Chapter 4: Bride's house

this will have no pics, it was held at her Uncle's house ... path up the hill to get there and the road to get there was impossible to navigate with a car, as a result I could not get there.
never thought to send Ipad with someone  .........     oopsy brain hiccup

roads are like construction path in Canada,,
 just dirt and ruts where ever and the driver picks his way through using the whole road.
this road is getting concrete drainage ditches whereas up until now the water takes the path of least resistance
 and goes all over

this is where the actual deed, the marriage happens, The Groom's family bring gifts for the Bride's family, cloth, money, household articles (I have to guess in previous times it would include cattle)  and ask for the Bride. Her family can accept or reject the offerings, brothers can say they want more, any combination of rejections, so when the gifts are accepted, then they are married traditionally and many couples just do this and nothing more, I am told the couple has already been to the registry office to check as to whether they have had  been married before (I guess like getting a license in Canada).

Chapter 3: WEDDING DAY -TRADITIONAL WEDDING ...his family house

there are three parts to the wedding  so several  chapters
- Traditional Wedding
- Church Blessing
- Reception
We are up and at relative of Daniel's house by 830am, we meet Daniel's relatives and head of the family

Head of the family is in the middle

Daniel - groom

The ritual when one enters a house as a visitor,

you shake everyone's hand who is in the house, then you are asked...What is your business or the reason for your visit, when you are finished everyone of the house gets up and shakes your hand saying Akwaaba ( you are welcome) then chit chatting and in many cases serving of drinks (no drinks this day)

This little girl is a neighbour, wearing pink sunglasses with the left lens missing but for her it did not matter, she of course was very interested in the white lady but just looked, did not come too close

Chapter 2: ARRIVAL

so Friday I left the house at 630am, at bus station by seven, waited for bus to fill all the seats (one gets there early to get a front seat and then waits until all the seats are sold) at 815am .... we are off, we got to Wasa Akrobong at 530/6 pm, Daniel picked us up and he was taking us to Jemi's mother's house to say hello.
Yep, meet and greet time after travelling for hours

on route we see
moving in Ghana - the shed is on a wagon with car tires, with one pulling the handle and five pushing,
works like a charm and no moving fees

MEET AND GREET

We climb up over a wall of dirt to get to the house, yep lots of creativity with canes and crutch, Gifty, me and Daniel,

meet Jemi's Mom with two grand kids

Meet Daniel's Mom with her sister, Aunt to Daniel

Daniel's Mom broke her wrist the same day I did my ankle in, went to a traditional medical person, she has an unusual  lump (bone displaced, I think), Traditional said it was because she is old, the good news is she can move it fine and it does not hurt, what more can one ask for

Many women cooking and chatting 

Gifty and I sitting trying to look and act presentable

A little one distracted from eating

Bride -Jemi

Finally got to hotel, they brought supper from the house, Gifty and I had our own room, at 9 pm I laid down in my clothes to have a nap to get enough energy to get ready for bed and ..... got up in the morning

the wedding adventure!!!

I am going to unfold the wedding in sections each day

so today is Chapter 1 'GETTING THERE'

So I told you about the trip to get there,
You need to know the two of us made an unusual pic, Gifty with legs braces and canes, me wearing clergy shirt, with a plastic air cast boot on and a crutch  ...   what did not tell you want that at the Kumasi Station I minded the luggage and Gifty went for the tickets, she was unable to get up on the platform to get the tickets and one of the folks who wanted on the bus created a bit of a scene ending up with Gifty being shoved to the ground and banging her head, - we got tickets

you can buy almost anything at the station,
food, toilet paper, belts, shoes, hankies,
sunglasses, +++++

                              the bus  (like a city bus, minimal padding in seats,
                                no storage so stuff is on your lap, on the floor at your feet or in the aisle

this is the aisle, there were several large (3 ft by 3 ft) bags, five drums, boxes of bottles water ++++
and passengers standing or sitting on the steps at the door, Bus was way overloaded and when going over some of the speed bumps we hit bottom with the back of the bus (clunk, clunk)

                                         

they are married

Pics when I get back, nice wedding, explain more tomorrow

wedding day for Daniel and Jemi

internet connect less that desirable, but I will try
trip yesterday -11 hours spent travelling on a city like bus (no frills) and waiting for the bus to leave.
I had been told it was a 5 hour trip, well I don't know what planet they live on but it was not, part of the issue is waiting for the bus to get loaded, and travelling over dirt roads, no gravel, just dirt underneath and dust +++++++++ blowing from the vehicle ahead doing maybe 20km/hour, the fellow ahead had a white shirt on and at the end it was shaded with red dust, I wash my hand when I arrived and you would have thought I was playing in the dirt from the colour of the water.
I am having great difficulty transferring pics off Ipad so there may not be any until I get home. today's schedule is a  traditional wedding - all I know is that gifts and conversation happens between the families and ???what else and the wedding will be blessed by the church  afterwards, usually it is just family but Gifty  and I have been invited, all of this is happening in the hotel where we are staying (thank goodness as travel is always a struggle)

plastic lacing from CAMP 101

weaving plastic lacing is a staple at most day and residential camps for kids in Canada but here camps do not exist, actually vacations are not a part of life for most people 

SO I took plastic lacing to the Skill Centre today and showed then how to make the square pattern, (it has been a while for me since I had done it but like riding a bike....you can figure it out) one caught on and was showing the others after I finished, so I sat back at that point and watched. I had some small and larger beads that I took along as well,  they use beads here to decorate thong-type shoes and make jewelry. this summer when I return I will be looking for plastic lacing, any colour and beads, the little ones to decorate the shoes and make jewelry any colour will do, the more varied the better, if you see any let me know please so I can buy 

you see more than one pair of hands as they figured out that if one person held one colour and the second wove  with the second colour they could maintain the tightness - to do by oneself it take practice and today was only Day I, I have no doubt that a few of them will get quite proficient, they catch on very quickly, they are smart women!