Ghana Residency at TBPS

Jordan Mensah (men–sa; nasal “a”) spoke to all the students about climate differences in Vermont (where he moved in 2002) and Ghana, Africa, using a bucket of water as an example: overnight this time of year a bucket would freeze; in Ghana it would be nearly evaporated by noon.
Call and response: “Agoo” = means “attention, or “give me your ears”, or “make way”- “Ameee” is the response.  We used this all week to get refocused on our instructors.
We learned that children carry their chairs to and from school; they sweep their house and fetch water from the river before school in the morning. After school, kids go to the market with things to sell. In Ghana, kids eat lunch, dinner and then a late night snack- no breakfast.

Mr. Mensah spoke of protocols when meeting the king, referred to as Nana (nah-nah). The Queen Mother is the mother of all women.  She handles issues involving the household and the women.

Okyeame (oh-chee-ah-me) is the linguist who speaks for the king.  The King asks linguist questions to ask of the people: King: “Okyeame, ask my people how they are faring” Linguist: “Nana wants to know how you are doing?”
People: “Okyeame, please tell the king we are doing well.”
Nana is laden with gold and gets very tired greeting people- when he sits on his throne, there is another subject who stands next to him and his job is to help Nana lift his hand up to shake hands when he greets people.

The Priest or Priestess is also a part of the royal court. S/he handles the spiritual issues of the king. For example, if fisherman cannot get fish because the water is bad or the weather is bad, it is because the Gods are annoyed or angry with us. They gather with Nana and tell him the state of things, and ask for the priestess to talk to the supernatural being Nyame (nya-mee). The Priestess communicates with drumming and dance. She wears a raffia (grass) skirt. She also wears goat hoof (shea nut shells). She is the only one allowed to wear this outfit. She uses “fly whiskers” (horse tail) to brush off evil spirits that are in the air. She is in a trance, and is trying to find a solution to the problems that are affecting the country.

We learned that the mask is like a photograph. There used to be no cameras in Ghana, so masks were made when a beloved person gets old, to keep that person alive in your memory. The wooden masks are designed in their image, and put in a sacred corner of a room, then taken out annually to remember the dead person. Today masks are used for decoration.

Another way to study African culture is through their dress.  Symbols on the fabric provide information such as: The ladder of death means “I am grieving” or “the leg of the hen” represents discipline.   Mother hens step on, but do not injure chicks, whereas if chicks wander away from the mother hen, the hawk (bigger societal dangers) will get them.
Folks in Ghana hunt and fish and farm…  and all this after only a day and a half!!!

Titan Team News...

The Titan Team at CBMS recently began planning their inter-disciplinary unit, scheduled for march 2009. They are looking at how the choices we make every day related to the food we eat impact others. The team is seeking Waterbury-area folks involved in the food industry to help teach 7th and 8th graders about food. The team is looking for community contacts to potentially come in to the school in March, or host part of the team for a field trip as they learn about food in VT. If you are involved with food, from growing it, to selling it, to putting it on the table, please contact Brian Carpenter, the Titan Team's social studies teacher at bcarpenter@wdsdvt.org.

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- Thomas Jefferson