Galavanting in Ghana: Kumasi: Football, Villages, & Palace Museum

Three weeks, I went to Kumasi with ISEP. We actually moved the trip up a few weeks to coincide with the Ghana vs. Zambia soccer game. Drove north Friday morning about 5 hours. The roads varied from pretty well paved with some bumps to completely dirt, pot holed trails. Looking out the window saw many different scenes: incredibly tall coconut trees, not far off mountains surrounded by fog and clouds, and patches of squash, corn, and lettuce which, if you looked closely, you could see were planted in rows.

[bumpy road]

[some parts of the road paved, others just dirt, and it wasn't pretty where they meet. shoulder!]

[lunch on the way to Kumasi! jollof rice, fish, chicken, fried plantains, and shito sauce. I'm starving; this looks really good right now!]

We got to the stadium 2 hours early to get decent seats; it was already half filled when we got there! Massive groups of people wore the same colored shirt or jersey. Later some of these groups held a massive banner across their group and you could see they were advertising some brand or product. Food was about the same price as on the streets. Before the game and during half time, vendors walked around with plexiglass containers of FanIce, containers of cold drinks, jerseys, and cloths to shield you from the sun. During half time, a young girl, she looked about 12-14yrs, came a few rows in front of me. Her container/massive bowl had just been filled with 1.5L bottles of water, as she struggled under its weight and could barely hand the items over without losing her balance. However, as soon as either half began, all the vendors left. The Ghanaians take their football seriously and have no qualms about yelling at those in front of them for blocking the view. Everyone sits and stands almost simultaneously. Of course, the Ghana Black Stars were awesome! It was my first time at a soccer game more important than a U14 boys match (thanks Will). Thankfully, Ghana beat Zambia 2-0. As we headed for the bus after the match, the crowds were thick and loud. I would’ve hated to go through them if we’d lost and all the fans were angry.

[ticket!]

[stilt walkers coming around for pre-game entertainment]

[Black Stars warming up!]

[2-1, we win!]

[it was so hot, but it cooled off towards the end and the sky was gorgeous]

[couldn't make up my mind. the sky is pretty here too.]

Saturday was spent going through a few villages (of course, I forgot all the names) and visiting the largest market in West Africa. First, we went to a village where they wove Kente cloth, the cloth unique to Ghana and worn at important events like funerals, weddings, and ceremonies. It’s incredibly nice and is priced at about GH¢ 40/yd. vs. the average GH¢ 5 or 10/yd. fabric you can find on the street or in stores. This was also the first time I really had to bargain. I learned after the first strip I bought. [You could get strips instead of a full yard which were cheaper and about GH¢ 10.] I paid 14 for the first strip, and was able to get the rest for 9-11. Even though I probably should have gotten them for less…I felt like I was on top of the world when we left. Not gonna lie. I felt like the best bargainer ever. :D

At the next village, we learned about adinkra symbols and saw tons of this gorgeous stamped cloth. There are maybe 20-30 different symbols that all hold different meanings. One of the most popular is “except God,” or "God is King," no one but God. Since we were in a tour, they had a table set up so you could choose a strip of kente cloth, choose your symbol/s, and stamp your own cloth. There were piles of cloth along the front of the table. As you were looking at a pile, the weaver came up and started talking to you, pulling out the ones you touched so you could see them fully, and hopefully choose their product. I chose from a tall, skinny guy with a chipped front tooth and the front of his hair bleached. Of course, after we stamped the strip, I felt compelled to look at his rack of products. Obama is quite big here, Americans may be referred to as “Obama’s children,” and there were even strips stamped with large Obama faces. As I walked away, promising to come back and looks some more, and they watch you as you look around in case you actually do decide to come back, a kid came up with 2 strips of kente cloth folded up in a white plastic bag. “I’ll give it to you for GH¢ 10,” he said. GH¢ 10 and no bargaining?? “Alright.” As he walked away, Anderson looked at me with this look of, “Ah! Sistah!” I smiled and walked off, though I did come back and buy from him again later on. Once I got on the bus, I started to wonder why the 2 strips had been so cheap. Pulling them out, you could see some light red stains, probably from the clay dirt. It stains everything. [For example, I thought my pants were made with stained cloth and then I realized they were just dirty from the dust.] Still they were sparkly and I quite happy with them.

