the event grounds, the girls are seated and the women perform a series of songs and dances accompanied by calabash drums. Men and women well-wishers toss maize kernels in the water of the calabash drums as they dance. Afterwards, the brides, covered by cloth, dance behind an elder relative as other women prepare their path by pouring water from a bucket. Afterwards, locally made grain beer (pito) is poured into a calabash, overflowing to signal that the brides were virgins at the time of their marriage.In a final dance, female relatives dance with a bowl of food, after which gifts are presented to the bride's family. Many of the women wear locally made strip-woven blue-and-white textiles as wraps. Ahenkro, 28 June, 2019. Length: 00:22:01 minutes.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Date:
2019-06-28
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Performance; Nafana (African people)
Subjects Facet:
Dance; Songs; Music; Rites and Ceremonies; Marriage customs and rites; Gourd, Calabash; West African strip weaving; Drums (musical instrument); Heritage
At a day-long celebration of the Banda area's rich cultural heritage at the Banda Cultural Centre in Banda-Ahenkro, people from Ahenkro share Nafana songs and dances associated with with girls' puberty rites (Manaa Ndiom) and wedding celebrations (Bijam). The film opens with photos of girls dressed in Manaa Ndiom attire during the 1995 inauguration of the Banda Cultural Centre. A series of songs and dances performed at the 2019 event follows, accompanied by the rhythms of calabash drums, calabash rattles and, in some cases, a wooden drum. The group is joined in the first song by District Chief Executive Mary Konneh who plays calabash rattles and dances. Seated under the shade of the canopy, Afua Donkor demonstrates how to spin cotton while others sing and dance. Young people can be seen using their cell phones to record the action. Many of the Elder women who perform wear locally made strip-woven blue-and-white textiles as skirt wraps. Ahenkro, 28 June, 2019. Length: 00:15:57 minutes.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Date:
2019-06-28
Subjects:
Performance; Cell phones
Subjects Facet:
Nafana (African people); Dance; Songs; Music; Rites and Ceremonies; Marriage customs and rites; Gourd, Calabash; West African strip weaving; Drums (musical instrument); Rattles; Heritage
During the rainy season, families take advantage of rain showers to collect water for household use. In this courtyard house, headpans, buckets and barrels are used to collect water falling directly into the courtyard and funneled from the metal roof. Ahenkro, August, 2018. Length: .42 minutes.