Kumasi: Part I

So this past weekend we traveled to a different region of Ghana, the Asante (Ashanti) Region. The Ashanti Region is the third largest of 10 administrative regions in Ghana and also the most populated region. The Ashanti region, which harbors the capital city of Kumasi, is referred to as the Kingdom of Gold. I loved just looking out the window as we drove down the rode. Te bus ride was about 6-7 hours each way , but the landscape along the route was very interesting and veryy beautiful at times. On Friday, we visited 3 locations:

The Home of Nana Yaa Asantewaa

Our first stop was the Traditional Ashanti Home in Ejisu. There are nine other such homes in the region and they are all marked as UN World Heritage Sites. These are the last material remains of the great Asante civilization in the 18th Century. Nana Yaa Asantewaa was the then Queen Mother of Ejisu who lead the famous Yaa Asantewaa war in the 1900 against the British when the British went to demand the golden stool which is believed to be the soul of the Asante people. They fought the war for a year and lost to the British. Nana Yaa Asantewaa was captured and exiled. The house was very cool, the walls are carved with Adinkra symbols that are unique to West Africa. There are over 200 symbols and they represent various proverbs or have philosophical meanings. It was great to go there and witness a sacred piece of history. There were many children an adults in the neighborhood there who greted us and were awed at the number of  "oburonis"  (twi word for “foreigners”) in there midst.

     

Bonwire Kente Village

We also stopped at the Bonwire Kente Village where kente cloth and articles made from kente are produced and sold. It is very popular because it is like a form of writing. Each design that is carefully weaved has its own philosophical meaning which in turn makes it important for history. The kente village was very cool but very chaotic. Taking 3 buses full of foreigners probably wasn’t the best thing to do. Salesmen will/can be very aggressive if they think you have a lot of money to spend. They will even inflate the prices. I bought a few things and then I had to get out of there lol. I ended up going back on Sunday with a very small group to finish up shopping!

FYI Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have their own Kente 

cloth design :-)

Ntonso Adinkra Village

We traveled this craft village to learn about the Adinkra symbols and how their deep philosophical meanings relate to the Asante. At this craft village, black dye is made from the bark of a certain tree where the bark is soaked, crushed and boiled. The black dye is then stamped on to cloth and sold. Visitors are also free to choose their own cloth and stamps to make their own.