Former entries are listed below beginning with the most recent.
CHRISTMAS IN GHANA
December 23, 2010
CHRISTMAS IN GHANA
December 23, 2010
Our first Christmas in Ghana was a very special one that we'll always remember. It began with the traditional stockings (complete with an orange), opening of gifts around the tree with Christmas music in the background, and enjoying a homemade breakfast cake. What was quite out of the ordinary were a few of the treasures tucked under the tree, most notably cell phones for the girls and African drums for the boys! There were also Ghanaian wood carvings, some Kente products, native jewelry and clothing, and 100% local chocolate bars to sample.
After breakfast, we were happy to continue our family tradition of performing a Christmas concert. Though we did not visit a nursing home as our custom, we instead gave a performance at the Missionary Training Center in nearby Tema. Our audience consisted of 20 missionaries, the MTC President and his wife, and about 7 staff members. All seemed to enjoy the music and we had fun handing out candy bars & a printed spiritual message as well to all the young missionaries. We then ate lunch in the MTC cafeteria where we were served a fresh shepherd's pie, freshly-squeezed orange juice, and 2-loaves of freshly baked bread to take home.
Later in the afternoon, the kids enjoyed their gifts and a movie at home while Troy and I made final preparations for our upcoming trip. It was wonderful to celebrate Christmas with many of the familiar sights, sounds, tastes, and activities that we have so cherished over the years and especially to have our hearts full of a knowledge and love of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Our first Christmas in our home-away-from-home was a good reminder that no matter where we are, family and the gospel are always close at hand and deep in our hearts.
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The TWELVE DAYS of CHRISTMAS
December 2010
On my first Ghanaian Christmas my true love gave to meDecember 2010
A Parker in a Palm Tree
On my second Ghanaian Christmas my true love gave to me
Two Turtles Loved
On my third Ghanaian Christmas my true love gave to me
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These are our neighbor’s pets whom we are caring for while they are home for Christmas. The turtles are natives and there are actually three . . . but the other was camera shy! |
On my third Ghanaian Christmas my true love gave to me
Three Bench Hens
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Our neighbor’s very creative sister was in town and painted these whimsical benches for her kitchen. The patterns are from napkins she found here which she then sealed onto the wood. Very cool. |
For the record . . . there are plenty of chickens that roam Accra.
They run around the sidewalks, peck in the gardens, and strut among
shops along the road. It’s especially funny watching the “teenager”
chicks as they are ALL legs and look rather like little t-rex dinosaurs
skirting around.
On my fourth Ghanaian Christmas my true love gave to me
Four Calling Cards
Cell phones have hit Ghana like a tsunami and along with them
a plethora of advertisements, vendors, and SIM cards from the
leading providers. Vodafone, MTN, Tigo, and Zain (now Airtel)
are household names here . . . literally.
Vodafone and MTN are particularly aggressive in getting their
name out: they paint their colors and logos all over buildings
– especially rural homes. It’s quite a site to drive along quite
roadside villages here and see the whole place plastered in yellow
(MTN) or red (Vodafone). We have joked on our road trips that
“Here is a lovely MTN town” or “We just passed another Vodafone
village.” We once entertained trying to keep track of who had the
most presence . . . but it became too tiresome. We have often wondered
if the native people genuinely like all the new color on their simple concrete
structures - surely the income received for the ad space is worth a
fresh coat of bright red or yellow paint? It's marketing to the extreme.
Here in bustling Accra, the phone companies are truly everywhere.
Billboards, banners, mini-sales booths and the like clutter the city scene
and everything seems to have a phone company label on it – we are
keeping our fingers crossed that no one gets the idea to paint trotros with
cell phone advertising!!! Check out this building below – would you say
Moshin is more in the photo business or the phone business?!
And every intersection has a vendor or two selling SIM cards to reload your minutes . . . so go ahead and call someone this Christmas!
On my fifth Ghanaian Christmas my true love gave to me
Five Golden Things
#2: There are a lot of golden statues here in the capital of Accra. Here is Kwame Nikrumah, Ghana's first president.
Kwame, by the way, means Saturday. Every Ghanaian has a name which corresponds with the day of the week on which they were born. Not all use this distinction as their first name, but all seem to know it and are very proud of it. I'll do a more substantial write up on that later . . . 
#3: Okay - it's not gold, but it's a lot of cash!!! This is what we have to carry around all day . . . and it goes fast!
