Adekyem Festival

"Cultures grow on the vine of tradition.” -- Jonah Goldberg

Adekyem Festival in Bechem, Ghana. Start time on program = 10am. Actual start time = 1pm. Welcome to African time, as they call it here. I’ve been told repeatedly that Africans do not respond to time. Clearly. And that may be part of the problem here folks, but that is another tale for another day. This is a festival to honor the history of this traditional area, which includes the towns of Bechem, Dwomo, Terchire, and Tanoso, which were used by the king to protect the Golden stool of the Asante Kingdom in times of war, especially against attacks from the North..

Adekyem became known as Bechem when over the years the name was mispronounced time after time.

In the past, during the Asante wars, hunters would bring their “booty” a.k.a. dead animals, to Bechem to share with people. Bechem literally means “sharing”. The celebration of this festival brings to memory the historic importance of Bechem and is a time for citizens, chiefs, and important dignitaries to come together.

The chiefs of local tribes and their entourages. When these groups entered, they passed by each tent and greeted all of the people at the festival.

The highlights of the festival were the Chief of Bechem, followed by the Queenmother, and the King of the Ashante Kingdom though he isn't visible within the large crowd surrounding him in this picture). The former two are hoisted above their respective entourages and carried throughout the festival. Chiefs rule within a democracy and rule in accordance with the will of the people. A chief is chosen from the local royal family of that area, and is not necessarily always the eldest son of the previous chief. The Queenmother is there to ensure that the chief doesn’t overstep his boundaries.

Each chief has his own official stool which is symbolic of the ancestral power he inherited. His duties historically have included political head, religious head, judge, war leader, and advisor. However, with national politics coming forth with independence from colonial rule, the power of chiefs has somewhat lessened.

However, they are still influential in local affairs and even the president will respect a chief. Chiefs continue to remain the rightful owners of their ancestral land. At this festival, I was lucky enough to be able to witness all the pomp and circumstance that surrounds chiefs. They are held in very high esteem and are greatly celebrated. It was an enriching day indeed.

Joy and Pain

“Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books written in a foreign language. Do not now look for the answers. They cannot now be given to you because you could not live them. It is a question of experiencing everything. At present you need to live the question. Perhaps you will gradually, without even noticing it, find yourself experiencing the answer, some distant day” – Rainer Maria Rilke

Care package arrival makes for a wonderful day. Pepperoni, nacho cheese, crackers, sausage, oreos, ramen noodles, twizzlers, peanut butter, oatmeal, fiber bars, and more! Every delicious overly processed American snack you can imagine, which is exactly what my bad attitude needs. Yes, I know, Ghana is loaded with delicious fresh fruits and vegetables. And you know what, I will eat those with pleasure, but I will also gladly indulge in terribly unhealthy snacks for the pure simple joy it brings in helping connect me to my American life.

I absolutely understand the purpose of solitary confinement. The presence of people is like a soothing remedy to an ailing body. Loneliness is a darkness that slowly creeps up and then, bam, just like that, you’re down for the count. I am living on a college campus surrounded by hundreds of people, but I have never felt more alone in my life. Each day I eat my breakfast and lunch in the staff room. Generally, it is ten to fifteen men and me. The only English I hear is directed at me and it consists of, “Good morning Abena. How are you?” The end. The women are off in their bungalows or have left campus to be with their husbands and children. I know it doesn’t matter to wish, but I really envy my fellow teaching friends who are living with other volunteers. At this point in my life, I know myself better than ever. However, this new experience is teaching me how much I need people. Interactions with people. Conversations with people. Physical contact with people. Yes, there are people here, but interactions and conversations are very minimal, and the physical contact is obviously not anywhere on the agenda at this point. “But Amy, you lived alone in Chicago.” What you are all thinking I’m sure. In Chicago though, on any given day at any given time, I could connect with people: Starbucks, dog beach, bookstores, restaurants, movie theaters, stores and the list goes on. All places that I will gladly venture to on my own. But alone in Ghana is a whole new ball game and one I fear I am losing terribly. But, on a more joyous note, two weeks until a journey to Accra to visit some friends. I am counting down the days!

