The Baskets of Bolgatanga Ghana, West Africa Presented by Baskets of Africa

The Gold Coast The Republic of Ghana is a nation in West Africa. It borders Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso in the north, Togo to the east, with the Gulf of Guinea on its southern coastline. Formerly the Gold Coast, the name Ghana is derived from the Ghana Empire (although its territory never reached present-day Ghana).

Bolgatanga and the Weavers Internationally known as Bolga baskets, the baskets are exclusively woven by the indigenous people of a historical town in Northern Ghana called Bolgatanga. Bolgatanga literally means soft soil, rocky land.

Bolgatanga, colloquially known as Bolga, is the capital of the Upper East Region of Ghana, with a population of about 50,000. It is the major town between Tamale, 161 km to the south, and the Burkina Faso border, 45 km to the north. About 30 km to the East is the Togo border. It is also the main town of the Frafra people.

Copyright 2005, Baskets of Africa Frafra is a colonialist term given to a sub- set of Gurunsi peoples living in northern Ghana and their language. The larger group of Gurunsi peoples inhabit both southern Burkina Faso and northern Ghana. Derived from the greeting "fara fara", which means "How is your suﬀering (work)?", this term is applied to these peoples, who share common histories, languages, and political structures. Bolga is known as the crafts center of northern Ghana, with a large central market. Weaving has been a traditional skill of these people over the years. The geographical land area of Bolgatanga is not fertile enough for extensive agricultural activities. Coupled with an erratic rainfall pattern and generally harsh weather conditions, handicraft activities such as basket weaving, leather work and pottery are under- taken mostly by the women to supplement their incomes from the subsistence of farming activities.

The original Bolga basket was woven round, without any form of handle. The ends of the straw were left untrimmed. It was used basically as a sieve in the brewing of a local alcoholic beverage called pito. Pito was, and is still, an important drink during such occasions such as funerals, marriage ceremonies, festivals, naming ceremonies and at other important social gather- ings.

With a population of about 225,000, only 10,000 people from 19 communities possess the basket weaving skill in Bolgatanga, which has been passed on from generation to generation in the community. With different forms, designs and colorful patterns, the basket is loved for its unique designs and colorful patterns. There have been several attempts, particularly by some Asian countries, to imitate the Bolga basket and call them African baskets. However, the Bolga basket is differentiated from the non-authentic ones by its rigid body due to the use of the straw of the “veta vera” grass against the flabby imitated ones made from sea grass.

(See also “A Brief History of Bolgatanga” at the end of this document.)

The straw is the main raw material used. It is obtained from a tropical grass locally known as ele- phant grass, with “veta vera” grass being the technical name. The grass grows along the banks of rivers, streams and swampy areas. The straw is not simply cut from the grass. The grass grows, ma- tures and tussles just like wheat. The straw then tussles with a broom-like flower at the top, maturing by growing longer and bigger. The straw is then harvested by holding a stem with the left hand and the husk that encloses the straw with the right hand and pulling it down, leaving the husks on the grass for further tussles. The flower at the top of the straw is cut off near a nib using the forefinger and the thumb. This is done to every single piece of straw. The straw is harvested wet, then sun- dried, and becomes ready to go through the weaving process. However, some baskets can be woven with the wet straw, but these do not have the quality that is associated with the baskets woven with the dried straw.

Splitting The straw is ﬁrst split into two halves by bit- ing every single piece in the middle at one end with the teeth to open it into two. The ﬁrst half is held by the teeth and other half is pulled down with one hand. About half an inch to the end of the straw, the process is ended. This is to make the next step easier. This process is done to every single piece of straw that is to be used in the weaving process.

Twisting The split straw is wrapped together in a wet sack to keep it wet and prevent it from breaking during the twisting process. The split piece of straw is then twisted by rolling the two halves together. Traditionally, this is done on the weaver's thigh. However, today, a piece of bathroom sandal is tied against the thigh for the rolling process.

Untwisting The two pieces of twisted straw are separated into two individual pieces. This process depends on the type of basket the weaver intends to weave. Untwisted straw is used for weaving double weave baskets and the twisted straw is used for single weave baskets. The round baskets are mostly done in double weave.

Selection of Straw Different lengths and thickness are best used for different parts of the basket. The weaver carefully selects the appropriate straw for the different parts of the basket. The ability of the weaver to select the most appropriate straw goes a long way towards the outcome of a good basket.

