Nana Kobina Tuwohofo II: July 22, 2013

Phoebe & Ben

This morning we awoke to yet another beautiful day in Cape Coast and enjoyed another delicious breakfast on the patio of the Fair Hill Guest House. All the girls dressed in their beautiful Ghanaian kaba and slits, with Ben and Robert in their traditional Ghanaian shirts. We loaded the tro tro and drove to Akotokyir village to get ready for Prof’s installation as Nana (chief) of Education Development for Tuwohofo-Holly International School.

As Prof was getting dressed (wrapped) in his traditional, handmade Ghanaian cloth (two 6-yard pieces of fabric sown together to form a long wide strip), the rest of us took time to visit and play with the children for what we knew would be the last time we got to interact with them. With kids crowding around every single one of us, we tried to soak up every last second with these beautiful faces, taking pictures every chance we could so that we will always have a memory of them.

As the time came for everyone to walk down the road to begin the ceremonial parade, hands had to be pried away from almost every one of our fingers so the children could get to where they were supposed to be. The celebration parade had the school children lined up by class first, then a group of students who were costumed and painted as ceremonial dancers, followed by us, and then Nana. Prof was dressed in his installation "cloth" and wearing his special chief sandals. There was an umbrella bearer holding a giant umbrella over his head and village women with small cloths walked alongside fanning Nana. 

A group of drummers followed Nana playing festive beats and everyone in the parade was dancing to the rhythm of the Ghanaian drums. The approximately 1/3 mile walk took about 45 minutes to complete. When it started there were maybe three women fanning Nana; but by the end of our walk there were about 20 women fanning Nana and his children (us), and laying their cloths on the ground for us to walk on as a sign of respect. All the women shouted and danced the entire time we marched to the school, and people from all over the village lined the dirt streets to watch.

As we looked toward the people lining the streets, we spotted our Fair Hill hosts, Ann and Ricki Hooper, and our hotel concierge Emmanuel. It was like spotting your parents in the crowd at a game or on graduation day. To all of us, they represented our family in Ghana.

We entered the area where the ceremony was to be held and were led to our designated seats in the front row under one of the canopies surrounding the open parade ground in front of the "platform" (the concrete patio of the village Catholic church. As soon as we sat down, each of us had one, two, and sometimes three children coming to up to us to either sit on our laps or just stand beside us and hold our hands.

The ceremony began with drumming by the Asafo men's organization, dancing by some of the school children, and a traditional Ghanaian flag-waving performance. From this point on, the twenty-two item Program Prof had received from Mr. Ato Baidoo and which he had typed out and printed 60 copies of last night somehow did not hold to form. Oh, well. this is Ghana.

There was a heart-felt introduction of Prof by Mr. Baidoo, a speech by the chief of Abura Village (an old classmate of Mr. Baidoo's and good friend of the school), and the traditional pouring of libation by one of the village elders as a sign of respect to the ancestors. It was then time for the installation of Prof as Nana. He stood before the elders, holding the ceremonial sword, and repeating the Abura chief's dictation, took his oath of commitment to the village elders in Fante, promising to always be available to the school, night and day, rain or shine. 

More speeches were given, more dances were performed, and even Ato's elder brother, Thomas Baidoo, got up and danced; and this beloved elder statesman showed us all some fancy steps. Near the end of the ceremony we were all called up to the front to be recognized by the school. We were presented with handmade bead bracelets as a token of thanks. Some of us were also presented with special gifts from individual students and their families.

We returned to our seats, and were immediately surrounded by our children. As the ceremony came to a close, some of the students became restless while others fell asleep in our arms. The ceremony ended with a song and prayer by our friend Pastor Koomson.

Dominic drove the Abura chief, the Akotokyir Village elders and a few other esteemed guests back to Fair Hill, which gave the rest of us some final moments to spend with the children. We treasured those moments like none before, not knowing when, if ever, we would see these kids again. Dominic returned and we knew our time with the children was over. Goodbyes were not said; but rather, "See you later." We only hope and pray that sooner rather than later we can return to our home in Ghana. With tears rolling down our faces, we again pried hands off of our fingers and climbed aboard the tro tro to take our final drive away from our beloved school.

We arrived back at Fair Hill just in time to join the chiefs, elders and other guests for a big luncheon. With forty-five honored guests on the Fair Hill patio, we enjoyed a delicious buffet-style meal consisting of several Ghanaian favorites. The guests ate and departed and we went back to our rooms to unwind from the morning’s festivities. 

Some of us used the free afternoon to take naps, but four of us bravely ventured out on our first Ghanaian taxi ride into town. Phoebe, Caroline B., Marlee and Courtney patiently waited for Prof’s private taxi driver, Kofi, who was coming all the way from Elmina. As we rode to town, we noticed that Cape Coast looked somewhat different from inside a taxi rather than from a huge tro tro. We drove through the city until we made it to our favorite supermarket, Melcom. We loaded our baskets with our favorite Ghanaian cookies and other treats and then Kofi took us back home to the Fair Hill and we made it just in time to eat our purchased ice cream before it melted.

For dinner, we enjoyed everyone’s favorite Ghanaian dish, Red-Red; and, as the beautiful full moon floats in the Ghanaian sky, we are all coming to the sad realization that we only have a few days left in this now beloved country.