They call Ghana „Africa for beginners“ - indeed it’s one of the most stable and versatile countries in west africa. And it’s home to more than 100 tribes and ethnic groups. Follow me on my ride across the land of kings - and get to know some of their traditions.
Our first destination in Ghana: The fishingtown Axim. Axim is not only famous for it's fishing but as well for it's beaches. So we decided to stay a night and spoil ourselves with a stay at the hotel Lou Moon Lodge.
From Axim we went on a mission: I wanted to find a place where the traditional ghanaian Kente cloth is still made: a fabric that was and is still worn by the Ashanti king.
On the way we were heading along the coast to visit some Forts: One of them San Sebastian, that is half a museum and half the post office of the village.
On our search of Kente we had to leave the coast and head inlands torwards the city Kumasi. In Bonwire and Adanwomase we finally found a Kente factory. Join the journey and visit the weavers with me, who showed me their amazing crafts and how to produce fabrics for kings!
//NOTE: videos were recorded before I had a Youtube Channel - initially used for my Instagram stories. That's the reason for the close ups of my face or bad quality of videos - they were recorded vertically. I still decided to use them - that's the authentic footage I have and I can't change that anymore. Remember: I just started out with filming and cutting - its a learning curve and far from perfect! Promise: my next trips after the country Benin will have much improved footage!
// Welcome to the journey! I am Lea, a journalist and author and I want to take you with me on a motorcycle overloading adventure to all the wild and beautiful places in the world!
//Join the first stage of my trip around Africa along the coast of Westafrica through 12 countries: Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Conakry, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin. Time of the journey: November 2019 to Feburary 2020
// I circumnavigated the world solo from 2016-2017 and now I am going to all other places I have not seen yet. Now on the channel: my motorcycle trip around africa/ the first stage of the journey through westafrica.
They call Ghana, Africa for beginners.
Indeed, it's one of the most stable
and versatile countries in West Africa.
It's home to more than 100 tribes and ethnic groups.
Follow me on my ride across the land of kings
and get to know some of their traditions.
There exists another unwritten law in West Africa.
No matter where you park your vehicle,
it's never in the right spot.
Moving two meters from where you initially stopped
makes everybody happy though,
and it's the perfect start
of doing border business like usual.
Our first stop in Ghana, the coastal town Aksim.
It's famous for its fishing and its beaches,
but finding our hotel outside of town was not easy.
This is the road, pass here, go here, see the hill.
Okay.
And you go straight, go here, you see the hill.
Yeah.
Go ahead and go there.
Straight, and you have a cab, the boat on your right.
And we would not have managed
without the help of the locals.
We arrived in Ghana, me with a nice dirty face,
like always.
And we are staying one night at this nice beach
close to Aksim before we go off inlet.
Spending a night at Lumun Lodge
was like spending a night in paradise.
And we already realized
that the touristic infrastructure of Ghana
is much more developed.
We left Lumun Lodge and drove along
the so-called Gold Coast of Ghana to Fort Saint-Sebastien.
Roadside lunch in Ghana.
From the 15th to 18th century,
several forts were built along Ghana's coast.
As trading points for European countries
that were leased to them by the African powers,
mainly trading gold, ivory, and slaves.
We wanted to visit a fort that was not only a museum,
but taken back in function by the people of the village,
and therefore found a better use these days.
Today, Fort Saint-Sebastien is used as a post office
and from several authorities.
And it looks a bit like straight out of a Star Wars movie.
Behind the scenes of taking a red dress picture.
It's hot, it's sweaty here in the sun,
but behind me you can see the nice fort.
I had one mission for Ghana.
I wanted to find a place
where the traditional kente cloth is still made.
A woven fabric that is worn by the Ashanti kings.
Our best bet?
Heading inland, direction the city Kumasi.
I recently learned that the term Ghana means warrior king
in the language of the Suninke people, I think.
And there has been numbers of kingdoms and empires
over the centuries here in Ghana.
And the most powerful were the kingdom of Dagbon
and the kingdom of Ashanti.
And the cool thing is,
there is still an Ashanti king nowadays.
And he wears this special clothes called kente.
And I'm super interested how these clothes are made.
From Kumasi, we went to Bonnir,
a little village where most kente cloth is sold.
Afterwards, our search for kente took us to Adanwomase,
an even smaller town,
where we will still make the kente the traditional way
for the Ashanti king, royals,
and everyone who appreciates
the cultural significance of kente.
It was already late afternoon when we arrived,
but we still got a tour through the kente factory.
The weaving days before the 11th century,
they used a thin product to cover the nakedness.
And please, kente is more than just a cloth.
It is not a piece of fabric
by which Ghanaians can be easily
and distinctively identified to their circumferences.
As I'm speaking, there is no more eraser for the king.
First, we learned about a theory.
Then, how to prepare the cotton or silk for the weaving.
This is the product of the wool.
Yeah.
Right from here, we are going to set up the loom.
We learned about the colors
and the complexity of the designs.
There are still new designs introduced,
for example, to honor people.
When President Barack Obama visited Ghana,
the weavers made an Obama design for him
that he received as a gift.
Until today, kente is traditionally woven by man.
It's mostly made out of cotton,
or the real expensive stuff is made out of pure silk.
Guess who couldn't resist buying some kente?
I took this opportunity to visit a local kente shop.
I took the precious fabric back to Germany,
and one of my friends, the fashion designer Aisit Bostan,
made a beautiful coat for me.
Thanks for joining the journey
and learning more about Ghana's cultures.
The next episode will take us to Ghana's capital, Accra,
and the beautiful Lee waterfalls.
Comment, like, and subscribe
to be part of the upcoming journey.
Bye.
