Kumasi

Hello friends,

Two weekends ago Sara and I went to Kumasi. Kumasi is five hour drive north of Takoradi and is the second largest city in Ghana, next to Accra, the capital. The drive was mostly jungle, which I enjoyed. I love that about Ghana. We had read that there was a lot of great shopping, artists, and workshops in the city and were going to do the bulk of our souvenir, art, and craft shopping. Sara and I admittedly have a fabric addiction and are in love with Ghanaian handy crafts. Upon our arrival we embarked to the Kejetia Market, which is the biggest market in West Africa, and I would argue it’s probably the most hectic as well!  The Wikipedia article says it has 10,000 stalls.

When Sara and I first entered the market we got caught in the shoes. The market is organized much like the Souks in Morocco. All of the shoes are together, all of the spices, all of the textiles, etc. The trick is not getting lost in the maze and wind up walking in circle around shoes. That said, getting lost and wandering with no idea of your footing is half the fun. The meat section is a little frightening. Women squat selling fish, fish, and more fish.  Fish are sold in the same manner in Takoradi, and I find it strangely beautiful. I’ll try to take photos at Market in Takoradi one day. In Kejetia, occasionally some goat legs will pass your face as someone scurries off with their goods, or other mysterious piles of meat. The aisles between the market vendors are slim, maybe room for one car to squeeze through, but not easily. So if someone has a cart or a wagon to deliver that days vegetables or meat, everyone is crammed to the sides. Most locals seemed to be used to the chaos, and kept their footing well, but it seems that Sara and I were losing each other, slipping around, and focused not to step into a bucket of fish. In other sections, like the shoes, there is only room for people to walk single file between the stalls. If you’re lucky you’ll come across my two favourite parts of the market that I saw: spices and fabric! The smell of the raw ginger mixed with the nearby vegetables is amazing. Sara and I spent an hour or more dodging in and out of fabric stalls, comparing colour and patterns and talking about design ideas. I fell in love with the many kente cloths, a traditional African cloth, and purchased a few to bring to my seamstress.

When we finally found our way out of the market, we headed towards the cultural centre, where many artists- painters, sculpturers, and more sell their artwork and souvenirs. The cultural centre also provides workshops. One of the most common things to find, other than the typical elephant and giraffe wood carvings (which annoys me because there are no giraffes in Ghana!), is a game called Ouwarye. Ouwarye is a lot like mandala and usually comes in a wooden box that folds in two, beautifully carved. You can also get large non-folding ones in the shapes of alligators. I wish I had room for one in my luggage, because a big wooden alligator with Ouwarye carved in would be the perfect centre piece for a room. 

Alligator Ouwarye

Sara and I spent most of our time at the cultural centre chatting up painters. I fell in love with two paintings and made myself choose one. I am really happy with the one I chose. It is a striking painting of a boy with a bowl on his head. Boys, girls, and women like this are seen on roads and at trotro stations, absolutely everywhere, selling everything and anything. Typically, in the type of bowl in my painting, boys and girls would sell water sachets. The boy is amongst a colourful background inset with squares, and his facial features and eyes are striking. From the second I saw it I was mesmerized. I cannot wait to frame it and hang it in my new apartment in Canada. Sara also bought a spectacular one of a woman dancing, with the brushstrokes making her movement in this big circle on a lime green background. I loved meeting artists, seeing different types of Ghanaian artwork, and just the artist atmosphere.

The artist with my painting

That evening Sara and I met some interesting people at our hostel, a backpacker’s sort of place, as is all of the places we stay at. We meet a lot of volunteers, people working, travellers, all with interesting stories. We met a British man named Simon who has been to basically every African country. He’s made a career out of seeing the world, and enlightened us with his opinions on African politics and culture. I could have talked to him all night. I find people like that so inspiring.

The next day Sara and I decided to do something with our morning before heading back to Takoradi and went to see a sword that is stuck in the ground and cannot be removed. It was discovered in the 50s when they built a hospital on the property it was on. Every time they tried to remove it with machinery, it disappeared. Even Mohammed Ali came to try to pull it out, but it won't budge. Now it's a part of Ashanti legend... if it is removed, the Ashanti kingdom will fall apart. The sword was housed in a small building where a guide told us all about Ashanti legends.

In all, it was a shopaholically refreshing weekend. 

Keep smiling! :) 

Caro