Pictures

I took a few photos during the trip, and now that I'm back in London it is easier to upload them here on the blog. Click on any picture to see a bigger version.

One of the first things we did when we got to ghana was stop for a drink at the Redemption Bar, close to uncle Georges house. We saw it last time we went to Ghana but we didn't go there even though we really liked the name. Names of businesses often have a religious name like "By god's grace hairdressers" or "The good shepard fruniture makers" (more examples can be found here) but "Redemption Bar" is a clear favourite of ours.
Mrs, uncle Kojo, uncle George, Kofi and Martin can be seen redeeming themselves below.





We also had the oportunity to taste auntie Joyce's magnificent cooking again.


This is the mountains as seen when going up to Kwahu. Since I was not sure about if taking pictures at or around the funeral would be seen as rude I have no pictures from there really except for the one of Martin and Banko below. I know others did take some pictures though, so hopefully I can get hold of some, at least one showing me in my black cloth!



After Kwahu we went to Kumasi. We met up with Auntie Regina. We went there together with auntie Baby (shown outside the car and the group picture below) and her brother (sorry uncle I forgot your name, please let me know and I'll update the text) who kindly posed with his family in the group picture.




When back in Tema we had the opportunity to go and chill out at Ave Maria, a spa built in Kwame Nkrumah's days where he hosted dignitaries such as the Queen back in the day... We swam in the pool and had some drinks.



Going to Ghana this time I knew it would be a trip centered around family activity, and d not expect much sightseeing to happen. However, I had decided to go see Cape Coast Castle, a place I regretted not visiting last time. Cape Coast Castle was one of the biggest forts along the Ghanaian coast gradually built by colonizing forces over a long time. Although it started out as a trading base for all sorts of goods, it is most famous for the role it played in the slave trade. The castle has been transformed to a museum and we went there to visit the exhibition and go on a guided tour of the dungeons. It is sad history indeed and very much worth a visit. Next time I go to Ghana I want to visit a similar location in Elmina, not far from Cape Coast.





I'll finish of the photos with some advice found outside a pharmacy in Kumasi.

The funeral - part 2

After the service in church grandma was buried in the cemetary next to the church. The cemetary differed from the ones I have seen before in that it was located in the forest, and was not laid out with paths and grass. Someone explained to me that people are buried in the wilderness, and not close to where people go in their daily life, in order to avoid encounters with ghosts. A pineapple was growing next to grandma's grave and I felt comforted that if she decided to come back as a ghost at least she would have something to eat.

We then continued to the funeral site. All three funerals shared the same park and chairs were available for all the guests. Since ghanaian funerals tend to be very expensive it is common practice for all visitors to donate towards the cost. It is customary for the guests to,starting from the right, shake the hands of all the people sitting in the front row and wave to the people sitting behind, before finding their seats. I don't know how many people attended the funeral, but there were hundreds of people so there was a lot of shaking and waving going on.

Since arriving in Ghana we had been wearing black clothes to express our mourning, and on the day of the funeral we all wore clothes made from the same very beautiful black cloth. Mrs' older brother and I wore the traditional attire of a cloth that you wrap around your body, as did the uncles. The women wore skirt and top and the youngermen wore shirts and black trousers. The day after the funeral we wore a white cloth with black print. I am uncertain of the specific meaning of the change in cloth, but it has to do with that the burial hade taken place and that the funeral was over. We attended church again for a 4 hour (!!) service with no less than three rounds of donations for church refurbishments, and then a second stay at the funeral site. At the funeral site we danced a traditional Ashanti dance called Adowa (which we had practiced in advance in London), also to express our sadness and that we missed grandma.

This ends my brief summary of the funeral. I know I keep promising pictures, but it will have to wait until I'm back in London... :(

Brief summary of the funeral - Part 1

A Ghanaian funeral is very special, and I will try to summarize the funeral we went to as I experienced it.

On Friday the 25th we got up early to go to Kwahu for the funeral that was taking place during the weekend. A van had been rented for the trip which lasted roughly 3.5 hours. For the occasion a hotel had been rented to accomodate relatives travelling far, and we moved into our rooms.

Grandma's body arrived in the evening in a black car with sounding sirens and lights. At least two other funerals also took place in Kwahu on the same weekend, and arrived in a similar fashion. There was much crying and the mood was very sad indeed.

The body was laid in state and from 4.30 AM until 9.30 AM on the Saturday and people were invited to come and see Grandma for the last time and say their farewells. A ceremony was also held where speeches were made and we sang hymns in Twi.

The viewing of the body was followed by a service in the presbyterian church grandma used to attend when in Kwahu.

Sorry, running out of Internet time... Write more soon... Maybe even pictures!

The return

On April the 22nd 2008, Mats and Mrs returned to Ghana. This time with a sadder mission, to attend Mrs' grandma's funeral.

So far we haven't done much but adapt to the warm weather, meet relatives, have cold showers, sleep and eat.

Tried to upload some pictures, but it doesn't work... I'll try again later...

Aftermath

I've been back in Sweden for a little more than 3 weeks now, and Mrs is in London. It's surprising how quickly one readapts to known environments. I'm applying for jobs in London, but so far no luck... So I spend my time doing typically swedish summer stuff instead like sailing...

However, my trip to Ghana has left me far from unaffected. Tonight me and my dad prepared a nice fufu dinner. He made fufu from the fufu powder I bought him, and I made an improvised groundnut soup using a recipe from the Internet and my vivid imagination. It actually tasted quite similar to how I remember it tasting when we ate fufu in Ghana. Here's a picture of my food, halfways through the meal.

This picture shows my dad, eating his fufu with his right hand as tradition dictates...

My mum cheated by using a spoon, which she cleverly hid behind her hand in this picture.

Finally, my mum wants to send her gratitude to Autie Joyce who sewed two lovely dresses for her. Mum is wearing one of them in this picture.

Picture time!

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks of our stay...
I went on a long walk together with uncle Kofi Osei's son Ellis. He took me to se the independence square, and we took nice pictures... which we soon had to erase! "Photography prohibited", informed the armed guard who caught us. After I had erased the pictures from the camera we went to the Kwame Nkrumah mausoleum, where one of Ghana's first president, the independence fighter Kwame Nkrumah is buried. (Click here to read more about him...) The memorial park surrounding the mausoleum also contains a museum, displaying many pictures, and some of Nkrumah's belongings. This picture shows his grave.
This is the mausoleum from a distance, with Nkrumah's statue in front of it.
Following are some pictures of the people we met during our stay...
This is Brenda. She works for the government, and is an excellent cook!

Familiar face? Uncle Kofi Osei's mother, also known as Mrs' grandma's sister in Kwahu, came visiting for a couple of weeks!
This is Ama, who will start Senior Secondary School this Autumn.
Here are Mrs and Theodora, who is currently visiting in London. This picture was taken in Ghana last week, before she left.
This is auntie Mina, uncle Joe's wife.
Me and Mrs snuck in on this family picture of uncle Joe's family. Missing in the picture is Richmond who attended boarding school and was not at home...

The dynamic drumming duo...

After spending an afternoon at the arts and crafts centre, bargaining, we are now proud owners of one djembe drum and one kpanlogo drum.We even managed to bargain a drumming lesson into the price! The djembe is a drum played with the hands that is common throughout west Africa, while the kpanlogo originates from Ghana and is played with hands or sticks.

Pictures of the two beautiful drums (and possibly the two beautiful performers too) will shortly appear on the blog, together with our other latest pictures. However, since the trip is coming to it's end (leaving 31 May...) we probably will wait and upload them from London where the procedure will be faster. Please be patient...