Baboons

Captions are below the pictures that follow.

Some weeks ago we were invited to a meeting that was being held away from the city on the shores of Lake Volta, one of the largest man made lakes in the world.  On the way we traveled through baboon country and came across two troops while driving,  In each case we stopped to feed, observe and photograph them.  It was so much fun.  This is the first time I have seen them in the wild.  At the first stop the troop virtually surrounded us.  They were on both our right and left hand sides, and one climbed up on top of the car!  This is a picture of one that was on our left, in the road, but if you look ahead of him there is the shadow of another.  That is the one that was on the roof of the car.



At each stop most of the troop remained on the right side, near the bush.  In both troops there was an alpha male that took the majority of the food we threw from the vehicle.  And in the case of the second troop, he took it all!  Those who ventured too close were quickly chased away.  In the first troop the alpha male shared a little, both with the lesser males, and with the females and even with the little ones.



Some of the rest of the troop.  The picture wasn't really good because they were in the shade, but who can blame them?  Of course, if one has time to make the proper adjustments one can get a good picture in the shade.  We had to take the pictures rather quickly, as you may imagine.  Sooo.  Notice the baby on his mama's back.  The smaller ones are usually hanging on underneath.



This female was running along with us as we drove away from the first troop and toward the second.  She was one of those who had a baby hanging on beneath.



One of the alpha males stuffing his face with bread we threw out of the car.  Baboons are formidable creatures with large canine teeth that could be used to do serious damage to a human, if they wanted to.  Some troops do not have an ongoing relationship with humans, others do.  The two we met clearly did.  Adventurous Sister Emfield got out of the vehicle and took most of the photos.



We looked for more baboons on the return trip to Accra, but saw only one emerging from the bush.  It was afternoon and we suspected that most were staying out of the tropical sun.  It is interesting to note that this one is a different color than the others, which makes me wonder if he belongs to a different troop.

Of course, we are not here to watch wildlife, but to do the work of the Lord.  But, we do enjoy the opportunities when we get them.

Elder Emfield

Glimpses of the Countryside

Well, it has been too long since either of us blogged.  We have been busy but we are back!

Today, let's take a little (small, small to use the Ghanaian expression) look at the countryside.  It can be different than the urban areas we are most familiar with.  Please note that descriptions are below the pictures they go with.

Certainly many things remain the same, but many do not.  I have never seen this in the city.  So, what is it?  Animal poop?  A twig?  How about a curled up leaf?  None of the above.  This is a well camouflaged caterpillar.  Effective concealment as not only did it keep predators from noticing him, it kept any of us from sitting or stepping on him.  It just looked like the kind of thing you wouldn't want to get on you.

While this picture isn't as clear as I would like it to be, if you look carefully enough you can see that this is a hotel with an interesting name.  Not sure that I would like to stay there, though.  (Buggie Hotel)

The place we did stay during this trip out of the city had its own wildlife, as captured in this photo.  One of the employees said that when the place was built the peacocks just moved in all on their own and have stayed ever since.  We quite enjoyed them.

They were quite at home and didn't seem particularly frightened by humans.  They would walk right up to doors, on to walkways, etc.

If you want to catch a cheap ride, these are available in towns outside of the urban areas.  You do not see these in Accra, for example.

You can see the traditional grass huts in the villages, but alongside concrete or mud-brick buildings.  The people normally live in the concrete block structures.  The grass huts and even mud-brick buildings seem to be more outbuildings rather than homes, now-a-days.

Here are more of the grass huts.  Notice the foliage.  It is so green and beautiful in much of the country.

Here is another, but notice the concrete block building behind it.  If you don't have air-conditioning, though, I expect sitting in such a traditional enclosure is much more comfortable than in the block structures - at least in certain parts of the day.

Not an uncommon sight.  The average family does not have a car and so what a practical way to deal with the family's transportation needs.  Carrying things on the head is common to both rural and urban areas in Africa.

Here is a scene that is close to the same almost anywhere in the world.  Moving the herd across the road.  This can be seen in places in Accra, but is more at home in a rural setting.  Notice the up raised hands of the herdsman.  He is waving hello.

Beautiful flowers grow from the trees and bushes.

Everyone said this looked like Pride Rock from the Lion King.  Unfortunately, there were no lions to be seen, perhaps fortunately depending on how you look at it.

This seemed like a classic scene along the banks of an African river, and so it is.  But, how different things look in the city.  That is something that is basically true around the world.

