Kumasi Trip

Our program went up to Kumasi this weekend(sorry for the belated post). While we were up there, we saw an adinkra work shop, a kente work shop, swam at a crater lake and had fun at a pool. It was a while ago and most of the stories are mixed in with the photos that I took, so, I will largely be glossing over the details on this blog post.

Kumasi is the cultural capitol of Ghana. It is home to the Ashanti people. They are Ghana's largest ethnic group and live in the center of the country. Their language, Twi, is the most widespread language in the country. This is significant because it is more popular then English, dispute English being the country's official language. There has long been a debate about changing the national language to fit the reality on the ground. Some argue that Twi will boost national unity, because nearly everyone already speaks it and it would thus be an easy transition for the country to make. Opponents say that switching to Twi will give preference to the Ashanti people at the xpense of the rest of the tribes. Those who want to keep English argue that it is an internationally recognized language spoken through out the world and will give Ghana a step up when it comes to international issues, plus, due to its foreign origins, it would have no affect on intertribal relations. Opponents of English point out that nations develop fastest when their people are able to be educated in their mother tongues. Hardly anyone speaks English in their homes... Twi is by far more popular and its popularity would only increase if it became the national language.

Another interesting thing about the Ashanti is the power they held during the pre-colonial era. Ashanti were the dominant group. They were the only tribe that was able to challenge the European powers and went to war defending their lands. Those wars lasted many decades and because the British were never truly able to suppress them, the Ashanti kingdom marked the norhtern limit of their colony. So when someone goes farther up to a city like Tamale, they will see very little European influence.

The Ashanti were also the domestic group that benefited most from the transatlantic slave trade. Due to their dominance, they forced many of the other tribes to pay them tribute. Those tributes often came in in the form of slaves. And since the Ashanti could only use so many slaves, they sold the rest to Europeans and profited handsomely. In the process they destroyed what would later become the Northern and Southern portion of their country. Either way, Kumasi and the surrounding region is very wealthy. Their king layers himself in gold any time he goes out. His jewels are quite heavy, luckily he conserves energy by being carried everywhere he goes.

We went to the King palace and took a tour of a museum devoted to the history behind the kingdom.

We also went to a few workshops that made local crafts. I took a lot of pictures so check those out.