Ghana

 Hello one and all, after a fantastic trip to South Africa, I'm now exploring the country of Ghana. While I'm here, I'll be learning about a town with friendly crocodiles, exploring buildings made by an old kingdom, and talk about a vampire firefly.

Found along the coast of western Africa, Ghana is home to over 32 million people. Considered to be one of Africa's leading countries, Ghana was the first country south of the sahara to gain independence from colonial rule. The capital of this major English speaking country can be found in Accra. 

With the basics out of the way, I welcome you to my time in Ghana!

My first stop during my trip to Ghana was a place that interested me greatly. In a town called Paga, one can find an interesting sight. Friendly crocodiles.

That's right, friendly crocodiles. There ponds nearby it are filled with crocodiles, and tourists can hang out with them just fine. Why would this be though? Well, the townsfolk have their own belief on it. This pond, which lies between the town and Burkina Faso, is considered a sacred site for the townspeople and is a sanctuary holding more than 110 crocodiles. The reason why these crocodiles are thought to be passive is because it is thought that these crocodiles hold the souls of the villager's ancestors. This idea is held even stronger because at times when major townspeople die, some of the sacred crocodiles die as well. It is believed these animals and the townspeople are connected. These crocodiles are completely docile. There has yet to be a recorded death due to them. Kids swim in the pond, tourists and locals alike are invited to touch and play with these docile lizards.

This is truly an interesting part of Ghana. There is no part of the world where such a behavior has existed. It is an example of folklore and reality that make you wonder if it is truly real. No other crocodiles act in similar fashion, so if these specific crocodiles are considered safe and docile, and not others, then it makes you ask: why is this the case? Are they truly the spirits of townspeople past? It is a question I would love to know the answer to.

After learning about the crocodiles of Paga, I made my way to an area nearby the city of Kumasi. I'm heading over to one of the two UNESCO World heritage sites found within Ghana, known as the Asante Traditional Buildings. These buildings are the remains of the Asante civilization. A great empire that lasted from the beginning of the 18th century to the dawn of the 20th. These buildings are made up of timber, bamboo, mud plaster and thatch. They were built around courtyards. These buildings are made up of many different ones, some of which are shrines and fetish houses. Decorations can be found throughout the buildings, in a wide array of shapes from animals to birds to plants to traditional symbolism. 

The history behind these buildings are truly fascinating. Even today, the religion originally practiced in these buildings is still practiced my people to this day. They are still properly maintained and cared for to allow for continued worship. It is a beautiful look into another incredible culture from some time ago, but with parts still being practiced even in the modern day.

For my last stop here in Ghana, I headed into the heart of Kumasi to a wonderful restaurant known as Adinkra. This is a restaurant that mixes American and traditional African cuisine, and it is absolutely delicious. There isn't much to be said on the food here, the customer service is fantastic, and you can come here for breakfast, lunch or dinner, and the meals are still fantastic.

So, while I was in Adinkra, I spoke to an expert on the regional folklore to learn a bit more about the folklore of the local population. For Ghana this was an interesting creature known as the Adze. 

"The Adze is an interesting creature, as it is believed to be inspired by something we all deal with in the summer. This creature comes from the Ewe people who inhabit Togo and Ghana. The Adze is believed to be a vampiric firefly in the wild. Upon capturing it is believed to become a human with the ability to possess other people. What is interesting, however, is that it is believed to come in as a firefly while people sleep. It is said that if it bites and sucks your blood, you get incredibly sick and die. Sound familiar? Well if it doesn't I'll explain a bit. To many people studying this culture, we believe this myth comes from mosquitoes. We think this is an explanation behind mosquitoes and, more importantly, Malaria."

What I find interesting about this is how it once again shows the ability of different groups to explain the world around them. Now it makes sense these people wouldn't know about Malaria being a virus spread from mosquitoes, so it makes sense that they may theorize that it is a horrible illness stemming from an evil creature. It is truly amazing how these explanations for phenomena could come about.

That is it for my time in the wonderful country of Ghana. Join me next time as I adventure across Oceania. Goodbye!!!