Ghana, Torgorme Village

Our last day in Ghana, we visited a traditional rural village.   Barry was the "trip liaison" or the person responsible to make sure that all 41 of the folks who were signed up for the trip actually got on the bus and returned from the village to the ship.  He was also to deal with any issues or problems that arose in consultation with the guide provided by the tour company that Semester at Sea was working with in Ghana.

There had been two previous groups who had visited the village. One a day-trip like our own and another that had stayed overnight in the village.    The Huey's from Wintergreen had been on the previous day trip and they grabbed us in the dining hall the night before our trip to give us some advice.  The most significant thing they told us that their group had stopped to buy bread along the way to offer as a gift in the village and that it had been greatly appreciated.  As a result, we collected about 75 cedi from the people on the bus and stopped at a stand along the road where we purchased 35-40 loaves of bread to add to the school supplies, shoes, and toothbrushes we already had to offer us gifts.  Believe me, it was all appreciated!

Our trip took about an hour and a half.  We traveled north for the first time into rural areas.  Along the way we saw a number of things we had not seen before, including mountains and lots of cattle grazing (observed by "herdsman" because there were no fences).   We also passed a game reserve where sometimes passersby see baboons looking for water, but we weren't so lucky.

  

To get to Torgorme we had to cross a large dam that is part of the Volta River hydroelectric project.   There was some construction there that prevented our large bus from crossing, so we had to stop load into much smaller and incredibly cramped mini-vans for the short (thankfully) trip to the village.  

     

We were then seated across from the elders and enjoyed an extended session of drumming and dancing.

Once the other vanload arrived and they were received by the elders, our naming ceremony began.  First, a woman delivered a long Christian prayer and than an elder prayed and poured a libation that seeks the presence of the village ancestors for our naming ceremony.

  

We were then called up in groups of ten, alphabetically, to receive our new names, a bracelet, and a pot on which our names were inscribed.  As according to Ashante tradition, our names included the name associated with the day of our birth and our gender and then a second name associated with our individual character.  Jayne's first new name was the name that every Friday born female gets plus a name that meant "shepherd."  She was told that she would lead her people to greatness. 

Barry, as the trip laison, was regarded as our Semester at Sea chief.   As such, he got his name last and was informed that he was expected to give a speech on behalf of the group and to "perform."    That was unexpected!  So he gave a short speech thanking the village for its welcome, expressing joy for the new names we had received and our commitment to live up to the great things those names suggested was part of our destiny.  He also expressed the hope that some of them, especially some of the children, might one day have the opportunity to visit us in our homes.  He then sang a verse of "How Can I Keep from Singing."  One female elder came and waved a bandana around him and gave him a big hug, whether in appreciation or to show her sympathy we did not know!

After the naming ceremony we were taken on a tour of the village, first to a hut where some women showed us how they made pottery.  Several asked about weaving and we were taking to a hut where a man and woman showed us a few things they had.  In general, it seems that tourist visits are so rare to this village that they are not prepared to supplement their incomes by making handcraft items in sufficient supplies to offer for sale.  One of our wealthy lifelong learners has become a sponsor of the village (having visited previously) and he has been talking to the village elders about finding a way to produce in greater numbers and provide for sale to visitors various handcrafted items.

After several hours in the village we reloaded onto our vans and headed to lunch at a nearby "club."  We were the only people there, but we guess that on weekends better off people from Accra come out to enjoy it's pool, squash and tennis courts, and very good food.

It was an amazing day.