What Up USA

Hello there to all of our friends,

Our last two days in Kumasi have left us a little drained but have nonetheless been very exciting. Yesterday was our day of tourism around the city. We first visited the cultural center of Kumasi, which included a small museum and market. This market experience was fortunately much smoother than the first, not only was the group hassled less but we were all more confident in our bargaining skills this time around. Common items sold at the market included carvings, jewelry, metal work, and your standard Obama basketball jerseys.

The next place we visited was the museum of Ashanti heritage, where we were introduced to the traditions and lineages of the region's rulers. The nobility of the Ashanti is inherited through matrilineal ties, so the King rules with the Queen mother who is not his wife but rather his mother, sister, aunt, or cousin. When a new king is appointed it is done so by the Queen mother who selects him from a male relative on her side of the family. Though the King can marry and have many children none of them will be able to inherit the stool (throne). Though the group now has a much clearer knowledge of the customary rulings of the Ashanti, many were more impressed by the large number of peacocks roaming outside the museum. There may have been word of capturing these beautiful creatures as gifts, but to the group's dismay and your relief we were thwarted before the plan was carried into action.

So anyways the next adventure included a cloth stamping instruction called Adinkra. The group walked into the gates of the Adinkra village and was immediately flooded with excitement and of course a few hagglers. We were all able to pick out a strip of cloth and our own selection of stamps to mark with black ink. The cloth was called Kente cloth, which is still weaved by hand on looms in the village. Once the cloth is made, stamps are picked out coordinating meanings. Some of the symbols included messages of harmony, sacrifice, strength, faithfulness, and power. There was also a large selection of pre-made Adinkra to purchase including the typical Ghanaian Obama embroidered Kente strip with American flag accents. Meanwhile while the majority of the group was casually browsing cloth samples, Professor Asibu was kindly explaining to a young Ghanaian boy that Reyna was not available for marriage or purchase at the present time.

After the Adinkra, the group continued onto a traditional Kente village, which focused most of their efforts on the weaving process and then its sale. We saw large groups of looms manned by young males very skilled in the art of Kente weaving. Some of the group was able to try their hand at the rather complex art. We were told that the boys learn how to weave around the ages of 10-12. The reason that girls are not taught is because they are unable to weave pregnant, and they fear that it will hurt the babies. While at this village, the group met a young man from Georgia who was assigned by the Peace Corps to help the village with tourists. Good news for Jeremy is that despite his three years in Africa is that he is still able to finely groom his goatee.

The last adventure of the day was the group's visit to a carving village near by. To be perfectly honest the group was pretty tired at this point so it was somewhat overwhelming. Do not fear however because Andrew Swain was able to buy 40 cedi worth of lion carvings...thank goodness for that.

So looks like we have to leave for the hostel...will update you soon. Hope all is well in the land of cheese cubes and cereal.

Peace Out,
Marge and Justine