Museum and Memorial

Kwame Nkrumah burial. It is built like a tree that has been cut off - just like the man who died before his time was up. Many of the ancestors have been buried under or at the base of trees. A way to go back to Mother Earth and be part of nature again.

 For a Monday adventure Sister Manwarring and I went to the First president of Ghana Kwame Nkrumah's museum and memorial. The man was very controversial and depending on who I talked to now, his life is regarded as still controversial. 

According to the museum and memorial he was a freedom fighter and was able to get the British out of Ghana. A collation of men asked him to come be the spokes person for the cause they were fighting. He apparently was bold enough declare freedom for Ghana right on the British owned square - where the statue now rests. The large statue of him in Ghanaian Kente robes pointing away from the sea towards Ghana symbolically moving forward from British rule. "Forward ever, backward never." [This appears to be the second statute as the first had him in the smock he was actually wearing when he declared freedom in 1957] In front there are fourteen men blowing elephant-horns and then the drums.

Eugene and Dumevi told us all about the talking drums and the fact that they can speak with rhythms and strokes that are like a code that the people in that certain village knows the language of. So if Eugene went to Dumevi's village he would not know that code language and visa-versa, Dumevi would not know the drumming code in Eugene's village. Helpful if you are warning of an army attack. But births, deaths, and important facts are sent over a distance. The horns sound to a very large distance. They are used to "speak" also and give messages. 

The men blowing the horns represent all the regions in Ghana all moving forward with freedom. Since there are 16 regions and 14 horn blowers, I'm wondering if the last two statues with the drums represent the last two regions sharing the news - this is a guess of mine because I am finding two or three explanations for everything. It looks like most of his statues etc were all torn down and they have been resurrected for nostalgic uses for newer politicians....hummm....interesting. Still this is one party's view of Ghana.