#4: I've always considered our car bronze, but this cute little kid at church said, "I know what you drive - that gold-colored car!" So - a golden thing. I still think it could pass for the Indiana Jones vehicle.
#5: This is truly baffling and we don't know what it means . . . but this little "Golden Child" is on many trotros. Here's another - and she's even in gold :) . . .
A little creative license: I have to add Moroni and the golden trim from our beautiful Accra temple . . .
On my sixth Ghanaian Christmas my true love gave to me
You name it, they pack it, pile it, and haul it . . . and you hope these vehicles hold it together for a few more loads!
On my seventh Ghanaian Christmas my true love gave to me
Seven days a week, you can see fruit bats settling in the trees after a long night's feast on mango, banana, and other fruit trees. They'll rouse again at dusk but are often chit-chatty and a little restless all the day long. It's probably hard to rest with all the traffic chaos below.
On my eighth Ghanaian Christmas my true love gave to me
Mopping and dusting and scrubbing and washing and folding and sweeping . . . these ladies work hard and though we are still adjusting to having such help in the home, we are thankful for it.
Nine Ladies Fancy
On my ninth Ghanaian Christmas my true love gave to me
This is just a sampling of the incredible fashion here among women . . . refreshingly modest and very elegant!
On my tenth Ghanaian Christmas my true love gave to me
These hardy critters truly LEAP - we've seen them catapult themselves off a 5-foot high post and belly-splat on the ground only to run off again. Hard to catch!
On my eleventh Ghanaian Christmas my true love gave to me
On my twelfth Ghanaian Christmas my true love gave to me
Our school has afforded us the opportunity to both hear and play some great African drums!!! It's a thrill to hear them . . . and the kids say it's even more fun to play them.
Merry Christmas Everyone and Happy New Year!
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THE SPIDER MEN:
Kente Weaving in Ghana Thursday, December 16, 2010
I enjoyed yet another enlightening field trip today with Price’s 3rd grade class. We visited the little “Kente Village” in nearby Burma military camp to meet a band of brothers whose craft is Kente cloth weaving. The experience was fascinating and a MUST for anyone who plans on visiting Ghana.
Before we boarded the bus from school, we read a folk tale in the classroom about Kente’s beginnings: Two weavers long ago happened upon a spider with glorious designs in its web. They first tried to remove the web and take it home, but ruined the masterpiece in the process. The next day, the weavers returned and patiently watched the spider all day and into the night as it created a new web. The inspired weavers returned to their village and began a new style of weaving with a new and improved loom patterned after the spider’s methods. At first, only the king could wear the fine new cloth – but gradually everyone began to enjoy this fine material. Today, some patterns are still reserved for kings and chiefs and – interestingly – if you are a leader and are called up to a village meeting, you must bring extra Kente cloth of different patterns in case you are wearing the design that your superior is already wearing and need to make a quick change!
Here is the "village": a simple outdoor workshop under the trees with some basic wooden structures to keep out the rain and sun:
A hand-crafted, giant wooden bobbin wound with black cotton thread:
Weavers at their looms:
Kente is created first in LONG strips of the repeating pattern - we saw some loom threads extending out to 30 feet! - which are about 6 inches wide. Then the strip is cut at intervals and sewn together to make standard cloth which can be sold by the yard. This white pattern is for royalty:
Kings or chiefs drape themselves in a certain way with several yards of the raw fabric. It doesn’t require any tailoring, but obviously must be wrapped correctly!
Tools of the Kente Trade
A variety of colored cotton thread:
A rainbow of color in hand-carved spools:
Nimble hands and toes:
And a sewing machine to stitch the long strips together:
One brother explained there are two types of Kente in Ghana. One is from the Ashante region and contains simple, repeating geometric patterns.
The other style is Ewe ("ee-way") from the Volta region and incorporates symbolic images. For example, the elephant is regarded as the ultimate sign of leadership and is always associated with kings. Umbrellas are the symbol for village chiefs. The chameleon below is really cute regardless of what he may or may not represent!
The weavers said they do practice creative license and are not restricted to weaving traditional patterns or symbols. The overall effect on their sales table is stunning:
And here's one little boy who really likes his Kente placemat:
Anansi, the spider-hero of African folklore, is a revered figure and it was fun to watch these weavers at the loom - they were every bit as graceful and adept as a spider about its web. There was a tangible, peaceful charm about this little village as the quiet clicking of the looms hummed in time to the weavers' quick hands and feet - their work became a dance and a rhythm unto itself . . . echoed by the quiet but busy activity of small birds in the trees above. A field trip to remember!
