Ghana Tunz

Music and dance are dominant parts of Ghanaian culture. Any time people are gathered there is music playing. The music could be traditional drums, Gospel and Christian Choral, Reggae, Highlife, or Afro-Pop.
Just like in the US, it’s the Pop music (aka Hip-Life) that students tend to listen to and that you hear at “spots” (Ghanaian clubs).
If I had to make a soundtrack of my time in Ghana, based on the songs I hear most often, these five songs would make the list:
(after listening to each song, give your feedback in the poll on the left of this page)

“Yori Yori” by Bracket (Nigerian)

“Kiss Your Hand” by R2Bees (Ghanaian – From Tema, in fact)

“Swagger” by Ruff-n-Smooth (Ghanaian)

“Babe (Baby)” by Sarkodie (Ghanaian)

“Simple” by Bradez (Nigerian)

Funeral Day (preview)

Last weekend I attended Funeral Day with a colleague, Gyimah, at his hometown of Twenedurase. I’m still in the process of editing all the video and pictures – I took 7 GB worth – and once I do, I’ll post many of them to my shutterfly site and tell stories of my time right here on the blog.

In the meantime, here are some images of the experience:

 

The street (yes, there’s only one) of Twenedurase lined with funeral-goers.

 

 

Palm fruit and palm oil is grown and sold across this region

 

 

This structure was built in 1931. The tropical climate causes exposed stone and wood to age very quickly.

 

 

The town’s chief (third from the right, in the front row, sitting under the umbrella) presides over the funeral activities and is greeted by each of the visitors.

 

 

A picture of one of the deceased sits before a box accepting donations to the family

 

The man holding the golden-topped staff is the chief’s linguist. In formal interactions, the chief does not speak directly to a tribal member, nor does the tribesman speak directly to the chief. They speak through the linguist. The gold statue atop the staff shows two people sharing a bowl of food, symbolic of friendship.

 

 

   Members of Gyimah’s family.

 

  We stopped in a nearby town to visit a shrine to a cherished missionary. While waiting for the chief to greet us we made friends with this woman (who was washing dishes) and her nieces (the one in the foreground was playing with what looked like a leather or string thong tied to a small rock at the end. Once or twice, she struck her sister who was working hard washing clothes. Her sister cried out in pain, but never yelled or struck back).

Washing in the customary fashion after my meal of yams and fish stew.

Funeral Day

Saturday I will be hitting the road with Chris Gyimah, a math teacher. We are headed to his village located in the Eastern Region of Ghana. It’s also in Ghana’s “high country” so Gyimah promises me it’s going to be cooler there.

Why are we going? It’s funeral day in his village. Apparently it’s common in rural places to have designated funeral days every so many weeks. He says “when there are enough dead bodies” they have a funeral day. This saves people the hassle of having to travel to the village too frequently to attend funerals. He says with a chuckle, they just “keep them on ice for some time.”

I’ll take plenty of pictures and video and share them when I return on Sunday.

The Stimulus Worked

In non-partisan economic circles there’s very little debate that the federal stimulus passed last year had a positive effect on the economy.

Where Obama and Co. got themselves into hot water was their underestimation, at the time the stimulus bill was being promoted, of the recession’s severity. Had the administration correctly forecasted potential unemployment the public would have a greater appreciation for how well the stimulus worked.

If you prefer to listen to someone explain why the stimulus worked, here’s economist Mark Zandi from Moody’s Economy.com

By the way, I have not encountered any Ghanaians who are aware of the US recession. And quite frankly, while I know it has devastated millions of American families, I have a difficult time remembering that when I’m faced each day with the struggles of the average Ghanaian: Like students who do not return to school for the term because their family can not afford the boarding and tuition fees (less than $200); Women who sleep in the open air on benches along the market streets so they can be next to their “store” (essentially a 4-foot tall wooden box, sometimes with an umbrella above it) incase someone wishes to make a purchase; Young men who are on the streets at dawn pulling large carts of coconuts to the spot along the road where they will sell them all day long, hacking the top open with a machete and handing them to passing motorists for 30 cents each; And children of all ages darting between cars at busy intersections and highway on and off-ramps selling gum, water, and candy from platters or bowls placed confidently atop their head, each sale clearing a profit of perhaps 3 to 5 cents.

Yes, the recession in the US has been severe, but life here is much, much different. 

Ghana 2010-02-19

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