Dyeing Diﬀerent methods are used in preparing the straw for dyeing. Some wrap small amounts of twisted or untwisted straw into rings whiles others tie together large bundles. A pot of water is brought to boil and the dye is added. The straw is then submersed into the solution and pressed down by the weight of big stones. The straw is boiled for between 15 to 20 minutes. For bright colored baskets, the straw is ﬁrst dyed yellow, allowed to dry and then dyed again with the preferred color. However, baskets which do not need color (natural color baskets), the straw is not boiled.

Copyright 2005, Baskets of Africa Starting the Base The actual weaving process starts with the base of the basket. Several pieces of twisted straw are used in the ﬁrst line-up, brought together by another straw, which looks like and octopus or spider with several legs. The leg-like strings form the the vertical ribs of the basket. The weaving is done by passing the horizontally placed straw in and out, around the ribs. For double weave baskets, there are two horizontal straws which go through the same pattern. Double weave baskets are much stronger and consume more straw than single weave baskets.

The Rim Once the body of the basket is completed, the rim is added. First, the legs are tied into a knot at the top of the basket. Next, the remaining pieces of the ribs are laid ﬂat around the rim. If the remaining pieces are too long, they are trimmed to size. A piece of straw is used to system- atically tie the ribs down into a uniform ring around the mouth of the basket. The rims are usually in the natural col- or of the straw. However, there are other forms of baskets where the rim is woven ﬂat.

The Handle There are several styles of handles. For round baskets, the usual handle is two-legged at both ends across the mouth of the basket, and fus- ing into one in the middle, serving as the hand-grip. For oval shape baskets, the handles are two, placed on opposite lengths of the basket.

Trimming Trimming involves the cutting off the remaining ends of the straw on the body of the basket (both in and outside of the basket). If this process is not carefully done, the basket will be rough when the fingers are run over the body. Double weave baskets are easier to trim than single weave ones, hence they are nicer, stronger, more flexible and smooth.

Leather Handle Weavers do not add leather to the handles of the basket. It is the option of the buyer to put leather hand-grips to reinforce the handle to make it last longer, or as a form of decoration. The leather is obtained from the hide of animals from the slaughter houses. The animals are not killed just for their hide. The hide is sold out to other artisans who put it to various uses.

It takes approximately three days to complete a standard Bolga basket.

What We Do The group we work with has a prime objective: to assist the poor rural women of Northern Ghana in earning decent incomes from the fruits of their labors in order to care for their children.

Northern Ghana is the most deprived region of the 10 regions in Ghana. Coupled with harsh weather conditions and a very erratic rainfall pattern, the majority of the people remain poor. It has been observed that women and children become the worst victims of this vicious cycle of poverty.

This group is convinced that when women can ﬁnd a market for the products they create, the income received can improve their own and their children's lives. We believe when the woman can create an income, the trickle-down eﬀect, putting food into the bowl of a child, is a way of easing the pain and promoting self-esteem for the women, children and village.

Women with the skills to create handicrafts such as baskets, beads and pottery are identiﬁed in the community. Market opportunities are sought for these products and when an order is received, women are engaged to produce the speciﬁed items.

Before production starts, each woman is asked to list her needs in terms of priority. These may in- clude food such as maize, cooking utensils, cloth, children's school uniforms, school fees etc. The group buys these items and gives them to the women. Whatever she produces, she is paid half of the money for her daily up-keep and the other half goes to pay for whatever she took as a need. This cycle continues, she ﬁnishes paying for what she has received and obtains the next item on her needs list. By delivering the needed goods to the weavers, it saves them transport to the city center to buy them themselves.

Fair Trade Practices Fair Trade means an equitable and fair partnership between marketers in the developed "ﬁrst world" and producers in underdeveloped parts of Asia, Africa, Latin America, and elsewhere. A fair trade partnership works to provide low-income artisans and farmers with a living wage for their work.

They abhor and strongly discourage the use of child labor in any form throughout the entire production processes of our handicrafts .

Through our Support Programs, we return some of our proﬁts into the participating communities to enhance the social lives of our artisans.

We seek to build self conﬁdence in our artisans by demonstrating that their crafts are valuable and that they are entitled to a decent income from their labour.

We encourage our artisans to adopt environmen- tally friendly and sustainable methods of production which will assist in preserving our plan- et for future generations.

