Ghana Sub-Saharan West Africa was our destination this week.
First we unpacked the art cart and
looked at and put away new supplies, paint, printing ink and water colors,
mixing trays and storage bins. We found Ghana Ghana
We dressed dad like a Ghanaian King in a long “robe” of
Kente cloth. Mom stood next to him as
his linguist holding the linguist’s staff. We learned that because the king was
so powerful his voice would hurt his subjects so he used his linguist to speak
for him.
He would whisper into the linguist's hear and the linguist would tell the people what he said. 
The symbol on the staff that dad’s Linguist used was a hand
holding an egg. Cannon found the symbol on the chart and learned what it meant.
“Power is like an egg,
When held too tightly it might break, or falls and breaks when held
loosely. A successful ruler must be both
firm and sympathetic. “
We also looked up the pattern on the cloth dad was wearing.
It is called Agyengyensua and means “water purifier”.
“The design is based
on the behavior of a small water insect which is usually found swimming
zigzagging on the surface of standing muddied water. While it may appear the
insect is muddying the water, it would rather be purifying it. The design expresses the Akan code of conduct
that warns against making judgment about others based on superficial knowledge
of them. The cloth symbolizes a warning against rash judgment based on misconception.”
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| The Royal Family |
Kente cloth is traditionally woven by men. The cloth is narrow about four inches and is
made in long strips. The men sit on the
ground at simple looms and use their hands and feet to weave the cloth. The
women make the thread, growing and picking the cotton, carding it, spinning the
tread and then dying the thread different colors. Hard work.
Ghanaians enjoy making music and use a variety of
instruments made from wood, gourds, shells and other natural and recycled
materials. Cannon played the Ghanaian version of a xylophone made of wood,
gourds and twine. It had a nice tone
when he struck the wooden “bars” with the rubber (tire) tipped sticks.
We enjoyed the day, reading stories from Frog and Toad and the adventures of Captain Underpants. We painted papers using the new printing inks and the brayers. We took time out occasionally to return to music making, something Cannon really enjoyed.
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