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Adinkra Stamping in Ntonso

Angela — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 16:01:11 +0000

Adinkra are visual symbols, originally created by the Akan of Ghana and the Gyaman of Cote d’Ivoire in West Africa, that represent concepts or aphorisms. Adinkra are used on fabric, walls, in pottery, woodcarvings and logos. Fabric adinkra are often made by woodcut sign writing as well as screen printing. They also can be used to communicate evocative messages that represent parts of their life or those around them.

In the Ashanti Craft Village of Ntonso, just a short drive north of Kumasi, Adinkra cloth is hand made. The traditional method of creating Adinkra cloth is by mashing the bark of Bedia trees (transported from North Ghana), boiling and reducing several times until it becomes a pitch-like black dye. Wooden stamps are carved from calabash gourds in the shape of the Adinkra symbols. These stamps are then dipped into the die and rocked onto fabric to create unique and beautiful patterns. Strips of kente cloth may be sewn between strips of Adinkra cloth to create a colorful and dramatic piece.

Adinkra Stamping in Ntonso

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University of Ghana

Angela — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 04:05:20 +0000

The University of Ghana is the oldest and largest of the seven Ghanaian public universities.It is the most prestigious university in Ghana. It was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast, and was originally an affiliate college of the University of London, which supervised its academic programmes and awarded degrees. It gained full university status in 1961, and now has nearly 34,000 students.

The original emphasis was on the liberal arts, social sciences, basic science, agriculture, and medicine, but (partly as the result of a national educational reform programme) the curriculum was expanded to provide more technology-based and vocational courses and postgraduate training.

The University is mainly based at Legon, about twelve kilometres north-east of the centre of Accra.It has its medical school at Korle-bu teaching hospital and also another campus in the city of Accra know as the accra city campus.

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Kumasi

Angela — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 21:04:08 +0000

Kumasi is a city in southern central Ghana. It is located near the Lake Bosomtwe, in the Rain Forest Region about 250 km (by road) northwest of Accra. Kumasi is approximately 300 miles north of the Equator and 100 miles north of the Gulf of Guinea. It is popularly known as “The Garden City” or “heart beat” of Ghana because of its many beautiful species of flowers and plants.

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Krobo Odumase Glass Bead Village

Angela — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 20:51:43 +0000

Odumase Krobo is a town in the Central Region of Ghana known for its glass beads. The open air market features food and household products as well as dozens of tables of beautiful beads. For those who love beads, the experience is like being a kid in a candy store.

Click here for wonderful travel blog discussing the bead making process.

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Bonwire Kente Weaving Village

Angela — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 20:00:09 +0000

“Kente cloth” is a royal and sacred cloth worn only in times of extreme importance. Kente was the cloth of kings. Over time, the use of kente became more widespread, however its importance has remained and it is held in high esteem in the Akan family and the entire country of Ghana. In Ghana, kente is made by the Akan people (including the Asante, Fante and Nzema). Kente is also produced by Akan groups in Cote d’Ivoire, like the Baoule and Anyin, who trace their ancestry back to Ghana before the rise of the Ashanti Empire. It is the best known of all African textiles. Kente comes from the word kenten, which means “basket.” The Asante peoples refer to kente as Nwentoma or “woven cloth”.

The icon of African cultural heritage around the world, Asante kente is identified by its dazzling, multicolored patterns of bright colors, geometric shapes and bold designs. Kente characterized by weft designs woven into every available block of plain weave is called adweneasa. The Asante peoples of Ghana choose kente cloths as much for their names as their colors and patterns. Although the cloths are identified primarily by the patterns found in the lengthwise (warp) threads, there is often little correlation between appearance and name. Names are derived from several sources, including proverbs, historical events, important chiefs, queen mothers, and plants.

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Cape Coast Castle

Angela — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 19:24:50 +0000

Cape Coast Castle is a fortification that was first built of timber in 1653 along the Gulf of Guinea in Ghana, West Africa. The Castle was built for the trade in timber and gold, but later it was used in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The Castle, or Castle and Dungeon, to give it its official name, was restored by the Ghanaian Goverment after Ghana became independent. Visitors to the castle learn about the history of the castle, the slave trade along the gold coast and the history of the castle’s use as a slave dungeon. Cultural groups perform reguarly in the castle courtyard traditional drumming and dancing.

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Aburi Botanic Gardens

Angela — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 19:04:24 +0000

The Aburi Botanic Garden is one of the most beautiful peaceful and fascinating places in Ghana. The Garden covers an area of 64.8 hectares (160 acres) but only 12.2 hectares (3 acres) have been developed in to a formal garden with the remaining 52.6 hectares forming the Botanical reserve. Aburi is located in the cooler mountains north of Accra (about 45 minute drive). Visiting the gardens is both an educational and aesthetic experience, with beautiful palm lined lanes and a wide variety of traditional, medicinal plants, including a silk cotten tree (Ceiba pentrandra) that is the sole survivor of the original forest that once covered the Aburi hills. This species is one of the largest trees in West Africa, growing to 48m or more, with a girth up to 5-7m above the buttresses. This is one of the sacred trees of West Africa.

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Kakum National Park Canopy Walk

Angela — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 05:13:23 +0000

Kakum National Park is one of the best known national parks in Ghana; it is in the southern part of Ghana, in what is known as the Central Region. The Park was first established in 1990 from an area of 350 square kilometers to the north of Cape Coast and Elmina near the small town of Abrafo. The entire area is covered with tropical rainforest.

Kakum National Park has a unique tourist attraction: the only year-round tour over a hanging bridge in the forest canopy level in all of Africa. Beside Kakum there are only four other round tours of this type. From the so-called Canopy Walkway, at up to 40 meters height, the visitor can approach the plants and animals in their living space which would otherwise be inaccessible for people. The Canopy Walkway passes over 7 bridges and runs over a length of 330 meters.

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Scenes from Accra

Angela — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 04:51:38 +0000

Accra is the capital, and most populous city of Ghana, a nation on the coast of the western region of Africa. The city also doubles as the capital of the Greater Accra Region, and of the Accra Metropolis District with which it is coterminous^[1]. It is the administrative, communications, and economic center of the country. Over 70% of Ghana’s manufacturing capacity is located within this region district. ^[2] Accra has been Ghana’s capital since 1877, and contains public buildings reflecting its transition from a 19th century suburb of Victoriasborg to the modern metropolis it is today.

Among the attractions of Accra are the National Museum, with a display of exhibits that reflect the heritage of Ghana from prehistoric times to modern times, the National Theatre with its distinct modern architecture, Independence Square, the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, the Accra International Conference Centre, the fishing port at Jamestown and Makola Market.

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