Typical days in Dagbamete...

It's been about 5 days since we last were able to provide an update to the blog. It's not because there hasn't been a whole lot of activity to report but simply that we haven't had the opportunity. Since the last update from the Hans Botel, we had our planned visit (revised schedule) to the Slave Castle on Tuesday morning.

I won't try to describe the experience here, because I wouldn't be able to do it justice. I will say that it was a heavy experience - heavy in atmosphere at the castle and heavy on the emotions. Hundreds of years of West African history was beautifully summarized and presented by our guide Ato. The following day back in Dagbamete, we held two separate discussion groups, one for the adults and one for the youth, to give everyone the opportunity to share the experience.

It turned into quite a long day, with a stop for lunch, a visit to the bank, and many hours on the road landed us back in our village at about 9:00. Travelling down the last 40 km of road in the dark this time made the heavily pot-holed road an adventure. People were very exhausted from the road-trip, but were all relieved to be back "home". We all slept-in the following morning, and enjoyed a late breakfast.

On Wednesday there was a funeral in Dagbamete, and the youth had been asked to perform. It was likely one of the most sensational performances that they've ever had. Not that the performance itself went flawlessly, but that the audience had to be the most appreciative ever. As the performance began, the crowd were all seated in chairs off to the sides, under the shady trees. However, as soon as the performance began, the entire audience formed an instant stadium around the make-shift stage area. Both older and younger members of the crowd expressed their delight and surprise at the drumming and dancing. Some of the older attendees were joining in with the singing, and truly appreciated the "older" style of the Bobobo piece.

Yesterday we took the short drive over to the neighbouring village of Dzogadze, where several of the towns drumming groups put on a special performance for us. It was nothing short of spectacular. We sat enthralled for over three hours as the presentation unfolded in front of us. As the performance continued, many of our group were encouraged to join-in, and their efforts were clearly appreciated by the crowd.


Many photographs were taken of the event, but the best record will be from Kathy's video camera, as the still photos do no justice to the dynamic non-stop motion.



Today, the kids have been having more lessons, but Gaelen & I set up the all-important volleyball net, by the primary school - with the help of several young men from the village. It is now in prime shape for the challenge match (!?). Yesterday in Dzogadze, Kwasi laid down the gauntlet to the village and challenged them to a volleyball game - Dzogadze versus Baobabtree & Dagbamete. Later he made it very clear that losing is not an option. Uh oh...

Love from all of us to all of you. Hope everyone is well. We'll pass on comments to others. We'll try to update again, but may not be able to until we get to Accra on Wednesday. It will be bittersweet to leave Dagbamete then.

Rainforest & Elmina...

We started our morning with a canopy walk 30-40m off the ground along seven bridges strung between 8 trees in the most fabulous national park. Although we saw no evidence, there are apparently 250 elephants in the park. I think between us we saw a dragonfly, some lizards, and a snake who had recently eaten something (small child maybe?). Don't worry we did a head count and it wasn't one of ours. (our typist (Jen today) just experienced technical difficulties due to inhaling a bug)

We lunched in the rainforest and bought some presents...we can't tell you what...it's a surprise...

After some time at the District Assembly Hall waiting for the mayor - who unfortunately was otherwise engaged - we made our way to a central square in Elmina, just minutes from the slave castle. It's hard to paint a picture of what we saw but here goes: goats and chickens strolling between the audience and the stage; everyone else trying to stay out of the sun under canopies or the shade from the buildings in the square; behind the stage, up a hill, were several decaying colonial buildings in various pastel shades; street vendors all around; an incredibly large sound system screamed pop music as we set-up. (Ian is being the grammar police here.)

The plan was to do five pieces but the response was so favourable that Kathy and the kids ad libbed two additional pieces, including Kinka with Kwasi and Ledzi and a shortened Gahu. For Kinka, the girls went out with fistfuls of Canada flags and invited people to dance with them. Arial, Zoe, and Lucia just about got mobbed by all the eager kids when they saw that the flags were being given away. They actually got some of us adults up, as well.

And Master Dan does a very groovy kinka, we must say! There was spontaneous applause at various points in the performance. We aren't sure why but think it may be that they recognized words to songs and were so impressed with these kids from Canada doing their thing.


The region of KEEA (Elmina region) took us all out for drinks and food at a local restaurant set at the oceanside. The kids got to put their toes in the water which then led to their ankles, which then led to their knees... we had to get them out at that point as the tide was coming in and dinner was served. Afterwards, we all ended up back at the Regional Assembly Hall to finally get to meet the mayor, who was kind enough to stay late. He gave an inspirational speech about the importance of the Ottawa-Elmina connection and we were pleased to be a physical presence on behalf of the City of Ottawa here in Ghana. The two youth groups exchanged t-shirts and thanks and left with the promise to continue to build the ties. The next time we see their youth group, they may be in Ottawa drums in tow.

As we wrap up, there is a full moon outside hanging over the lagoon and the kids have started an impromptu jam session with the other hotel guests.

We're happy, healthy, and full of new experiences to share when we get back.

From the Hans Botel...

It's 9:30 on Sunday night, and we've just finished our supper in the Hans Botel. We revised our schedule slightly, and came straight from Dagbamete to Elmina today, without stopping for a market visit in Accra. The trip took longer than anticipated, due to traffic and road construction. We also had our first Ghanaian van breakdown on the road. However, it was all repaired within about half an hour, and we continued our trip uneventfully - thanks to the mechanical wizardry of Master Dan & Kobla.
The Botel is currently under renovation and the restaurant over the water (brown, swampy) is not currently open. After a day of snacking Ghanaian-style foods en-route, we all enjoyed a good dinner tonight.

Following our last update, we attended a funeral in a neighbouring village. There were over 300 people at the funeral, all drumming, dancing, and singing - in a true celebration of life. Arial's dancing was much appreciated, as she was adorned by shawls (a sign of appreciation of someone's skill). Ben was also presented with a tuque, which according to tradition, you return to the giver before you leave the event. There will be another funeral later this week, for someone in our village who recently passed away. It is a three day celebration carrying on through the night.

We are looking forward to a volleyball tournament with a neighbouring village (Dzogadze?) - where our local instructor, Ledzi comes from. Not only is Ledzi an awesmone drummer, dancer, and teacher, but he can also open coconuts with a machete, while holding the nut in his hand.

Tomorrow morning we're taking a canopy walk in the Kakum rainforest, and the performance in the afternoon. We're switching the Slave Castle tour to Tuesday morning (this is all typical Ghanaian flex-time). Hopefully, we'll be able to provide another update tomorrow evening, after the show in Elmina.

An update from Yanek...
"The life here is amazing in so many ways. The differences and similarities all stick out and make the experience more unique. The food for example is not...perfect for someone who doesn't enjoy an all-fish diet for dinner. The new pieces we're learning are awesome, but the atmosphere around the drumming is even more impressive! We practise in the dirt with cute kids all around and spectators to the left and right whatching our progress. I'm never quite sure if thery're laughing or smiling at us. I am using one of the few computers that work in this cafe, so i will say goodbye now"