Tours in Ghana – Cultural Tours and Local Guides in Ghana!

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Beauty of the Ghanaian Kente Cloth

Kente has been adored for decades because of its cultural value and traditional importance in Ghana. Legends says, one hunter went hunting and found the spider beautifully weaving a web to live in. The hunter then replicated the art of weaving from the spider using cotton when he came back to his village and gradually the art of Kente weaving became very famous. In Ghana, Kente weaving are a very popular craft among the Ewe’s of the Volta Region especially the people of Tafi Abuife and Agotime Kpetoe as well as the people of Bonwire and Adanwomase of the Asante descent. The beautiful Kente cloth is weaved into stripes of several pieces in the traditional Kente loom before they are joined together to make a whole cloth to fit. Kente cloth have several uses ranging from sewing them into beautiful garments for functions such as chief durbars, engagements, naming ceremonies, religious ceremonies, funerals and sometimes for the decorations of homes and car interiors. Kente cloth comes in different colors, texture, weight and pattern. Selecting a Kente cloth depends on ones choice and uses for them because each Kente design tells a story or has a meaning attached. Get one for yourself and feel the uniqueness of the Ghanaian pride.

 

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Fertility Doll in Ghanaian Culture

In the Ghanaian traditional system, a fertility doll (Akua’ba as it is called in the Akan Twi language) is given to an infertile woman to care for, as if it is an actual baby until she becomes pregnant and conceives her own child. The mother then gives the fertility doll to her child as a playing instrument while he or she is a toddler. The child also plays with it until he or she becomes a teenager. This has been one of the common traditional cultural practices among the Ghanaian people from ancient to present day. Currently, a Ghanaian artist who is famous for making sculpture heads of supposed living and dead African ancestors took the concept of fertility doll of the Akan system by molding male and female fertility dolls to symbolize a new birth and fresh beginning for Africans in relations to the infamous transatlantic slave trade that befell their forefathers especially those in diaspora.

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Harmattan in Ghana

Harmattan (dry season) also known as northeast trade wind is a climatic condition that Ghana among other West African countries experience. It is usually cold, windy with dust and humid. In Ghana, Harmattan starts from late November to mid March every year. The effect of Harmattan on people includes skin dryness, dry and itchy throat, cough and cold related ailments. During this period a lot of trees shed off their leaves and most water bodies also dries up. Animals in the ecosystem have to travel longer distances to search for food and water. However, this season is considered to be best for game viewing at any of Ghana’s wildlife reserves especially Mole National Park.

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Fantasy Coffins Made in Ghana

The image shown is a rooster designed coffin purposely built to bury a deceased who was a poultry farmer while alive. These kinds of coffin designs were traditionally common among the Ga-Dangme ethnic group of Ghana but are now a popular tradition across Ghana. The deceased is buried in an aesthetic coffin designed to suit his or her profession, interest or hobby while alive. It is a unique way of honoring the deceased by some families here in Ghana.

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Trotro’s in Ghana

Commercial vans popularly known as ”TroTro”, are a cheap way of commuting and most of the locals preferred means of transportation in Ghana. They are common to find on the roads in Accra and other big towns. Traditionally, a four seater minivan like Toyota Hiace carries three people on a seat at ago whereas a five seater big van like Mercedes Benz sprinter carries four people on a seat at ago. Sometimes, many trotro overload passengers making sitting too tight and uncomfortable. You will mostly catch a trotro by standing beside a road to a direction where you are heading. You will then either see the driver’s mate making a hand sign or hear them shouting loudly, names of the location they are heading. Trotro’s are usually operated by two people thus a driver and his assistant popularly called “mate”. The driver is always the boss and mostly know the routes in which they commute. The “mate” on the other hand calls for passengers and also act as financial managers during time of work because they take the fares from passengers and gives back changes where needed. Catching a trotro at certain times of the day can be a headache due to the high demand. For instance it get busy in the morning around the hours of 6:00 am to 10:00 am and 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm in the evenings at certain commercial areas. Boarding a trotro can be dramatic sometimes, from some passengers not adjusting themselves well on the seats for enough space for other passenger’s to mates cum passengers arguments on prices of fares. Also you may see a preacher men or women and even hawkers in, especially ones that travel long distances. It can sometimes be interesting especially when topics of national agenda arises. Do catch a trotro just for a new experience next time you are in Ghana.

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Locally Brewed Beverages in Ghana

A taste of any of our local brewed beverages is as refreshing as the morning dew of our tropical forest. Some of these traditional or home-made beverages (both alcoholic and non alcoholic) brewed in Ghana includes but not limited to Asaana, Lamugee, Pito, Torsie, Sobolo and Palm Wine. Pito is mostly popular in the northern parts of Ghana and it is brewed from millet or sorghum into a fine smooth beer. It sometimes become strong (alcoholic) when left to ferment for a long period during brewing. Also,  Palm Wine which is popular in the southern parts of Ghana is brewed by tapping the palm tree whereas further distillation process can be applied to produce a natural spirit (raw alcohol) called Akpeteshi. Our local beverages used to be served in a clean healthy calabash from the gourd tree but are currently being served in a plastic disposal cups due to the massive introduction of plastic bag usage in the country recently. Interestingly, our local drinks have some of the best taste in the world.

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Paying For Goods And Services in Ghana

Ghana is a country where almost every transaction is done using cash. This means that paying for essential consumables like bottle water from the streets to settling an expensive hotel bills requires cash. Whereas the west is familiar with card payments, it is very rare in Ghana. However, It is only on limited occasions where you will find some big hotels, restaurants and malls accepting card payments. This events only happens at some few hotspots in Accra and other big towns like Kumasi, Cape Coast and Takoradi. Having cash, preferably smaller denominations on you during your holidays in Ghana will ease any headache of “we are sorry, we don’t accept card here”. Contrary, there is an electronic method of payment known as “Mobile Money” which is widely popularizing the country. A lot of businesses are now accepting payments from this platforms. They are operated by the mobile telecommunication networks and can be linked to ones bank account locally. One best way to use this method of payment is to get a local sim to use or have one of those trusted money transfer platforms that you are familiar with and can send money direct to a mobile money account here in Ghana. Ghana is not a country where tipping is mandatory but giving something appreciable to your service attendant for an excellent service offered may bring joy to someone.

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Breakfast on the streets of Ghana

There are variety of breakfast meals to lay hands on in Ghana. The commonest to find at almost every corner of the street are waakye (mixed rice and beans cooked with sorghum leaves to give it reddish brown color) eating with shito (hot black pepper), spaghetti, gari and other sides of ones choice. Hausa Koko (fermented millet dough and natural spice cooked in a liquid-ish style) eating with either koose (blended mixture of pre soaked beans, onions, chili pepper and other spice fried in oil), bofrot (puf puf) or white bread with other sides like roasted groundnut (pea nut), milk, sugar or honey. Of-course you find other breakfast meals like egg and toast with tea, oatmeal, tom brown, rice water (broken rices cooked in liquid-ish style) and many more. Since breakfast is considered an important meal of the day, don’t forget to try either of the above traditional dishes and give your comments.