[adinkra stamps]

[Anderson's racks]

[kids and loom]

After this, we went to Kumasi’s Cultural Center where we ate lunch and poked around the shops. Fufu, basically a ball of dough made from cassava, and maybe plantain, is the area’s specialty and so we all tried it. It was actually pretty good, there was a lot and I wasn’t able to finish; it was pretty spicy, too. Granted, when I mentioned this, Amber reached over to try some, “Nope…this is about the same as mine.” So I’m just a bit of a wimp, oops. The shops were a lot of fun. Although the prices were a bit higher than you’d find in the market, it was such a nice change to be able to look at things without someone hovering or pestering you to buy. One shop had random things including some nice leather bags, one of which I almost bought, and 3 yards of this awesome purple batik for 21. And did I buy it? Nope. Am I ninny? Why yes, yes I am because, when I came back around to buy it, the shop was closed.

[towards the back, there was a huge pavilion/covered open space where the pottery and ceramics were made. this is their kiln.]

The third village was a wood carving village. This was so. much. fun. I got some beads and figurines. One of the vendors was really cool. I saw a figure that had two elephants and between them a seprewa. He’d mentioned that he played drums with his brother, and I pointed to it, “Oh, seprewa!” “Yes,” he said. “I’m learning how to play.” “You?!” his tone more than just a bit surprised. “Yeah!” “Alright, sistah!” at which point he gave me a fantastic handshake-with-snap. When we left, I wish I bought it. Perhaps I’ll find another one like it. Most likely. If you see it one place, you can find it not only in ten other places, but in the stall that’s literally right next door.

After this, we went to the largest market in West Africa. Of course, we were behind schedule and we got there about 5 or 6. Sunset is about 6:00 and everything was already closing, but it was fun walking around the tiny section we were in.

[Catholic church where we parked. the yellow bus is not ours. we're not that cool]

[looking up the street we walked down. note: church in back, guy pointing, and his pile of shoes for sale]

[turned around, looking down the street we walked down. so many people and this isn't even that bad]

When we got back to the hotel, there were two artists selling their paintings. While they’re gorgeous and I bought a few, some of us discussed whether the vendors actually paint them or if they get the work from some distributer because the styles are all so similar. [Also, the paintings I bought from the same guy have different signatures. So, unless they’re selling each other’s work and not just their own, which doesn’t make much sense, a distributor is at least logical.]

Also. Let’s talk about dinner Saturday night real quick, because that was exciting. They set up a buffet for our group which included pizza and french fries in addition to the regular rice and chicken. That was exciting. Then, as we were sitting around thinking about greasy American food, they brought out strawberry fan ice in little glass dishes. Y’all. It even tasted a little like ice-cream. So exciting.

On our way out of Kumasi, we stopped at the Palace Museum of the Asantehenes. The tour was short and actually pretty interesting. Fun facts:

-When the Asantehene visits he is provided with a chair, obviously. Afterwards, it is taken back to the Museum because no one is allowed to sit in after he has.

-The current queen mother is 112.

-Because it is a matrilineal society, the queen mother selects the next Asantehene. This person is blindfolded and sent into the stool room which has 12 of the 14 past dead Asantehenes. The stools take on the names of their owners/users. If you select a stool with a name you become “So-and-so II.” If you choose the golden stool, that of the original Asantehene and only brought out for a festival every 5 years, then you become “Your own name I.” I’m pretty sure.

[entrance]

[statue in middle of roundabout]

So Kumasi was really cool. And the Ghana Black Stars won! There’s another World Cup Qualifying match against Egypt in November, so that might turn into a trip. Here are some other photos that were cool. :)