Baba Yetu

I’ve been having some potent thoughts lately this past week that I wanted to write down. It might come across as racist or judgmental, but I swear I mean no harm by it. What I want to say is from thoughts formed with profound respect and admiration, not condemnation or superiority.

I’ve been in Ghana for one month now, and I’m convinced I’m walking among the people most in touch with their ancient ancestry. Africa was where we can first date back to our earliest human life, and from what I’ve observed and experienced, Ghana’s rich in culture because they were the start of it all. Africa is where we all began, where we can mark the beginning of human life. Everything that man experienced to become the dominant, intelligent life form is manifested in the African culture. Maybe you can call it being “earthy” here, but there isn’t such a thing when your entire existence, your entire culture is submersed in what Americans call “earthy”. It seems like all that ancient knowledge of survival is still ingrained in the people.

Ugh. Let me see if I can explain better what I’m trying to say.

Ghana’s culture is very different from America’s. At first I thought of it as a little sexist, simple, and a little behind on the times. Now when I look at it from another perspective, I realize their whole culture revolves around the same type of early survival we believe early humans experienced. For instance, I was really humored by how Ghana is largely a Christian nation, but it’s still infused with their traditional beliefs centered on superstition, taboos, witchcraft, spirits, sacrificial rituals, and paganism. My friend Emmanuel tells me how he goes to Catholic and Methodist church, but he also has scars on his arms and hands where he cut himself for “protection against evil spirits.” Does this not show a deep level of adaptability? Maybe I’m stretching it, but it makes sense to me. After being the earliest wanderers, completely vulnerable to the changes in weather, food source, and shelter, you had to learn to adapt. When white men came to imprison and torture you, you adapted to their religion in hopes of a better life and a shred of mercy towards you. Even when it comes to the amount of violence Africa is well-known for, was there not violence between clans and tribes to eliminate competition for resources and danger for your family? Not that I’m saying the violence is good, it just makes sense for how it’s always BEEN. Africa is a difficult, changing country. In a country where you have to survive malaria, drought, hunger, and heat, you had to be incredibly adaptable. You were always on the move, and you survived by having small clans or tribes that could move together.

 Perhaps this loyalty and closeness with tribes also brings about how people interact here. Family heritage and ancestry still plays a big part in their major belief system. It is believed that their ancestor’s spirits can help or punish the living considering their daily acts. There is no sense of privacy or personal space when it comes to your village. If there is one, it is far more relaxed than the American perspective and I have yet to find the personal boundary line. Everyone wants to know your business, and if you don’t tell them directly, they’ll find out anyway. Maybe this is more because I’m an Obruni and I am a very curious specimen here, but everyone seems to know everything. Taxi drivers know I live in Essuekyier with Auntie Matilda. People know I am with ProWorld when I haven’t told anyone, and they know I work in Kakumndo with HEPENS. Everyone knows the ins and outs of my host mother’s life, and they tell me all they’ve discovered about my fellow interns that are stunningly accurate. Word gets around, you see. People just talk. Villages are unified together, and there are still Chiefs elected to represent the village and care for the villagers when Ghana has actual presidents to care for the country.

I’ve been impressed with the deeply ingrained wisdom Ghanaians have about the earth, and their sense of unity with the earth. Maybe I shouldn’t use the word unity because it implies equality….what I mean to say is that Ghanaians/Africans have been here longer than anyone, and know this land better than anyone. They have a deep understanding of how easily the world can change, and how we are all vulnerable to the earth’s changes. There can be no rain for months and months, which means no food. Fisherman are susceptible to the every changing tides of the sea, and may have prolonged months where the fish are rare. You use every part of the animal and eat every part you can, for you know not when you might get it again. You cultivate as many crops as you can in a season in hopes that they will all grow well, because if the rains don’t come this year, how will you feed your family and village? And if it rains come without ceasing (the “season where the clothes never dry”, my coworker says), then your crops are flooded out of their gardens and disease becomes rampant. The vast, untamed nature of Africa delays and inhibits trade and commerce, so you buy and eat when you can. Perhaps that’s why being fat here is a compliment, because it means you are well-fed and food has been in plenty.

These are photos from HEPENS Beach cleanup on Friday. When we were finished, we watched the fisherman pull in their nets for the morning.

They pulled for almost 2 hours. The net was bigger than I could have imagined, and they couldn't let go or the tide would pull it back in again. I was mesmerized by the fisherman's stamina.

There is so much humility and grace in Ghanaians. You wake up between the hours of 3 and 5 in the morning to beat the sun. They are constantly cleaning, traveling, lugging water, and selling until the sun goes down, and even then they are still cooking and working into the night. . I never see Ghanaians shy from hard work, because it’s just what has to be done. There aren’t any options of having someone do it for you. If society is going to function, everyone has to do their part.

This was considered a small load of fish for the day, but the big fish would go for higher prices.

 I really am growing a profound appreciation for Ghana and their culture. I love watching people work, I love seeing how they move and interact, and I love learning from them. And oh, they have so much to teach me. I have a feeling that when it's time for me to return to America, this post will be need to be edited for all the new things I've learned and new perspectives I've had.  I still have so much to observe and think about.