Obiré

After another three hour ride we finally reached the village where Cathie and Stuart have spent a good 25? years of their lives.  At any rate, they’ve lived off and on in their current house there since 1993.  Unfortunately, right before we arrived their well pump died, so suddenly, water became a problem.  We joined their African neighbors going to the local well (the one with the “good” water) one afternoon with a metal trolley that held 4 large plastic containers of water. Some African women amazingly manage to carry some of these heavy water containers on their heads!  Their 3 bedroom house, seemingly far away from civilization as we know it, uses solar panels for electricity.  It has a front door open to the village, but has a wall around the sides and back, giving them some privacy. The village children are very curious and hang around nearby playing, eager to be of help.

Stuart letting the bucket down

Daniel and curious local children

Not far from their home is their translation center where they work with Gloria and their three assistant translators. I was re-introduced to two of them, Jacob and Raphael, having met them earlier this past fall.  Raphael also helps with the mosquito-net distribution program he they keep records of all the families the nets have been given to, and follow up to see if they are being used.

Translation center

Some of the translation team

Gloria is quite a character, and has a much simpler lifestyle than the Showalters, which was immediately evident when I saw her house.  She is currently helping introduce some of the local people to a more “modern” method of beekeeping, which produces a much less aggressive bee in the process.  I had the opportunity to try some of the local product, which is very good.

Where the Showalters live

The translated Kaansa scriptures are used here

We spent one afternoon walking through the village greeting and talking to the local people, which can take considerable time because of the laid-back pace of things there.  I also had the privilege of meeting the local “king”, a young man that had actually participated in some of Stuart and Cathie’s literacy programs.  He is the current guardian of the local animist traditions, and his role is fraught with its own pressures, responsibilities and protocols.  I understand that at the time of the old king’s death, when the village elders sought a replacement, many of the young eligible men fled the village! 

The local Christian church

 We also visited the animist “sanctuaire” where small house-sized shrines have been built to honor past Kaan rulers.  Since the cultural significance of the site is recognized by UNESCO, a German NGO donated money to renovate some of the crumbling structures some 15 years ago, but with the passage of time, they are again falling into ruins.  I did, however, learn from the guide there that, according to legend, the Kaan (or Gan) people had some connection to Ghana. Cathie said the Kaansa language doesn’t seem to be related to the language groups of Ghana, but there does seem to be some cultural evidence, including the idea of a having a king.  Women have occasionally played significant roles in the society, and in some ways, including determining the line of succession for kings, it is quite matriarchal in nature.  No man, on the other hand, would ever be caught carrying water back from the well!



Village children on stump in front of the Showalter's house

On the side of the hut is a cell phone number!

Women's huts are often round in shape             

Note the cell phone on the footstool!

Please be aware that the Internet speed can be very SLOW here.  In my haste to send out my last posting, I discovered that when I uploaded my previous one, the information which was emailed to you was that of the first draft that I created, and not that of the corrected copy I had made. ;-/