An Other Ghana

Tamale is a city that could easily be a completely different country than Ghana, it is so different. Tamale is hotter than any place I've been to thus far in Ghana, which is saying something. I don't think I've mentioned the heat in this blog, but yes, Africa is fucking hot. In fact, I slept on the floor several nights ago so I could be closer to the air conditioning, though that has more to do with the weak air conditioner in my room.

Yet the temperature is not what makes the Northern Region so different, but rather the cultural and historical. The Asante is actually a federation of some forty-eight ethnic groups known as the Akan that is ruled by the Asante group in the Ashanti Region, but the Akan Federation never reached Tamale. Most of Ghana was conquered by the Akan, but not the North. In the 10th and 11th centuries what is now called the Ghana Empire connected trade and slaves from West Africa to the Arab world. After that empire fell, from the 12th to 14th centuries what is now northern Ghana was settled by the Mole-Dagbani groups, a collection of five major clans that would come to dominate the region (there is much more to this story but unfortunately I can't remember it off the top of my head and would have to consult my notes). These groups were never conquered by the Asante and retained their own identity, so to speak.

The Northern Region is unique in other ways. Here the religion predominantly Islam, in contrast to Christianity and traditional religions. I have not yet written about religion in Ghana, so here would a good time. My instructor Yemi told us at the beginning of the program that everything the African does is religious, and indeed he is right. Religion in West Africa is absolutely hegemonic. Never before had I had the strange feeling of guilt for having no religion until I came to Ghana. 70% of Ghana is Christian or Catholic, and are more or less the Asante-dominated areas. What is interesting is that Christianity in West Africa retained many traditional practices and beliefs, making it very different from European Christianity. In fact, the parallels and similarities between African Christian churches and African-American Christian churches are striking. There are more life, celebration, and dancing in both of these forms of Christianity than Europe's version. Whenever talking to a Ghanaian, the local inevitably asks if I am Christian, to which I guiltily respond that I have no religion. Here they either look a little disappointed and move on or they engage in a discussion with me against my will on why Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior.

Again, the Northern Region is different in that it is mostly Muslim, which constitute about 22% of the country, with the rest being traditional religion mostly in the eastern regions. Here Christians defend Islam even as they disagree with it, and considering Islam reached West Africa centuries before Christianity that makes a lot of sense. Islam was probably the most resistant to colonialism because of its missionary nature, not to mention Islam had already brought education and didn't need Britain's civilization. Interestingly, I believe that one of the reasons Bush made the US so unpopular in West Africa was his treatment of the Muslim world, something I didn't realize until I got here. I think Obama has once again all but eradicated this, even though Iraq and Afghanistan remain occupied.

Another reason the northern part of Ghana is unique is that it is the poorest region in Ghana. 90% of people here live on less than a dollar per day, and here is where Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are most heavily concentrated in Ghana. Here they probably provide more support than the government. I am strangely grateful I haven't seen that poverty up close and personal like I did in Naama. It was tough enough there, and seeing it in the most extreme form here probably would have been overwhelming.

My last post seemed to get a lot of positive feedback, so I thought it might be a good time to clarify why I'm writing this blog. I started it to record some of my experiences in Ghana and share them with my loved ones, both friends and family. Soon after getting to Kumasi, however, I realized this blog had changed in its character. It has retained that sharing-experiences aspect, but the real purpose of this blog is to establish a dialogue, however brief and flawed, between the West and Africa. People in Ghana have expressed to me frustration, anger, desperation, a sense of having no dignity because of their depraved condition, and a sense that no one cares outside Africa. This blog is no longer about me as much as it is about them. The reader sees things as I interpret them, but I try to disappear as much as possible to give the reader a glimpse of Ghana, raw and uncut. The goal of my blog is to give people a taste of the bitterness and beauty that is Ghana, since they eat our trash on a daily basis.

PS Anyone watching international soccer will know this but Ghana won the Under-20 FIFA World Cup, something no African country had ever done before. They also beat Brazil, perenially the best soccer nation in the world. I can tell you that it was a helluva party all over Ghana.