TRAVEL BLOG THURSDAY - MANKESSIM
ADVENTURES IN FANTE LAND || MANKESSIM || GHANA || JULY 2018
Upon leaving Accra, we gained a better understanding of Ghana’s history and independence, about Ghanaian business, and about city life in Ghana.
Morning of Day 5 – Tuesday, July 24th, 2018
The trip took more of a historical and spiritual turn at this point; historical in terms of black history after the migration from ancient Kemet through pre- and up until slavery and spiritual in terms of black belief systems. Our first stop after Accra was Mankessim. Mankessim is located in Central Ghana and is the heart of the Fante nation, an ethnic group that occupied the region for centuries.
On our drive there, we saw the landscape change from urban to rural with lush green land masses, palm trees, and red clay.
Our first and only stop in Mankessim was to the Mankessim Posuban Shrine where we were told the history of the Fante people.
We got a description of the meaning of the shrine from one of the elders sitting at the location once we arrived. Of course, the story was filled with wisdom, knowledge nuggets, jewels, and gems of encouragement applicable to everyday life. It wouldn’t be an oral history without those things. We weren't able to go into the shrine and look around because we are a group of all women. Now, this was not for a misogynistic or patriarchal reason. It is because the people recognize the power of women and because they couldn't be sure if any of us were on our cycles, we all were asked not to step in. A woman's cycle carries a certain powerful energy with it that could throw off the energy in the shrine space so the people believe it is better to be safe than sorry. This sentiment was a theme throughout the remainder of the trip which I thought was interesting. The honor, reverence, and recognition of the power of women was refreshing to experience outside of my own home and outside of my family. We also learned that in traditional West African religion, God is a woman. I've believed God has no gender specifically but has primarily womanly personality characteristics for a long time but I won't go into that. :)
Some parts of the trip are very personal for me so I won’t share all of the info the elder gave but I purchased a summary of the story he told (posted below).
You’ll have to make your way to Mankessim to experience the extras!
PAUSE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: For more info about how to go on an African experience similar to the one I've been writing about the past 3 weeks, check out Anique Nicole Hair Studio (If you're in the Boston area there is an info session on Sunday, September 30th, 2018 at 6:00pm. I was able to facetime into sessions because my pastry chef friend, I mentioned in previous blog posts, lives in Boston) or contact Hope for Africa. And as always for other travel tips and questions for other regions of Africa or for anywhere, internationally or domestically, I've been before, DM me on instagram or contact me here. Okay, let's continue with the story...
While he was orating, the elder was interrupted by the loud noise of a parade coming down the street. It was a group of school children celebrating their last day of school for the year. This is Africa! You never know what you will come across or experience but it was wonderful to see. The band reminded me of the second line brass bands you’d find in New Orleans (my favorite place in the world! - Check out my recommended to do list NOLA blog) or a band playing at J’ouvert or Carnival. This is just another example of the similarities in the cultures of Continental Africans, Caribbean people, and Black Americans.
I know this is supposed to be a travel blog centered around food but we hadn’t eaten at this point so no food pics for this town. I snacked on some plantain chips though. Plus, this is my thing so I can do whatever I want *sticks tongue out*. Haha!
We learned some things and made our way to Cape Coast Castle & Dungeons to learn more. Next time, on Travel Blog Thursday, I’ll be doing a special video blog of my experience there. It is not something I can really put into words so I’ll let you guys just watch.
Thanks for reading all these words! It was short for real for real this time!
Love ya!
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