Contact Information Baskets of Africa PMB 260 12231 Academy NE #301 Albuquerque, NM 87111

www.basketsofafrica.com [email protected]

800-504-4656 - phone/message/fax

How the FraFra came to Bolgatanga The history of Bolgatanga is kept through oral tradition. It has always been the responsibility of the elders in the community to teach the other household members the history of their ancestors, which was passed on to them by their fathers and fore fathers. The people from Bolgatanga are called the Frafras and they speak the Gurune language.

The fore bearers of the Frafra people migrated from the Zeeku Empire in present day Burkina Faso. The original migrants did not specifically set out to settle in their present location in Bolgatanga. They were simply looking for a suitable place to settle. They were looking out for fertile land, source of water and most especially, any piece of land that is unoccupied or land which the habitants could tolerate them.

From Abangkaba in the Zeeku Empire of Burkina Faso, they moved to a place called Kampaliga and then moved further down south towards Ghana to a place called Yelwongo. From Yelwongo they moved to another place called Yua which is a small community in present Northern Ghana.

It was from this community that a man named Abeka moved further down with his wife to settle in a place called Yikine, a community in present day Bolgatanga. When Abeka came to Yikene, other people already occupied the place. His first point of call was naturally the Tindana’s house. The TINDANA is the title for the owner of the land. The Tindana or landowner allotted a piece of land at a place called Abolga to Abeka and his wife Aguzine to settle.

The first child of Abeka was named Abolga in appreciation of the Tindana’s offer of land for their settlement. Other children after Abolga were Akoreba, Anamdongo, Yikine and Atulba. These children grew up and created various settlements. These settlements are: Dapooretindongo, Zaare, Tanzui, Soe, Zoobiisi and Sookabisi. Others are Tindonsobligo, Pobaga, Danweo, Pwalugu and Gambigo. These groups of settlements came to be known and called Bolgatanga.

Basket Weaving Beginnings The basket weaving started with a man from the settlement of Zaare who was physically challenged. He made the first basket by observing the way a bird made its nest. He had no idea what it could be used for, but later it was realised that it could be used as a sieve for pito malt. Pito is a traditional brew similar to beer. Originally, the malt was squeezed with both hands. With time, the basket was being borrowed by all those who wanted to brew pito. The man received requests by other people to make the basket for them. He always gave them away for free.

Copyright 2005, Baskets of Africa The first basket style had no handle, and the straw was woven wet and un-split. The basket was not trimmed so it had long pieces of straw sticking out of it. The name for the basket in the Gurune language of the FraFras is Tehei (plural) or Tiia (singular).

Over the years, other people learned the weaving skill and it spread to other communities within Bolgatanga. It is interesting to note that it is ONLY the people of Bolgatanga who weave Bolga Baskets.

Dancing Chief Abeka and his descendants lived harmoniously with the Tindana (the landowners) and other neighbours. They had no chief. The Chieftancy institution evolved in Bolgatanga when some people from Abeka’s family went to Zoko to farm for a father-in-law as tradition demanded. Zoko had a very powerful warrior who doubled as a chief. He was the father in-law of the one of the sons of Abeka. After the farming in the day, the practice was that there was entertainment in the evening. One of the farmers called Apaasinyelom danced so well that the powerful chief was so pleased with him and conferred on him the status of a chief with the title ‘Naboorma’ meaning the Chief gave it to me. However, he had no powers whatsoever over his brothers, who later had their own chiefs for their respective settlements.

Thus, up to today, there is no ranking of chiefs in Bolgatanga. The Bolga Naba (Chief of Bolga town), shares equal rights with other chiefs in the surrounding communities. He has no control over land and land issues, as this is still the preserve of the Tindana or the landowner.

Other Peoples and Crafts in Bolgatanga Bolgatanga traditional community is modeled on a patrilineal system of inheritance. In addition to the indigenous people, there are also the Moshie communities and other Moslem communities who settled in Bolga as middlemen for slave traders. These people possessed smock weaving skills from North Africa and produce what is known as the Bolga smock.

The traditional economy is basically agrarian. Most people are engaged in cereal production and livestock. This is on subsistence levels as a result of poor rainfall patterns and infertility of the soil.

Handicraft activities are a secondary source of income engaged in mostly by women to supplement whatever they get from the farming activities.