Open Air Markets

The open air markets of Ghana that I have ventured to thus far into my travels are mainly located in Accra and Kumasi. The markets are Circle, Makola, Madina, Kanesi, and Central Market. Each of the markets are similar but still different in many interesting ways. My time in each of the markets has been an experience unlike any that I have had prior to coming to Ghana.

Circle is actually the Kwame Nkruma Circle, however when catching a tro-tro you simply look for a mate making a circle motion with his hand and saying “circ, circ, circle”. Once dropped off in circle it is important to keep your belongings close to you. Though this market is less known for pick-pockets than other markets in Accra it is the busiest market due to its size. Within circle you can literally find anything you want. If it cannot be found in circle then it probably does not exist in all of Ghana. Some of the items for sale are not necessarily acquired in the most legal fashion but that is how things go when there are so many people trying to sell what they need for money. The sellers in circle are willing to bargain and will settle for a fair price when an above average bargainer pushes them to the price.

Makola is a very interesting market in the fact that it has many different sights and smells not found in the other markets. This market is good to find foods that would not normally be thought of as market food. This would include live snails that are about a foot long, and live crabs. This market also has chickens and fish ready to be sold to anyone that wants them. Makola is also a good place to get traditional African fabric. There are many sellers that have very different fabrics of great quality. Fabric of the quality found in Makola is very good for making shirts, dresses, or anything else one could think of making. The prices are normally set on all fabric since there is an initial set cost that the seller has to pay to get the fabric from the manufacturer. Therefore, about 20-30 cedi for six yards is a good price. Some sellers will only sell in quantities of six yards because that is how much it takes to make a dress. Although you can find sellers that will sell by the yard for about 5 cedi.

Madina is located outside of Accra. In order to get to Madina you would take a tro-tro the opposite direction of Accra from the University of Ghana. This market is smaller than Circle, Makola, and Kanesi. Some students enjoy going here because it is a quiet place to do some grocery shopping and due to the smaller number of sellers one can build relationships with the people from whom they buy. On a side note building relationships with the women of the markets are very beneficial because, not only can you learn many new things about the culture and society of Ghana but you can also be “dashed” more items. Dashing is when a seller will give you more than the usual price while still only charging you the regular price. An example of this is if you ask to have 2 cedi worth of eggs and the seller gives you 3 cedi while only charging you 2 cedi. Normally, dashes only happen between sellers and buyers who know each other.

Kanesi is located passed Circle and is another large market. This market is unfortunately known for its pick-pockets. Therefore, when traveling to this market you should always keep your bags in front of you and your money close. Sellers will look out for you so in the event that you notice someone trying to rob you, make as much noise as you can and yell “thief”. Vigilante justice is found within the markets when dealing with thievery. A moral code of no stealing is almost universally held to within Ghana; therefore, when thievery does happen the women of the markets have been known to beat the perpetrator to death. While there are safety concerns while in Kanesi many Ghanains will help you if you find yourself in trouble.

The markets of Accra and Kumasi are very different but hold many important qualities that will help you understand the culture and society of Ghana. Thus, any individual who travels to Ghana and is looking to understand an integral part of the society should traverse the markets.

The Trip to Kumasi

This past weekend I took a trip to the second largest city in Ghana, Kumasi. Kumasi is located north of the University of Ghana in the Ashanti region. The trip took about six hours through beautiful mountain terrain. The only downside to the bus trip through the mountains is that instead of a regulated speed limit the government of Ghana has decided to regulate the speed of automobiles by laying a gratuitous amount of speed bumps ranging in size from a simple rumble strip all the way to a small hill that requires drivers to come to a complete stop. There was a silver lining about the speed bumps though because it gave many opportunities to capture the beautiful scenery through the Eastern region.

Once in Kumasi we visited the Asantehene Palace and museum. The Asantehene Palace belongs to the king of the Ashanti people. The Ashanti people are a sect of the Akan ethnic group which makes up many of the people in southern Ghana and is about 40 percent of the population. The Ashanti still have a thriving culture that is exemplified in the palace, festivals, and their monarchical structure within Ghana. The Ashanti are very proud of their heritage especially the golden stool. The Golden Stool is the most important part of the Ashanti because it was made using gold, the fingernails, and hair of all the chiefs within the Ashanti people. The making of the Gold Stool represented the unification of all Ashanti people. As long as the stool remained with the Ashanti they were all united. The British did try to take the stool from the Ashanti during the British colonial period; however the Ashanti gave the British a replica of the Golden Stool and kept the real stool until after the war between the Ashanti and British was over. The rituals done over 400 years ago are still performed today by the Ashanti people and they truly are a thriving culture within Ghana.

The next day my group traveled to three craft villages to learn about the art done in the Ashanti region; the villages were the Bonwire, Ntonso, and Ahwiaa. The Bonwire village was known for making Kente cloth, which is only found in the Ashanti region. These weavers would weave all day on large wooden looms. The looms were manually operated and took quite a bit of practice to weave at even a slow rate. I was able to weave part of a single-weave cloth and found out that it takes a great amount of coordination between your hands and feet.

The next village we traveled to was the Ntonso village which is where Ashanti symbols are pressed onto fabric. Within this village we learned how the ink was made from trees imported from the north and then boiled down until only a thick black ink remained. The symbols had many meanings and were very interesting. Symbols representing “accept God”, unity, and strength were prevalent on the fabrics that were being sold in the village.

The final place we stopped was the Ahwiaa village which is better known as the wood-carving village. This village had more shops filled with beautiful African wood-carvings than I had ever seen before. Every shop had its own special wood carving style in their pieces. The owners of the shops were the actual carvers and were very happy to give a fair price for their work. The masks and figurines were fantastic and I was able to get quite a few for fewer than 60 cedi. If there is one place that I would like to go back to for shopping it would be the Ahwiaa village.

Throughout the entire trip to Kumasi I was very happy to be seeing how beautiful the country is because being in the urban environment of it becomes hard to remember that there are many picturesque areas in Ghana. Kumasi is a very unique area that while being an urban area is very different from the Greater Accra area.