This past weekend, a portion of my whole group went to see Kumasi, the second biggest city in Ghana. It was similar to Accra in many ways except that it seemed far busier, faster, and has the biggest open air market in West Africa (seriously, it was a giant maze). On saturday morning we went to the village where they pring Andinkra cloth, the Bonwire Kente Village, and Lake Bosumtwi. I'm absolutely obsessed with the Adinkra symbols although I just realized I haven't mentioned them yet, so I'll explain now: The Ashanti people are members, along with several other tribes, of the Akan ethnicity, which makes up a significant portion of Ghana's population. The Ashanti are a powerful tribe that counts itself among the few to actually provide effective resistance against colonialism. They are fierce warriors with a legendary stubborness to survive and live freely, one of their most renowned mottos being "kill 1000 and in the morning, 1000 more will come." However, they also have a beautiful and rich culture, including one of Ghana's most famous crafts - kente, but I'll get to that. Less known, but certainly not less beautiful, are the Adinkra symbols. Some of these symbols are part of the collection of Ghanaian indigenous symbols, which were found in pre-historic art painted on cave walls. Adinkra, in Asante Twi, means "Goodbye." They are called this, at least in part, because they are printed on cloth which you wear to funerals, in order to send messages to the deceased and the gods. Today, they are still used for this purpose, but they are also used in art, architecture, jewelry, and many other things. Each has a twi name which explains it's meaning. Here are a few examples of my favorites:
Sankofa - meaning Go back and take. In other words, remember and learn from your past.

Mate Masie - meaning What I hear, I keep. In other words, wisdom.

Nkyinkyim - meaning Twisting. In other words, versatility

Funtunfunefu-Denkyemfunefu - roughly meaning Siamese crocodiles share one stomach, yet they fight. This symbol is a reminder that infighting and tribalism is harmful to all who engage in it. It is the symbol of democracy and unity

At the village they showed us how they grind bark with a large mortar and pestle and then boil it to make the ink. Afterwards we got to make some strips of Adinkra fabric on our own by stamping fabric. It was a lot of fun.

Next we went to Bonwire, where kente fabric is woven. One of the weavers gave us a quick lesson on kente and then we walked around to watch various weavers and make some purchases of our own. Deece and Seann had very generously given me a wonderful gift for my birthday to be spent in Ghana and I had been saving it for this! After walking around the building several times, I kept coming back to this one weaver. I asked about a few different pieces but my eye kept falling on one I knew was going to be more expensive because the number of different designs. Out of curiousity, I asked him the price. With a sort of guilty face he replied "Oh...that one's more expensive; my grandfather gave it to me." Shocked I asked why he was selling it. He told me that his grandfather had woven it 60 years ago and had given it to him as a gift to sell for school fees. I asked about the different designs and he told me each other their meanings: many heads are better than one, all hands are not created the same (diversity), and tolerance. He told me that the combination of those three designs are called the "unity" cloth. He had basically already sold me on it with the story about his grandfather but now it was a done deal. I am now happily the owner of a 2 beautiful yards of kente cloth. Thanks Deece and Seann!!!!!

After that we went to Lake Bosumtwi, a lake caused by a meteor crash hundreds of years ago. It is a common getaway place for wealthier people living in Kumasi and it was beautiful. The next few entries will be pictures!