I went to Sunyani today, and am certain that I was scammed. A friend of a friend accompanied me to a lawyer, because I needed a document notarized. Here in Ghana, lawyers also serve as notary publics. This friend of a friend had one lawyer in mind, but that particular individual was out of town. Therefore, we were directed to a different man. Upon entering his office, he informed me that a photograph would be taken of me witnessing him signing the document to ensure that it is considered legit and no one can say that anyone but him did indeed sign the document. Fine, though I explained that I didn’t need a photo, he insisted. Several minutes later, he then asked me how much I was going to pay him. Well, I responded by asking how much the cost of this service was. He laughed and laughed and went on to ask how much I would give him. I said I did not know what was considered appropriate in this situation (which now looking back, I should have done more research), because in America banking institutions provided this service free of charge. He laughed and laughed again and asked me how much money I had with me. At this point, I was getting very frustrated and upset because I just had no idea what to do or say and I was so worried about saying the wrong thing and offending anyone. Obviously, I’m still trying to figure out what is culturally acceptable and what is not, and I didn’t want to say some ridiculous amount and have this guy refuse to provide the damn signature. I needed this man’s signature and stamp, and he knew it, so he was taking advantage of my ignorance, and I believe, white skin. My annoyance led me to tell him that I did not find this situation at all amusing and would he please just tell me how much it costs. Again, he asked how much money I had. I told him an amount of money that was actually much less than what I really had, but it was still plenty. (Again looking back, I should have given an even lower figure). He gave his ridiculously high price of 100GHC, which is about $60. I handed over the money, and he gave 20GHC back to me. Oh gee, thanks ***hole. Needless to say, I walked out shocked and disturbed and really pissed off. I just really thought the whole thing was rather rude. I had no idea I would have to negotiate for such a service. Call me crazy, but I figured a lawyer would have pre-determined fees for specific services. If not, fine, but I'm absolutely certain that laughing at me and bullying me into payment wasn't necessary or part of this guy's job description. The woman who escorted me was even surprised by this whole thing. She believed it would be free of charge, or at least a much lower price, and she later apologized to my friend for this situation and the lawyer’s attitude towards me. The fun continued when twenty minutes later I waited in line for one hour at the bank to withdraw money because I do not yet have an ATM card, and then walked down the street to FedEx where I spent $40 to send three pieces of paper to my parents. Sigh….yay Ghana (note sarcasm) L

I'm Shocked

“The real voyage of discovery is not in discovering new lands, but in seeing with new eyes.” -- Marcel Proust

I’m currently reading The Poisonwood Bible. Though this book takes place in the Congo, this excerpt is very telling of the situation I see in Ghana:

“Since friends of my own age and gender were not available, the girls of Kilanga all being too busy hauling firewood, water, or babies. It did cross my mind to wonder why Pascal had the freedom to play and roam that his sisters didn’t. While the little boys ran around pretending to shoot each other and fall dead in the road, it appeared that little girls were running the country.”

I miss the company of women. The majority of my socializing here has been with men, which seems to be getting tricky. You would think that as a young, single woman, I would love the attention and company of men. Well, it’s not that simple. Sure, it’s nice to have made some friends, but it’s getting complicated and I fear that some of these men may be getting the wrong idea and their feelings may be developing beyond friendship. Unfortunately, I don’t have many other options for people to talk to besides these guys I see in the staff room. The female staff members are very rarely in the staff room or seen anywhere around campus. They are often at home cooking or cleaning, or traveling to see their families that do not live with them here on campus. So it’s either hole up alone in my room or talk to some dudes. I’m just going to have to lay down the law and firmly articulate some clear boundaries. My fellow teacher friends from America here in Africa are far far away and getting to any of them is quite a journey, so unfortunately, the option of visiting them is only feasible occasionally.

Leisure activities are essentially non-existent in many people’s lives it seems. Instead, life revolves around basic requirements for survival. Of course I am perfectly capable of cleaning and cooking, and I will do what I need to get by. But there is so much more to me than just my housekeeping abilities. My roommate is female, yes, but her husband is here as well, and her attention is devoted to cooking for him each evening. This way of life is so deeply engrained in these women’s minds. Saturday morning several female students showed up at my house to clean the entire place, wash my clothes, and then prepare me lunch at my roommate’s request, and this happens every week. Very few read for pleasure or enjoy hobbies of any sort or simply enjoy the company of friends with a glass of wine. Men do this, yes, but women are too busy “running the country “ like was stated in the book. As a very dynamic individual, I am finding it very stifling to be living in such a static world.

I keep looking up “culture shock” and “homesickness” online to validate that I am not crazy or a complete crybaby. According to the internet and hundreds of other world explorers, I’m neither of those things, and supposedly in a month or so I will feel better. I’m just in this really horrible place right now in my mind. I keep longing to not be here. Every day I’m thinking about my friends and family in other places and feeling an actual physical ache. This is the sort of thing I’ve been dreaming of doing for years and now that I have it, I don’t know if I want it :/ I just want to sleep….