Sam (from One Stone) escorted me around the town and made sure I saw all of the appropriate sites. Most people dress up for the festival and me included. Judith sewed up a quite colorful traditional African shirt for me to where around. It was odd though, most of the Africans seemed to dress up more in Western clothes while me, a white man, was dressed up in African clothing! The festival was supposed to be an all day event, but unfortunately due to heavy rains in the morning it didn't kick off til the afternoon. A parade, consisting of several area chiefs, started from the Elmina chief's palace. They slowly marched through the streets carrying the chiefs while drumming and dancing. The parade ended at the fishing lagoon where all sorts of boating spectacles took place. There were several fishing boats in the water performing various stunts. To me, it looked like they were just goofing around. They would rock these big boats from side to side trying to get as far over as possible without flipping the boats. With each rock of the boat people would go flying off into the water. Additionally there were other boats, each sponsored by a company, with several women just singing and dancing on board. In between these acts there would be boat races where two boats would line up, each with about 10 people in them, and they would paddle their boat down the lagoon. There was so much going on and never a dull moment. It was quite amazing how many people were lining the shores and cheering the various boats. For a Montana boy who sure does enjoy the wide open spaces, it was actually a joy to join the crowds, rub shoulders with the locals, and take part in a fascinating festival.
The chief of Elmina
A poor swimmer who forgot it was festival day
Crowded banks of the lagoon
4 comments:
Grant, sounds like you are having a good time and witnessing lots of interesting events!! Have you found a girlfriend over there?
Kynan
Hey Grant! Wow, great photos! I especially like the guy hanging onto the boat. Has it still been pretty rainy there? Keep up with the blog! We love to read it!
Yeah, it is still pretty rainy here. In fact it is an unusual rain year, there has been some pretty serious flooding. Along the highway to work there are a couple of villages that sit between a lagoon and the sea. Last week the rains were so heavy that the lagoon went from standing water to a raging river. Unfortunately the villager's mud and stick houses were no match for the water. Several of their houses were demolished. The government did come and help them out with some tents though and supposedly some money. As I understand, the people in the villages lost thier homes in the Volta region due to the building of the dam, so the government takes pretty good care of them. Things are quiet now, the lagoon is back to normal and villagers have their belongings drying in the little bit of sun that has been poking out. Pretty bad deal, there were several people killed due to the water in other areas near here.
Kynan, girlfriend...if you fork out the money for me to bring one home you can meet her!
I am soooo on that! I'll see what Lee and I can save up! :)Can't wait to see ya.
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