Elder Emfield

Making Beads

A few weeks ago, some of us went to TK Beads to see how they make the beads.  These beads are exported to other places in the world. But they do not come from a factory. Everything here is hand done.  They make two kinds of beads, hand painted and translucent.  The processes are similar but slightly different.  

All the beads are made from recycled glass.  They collect glass bottles in all colors.  The bottles are then sorted by color, washed and labels removed.  Many of the pictures and videos are quite dark because they work under a shaded canopy.  It doesn't make for good photography, but keeps the workers much cooler.

  

The glass is broken into pieces and then crushed into a fine powder with a mortar and pestle (see above). 

The next steps are for the hand painted beads.  A man cuts the stem of a plant and places it in the molds.  This makes the hole in the bead.  Another man places the glass powder into the molds over the stems.  The molds are then placed into a fiery furnace to bake for about an hour.  They are then taken out, cooled and pried from the molds as seen below.

After they have cooled, they are placed on something that looks like a shishkabob stick and painted.  Each color must dry completely before they add another color.  No one was painting while we were there.   

   

After the painting is complete, they are fired again in the kiln for another 30 minutes.  They are then cooled and the bead is complete.  

The process is almost the same for the translucent beads.  They do not not have to be crushed but can be broken into small pieces and then melted in the kiln.  The hole is placed in the beads after firing but before they are cool. The molds come in many sizes and shapes. 

After the beads are cooled, they have a white residue on them.  They are then washed with sand in an indentation of a rock.  At that point, they are complete. 

The beads are then sorted and strung.  Some are sold on location and many are exported throughout the world.  

These beads are quite heavy to wear.  They seem to have a special energy all their own because of all the labor that goes into them.  You can't do that in a factory.

And....just for fun...While we were there, this rooster made his presence known so I had to take a video of him.

The Kente Festival

Two village chiefs, and if I understood correctly heads of clans, performing a dance on litters side by side.  They are being held about six feet above the ground by their bearers.

We had the opportunity a while back to escape the city and visit a Kente Festival.  Kente is a traditional way of weaving cloth, and is beautiful.  There are numberless patterns with new ones added all the time.  It was explained to me that this particular kente festival was held by one tribe in honor of their defeat of another one that had been taking their people in war and selling them as slaves for years.  The festival has been held for the many years ever since, but now other tribes are invited to join them.  The festival is to center around the kente cloth, the selection and honoring of a master kente weaver, and many booths selling the material and other traditional crafts.  It includes so much more, though.  Traditional music, dancing, a beauty pageant, and more.  It was a cultural feast!

Some samples of the Kente cloth.

As you can see, it included acrobats.

Tribal royalty in traditional dress.

The inevitable hawkers selling wares carried on top of the head.

Tribal royalty with the staffs of office.

Tribal royalty greeting visitors.  We shook hands with a village/clan queen (at least that was the term everyone was using - I do not know how accurate it is) and her entourage along with other clan chiefs, etc.

There were many processions of royalty into the field where we were gathered on the edge of town.  As you can see, most wore traditional dress and many ceremonial items were carried in.

One of the chieftains being carried in.  They paused in front of us and shortly after this shot was taken he stood up and danced with his feet on the parapet surrounding the litter.  In this picture you can see the men who were carrying him, and holding him up as he danced.  The girl is official company on such occasions.  I was told she can be a servant or a relative.

Here he is dancing.  It was very impressive.

Not the best picture but here he is standing up on the parapet as the crowd cheers him on.  It was incredible!

Another chieftain dancing.  He was waving a sword.  His litter was also held up above the heads of his bearers.

Another litter being carried in.

The entry of more dignitaries.  All treated the visitors warmly.

The Queen of the Festival (on the right) and her court.

Participants in traditional dress.

I think it would be best to label these young ladies as festival staff.  They kept things working smoothly and made us feel welcome.

The traditional drummers performing with a young man dancing on the right.  His actions also struck me as traditional, but that is only supposition on my part.

The entire entourage of one of the villages seated in their place, playing their official role.

There were so many dignitaries in procession wearing differing traditional outfits.  Another example.

The outfits vary considerably.

This illustrates the enthusiasm with which visitors were received.

I am not sure what role these two women played but we found them interesting.

Traditional women's dance.

And we were very glad to see that the security forces were on hand to keep us safe.

All in all, it was educational and moving.  We were thrilled to be immersed in such a cultural experience.

Elder Emfield