Thursday, March 08, 2007
50th Anniversary Independence Day Celebrations
Tuesday 6th March was the 50th Anniversary of Ghana’s independence from British colonial rule, and it was a memorable and colourful occasion. Preparations have been taking place for a while, but more so in the capital, than in the far out reaches of places like Tumu. Anyway, come Monday everyone’s really up for it – souvenir T-shirts and caps are being sort after, running orders are being arranged and speeches written. It was a bit like the ‘A Team’, they love it when the plan comes together …eventually.
The general gist of the day was a big parade, where different groups march, giving and taking the salute from the Chief Executive Officer of the Sissala East District. There was also a range of other events that filled up the day. It’s a national holiday every year and everyone heads down to the Community ‘Field’ to watch proceedings. To get in the spirit of the celebrations we were decked out in traditional Ghanaian attire. Diane had a Ghanaian dress made with local material and I bought a ‘fu gu’ (a smock) – see photograph. Before you start sending the e-mails, yes I know I look like Windy Millar (that’ll puzzle our younger readers)! We went to the occasion separately, Di was with TUTCO, who were marching (not Diane I hasten to add), and I went early to get a seat with those from GES…in the shade.
Now in true Ghanaian and African tradition, events were to start early. All schools had to be assembled and ready to march by 7.00am. So I made sure I got there for 8.00am. They started marching at 10.30! The schools had actually been there from earlier than 7.00am and they then had to stand around in the heat for at least three and a half hours. This was like the equivalent of putting a dog in a car during the summer with the windows closed! They were all in line, superbly dressed just itching to go, but nothing can start till the dignitaries turn up. In addition before they started marching there was: a drama from a local school, but the PA system didn’t work, so no-one knew what was going on; the end of the cross country run; the Ghanaian National Anthem sung in Sissala; and of course the inspection of the ranks of marchers by the dignitaries. All that done, then the marching could begin! The students of all ages, and sizes, were brilliant. They were immaculately turned out, and as well as marching they had to sing a song of their choice – all linked to independence. This was all pretty impressive. As well as schools and colleges, there were marchers from all areas of Tumu life: the Police; the towns butchers (who had someone marching with a cow’s head balanced on his head); the motor fitters (who looked like they were going to war holding their exhaust pipes like Arnie’s oozy – see picture), the bread makers; the dress makers (one woman did the salute with a sowing machine on her head – see picture, she’s saluting not holding the machine); the hairdressers; the mother’s union; the Christian women’s association; and a whole host of NGOs. As the marching progressed all the pristine outfits worn by the school children got redder and redder from the dust. In all, it probably took about an hour for everyone to give the salute. After this there was even more entertainment whilst the judges deliberated. First however, everyone rushed in close to try and get a better view of the proceedings. So the crowd were now confined to an area of about one hundred square yards with a bit of a space in the middle for the events to take place. Our view in the shade was now becoming seriously restricted. So not only couldn’t we hear anything we couldn’t see much either! I did manage to catch the tug-o-war between the police and the butchers – the cow’s head marking the middle ground. The police had full footwear on in the form of boots, the butchers none! The butchers slaughtered (excuse the pun) the police to celebrations reminiscent of a football team winning the World Cup. I also saw Tumu’s only Karate expert crack a few blocks of wood, and watched another mini-drama, by another school, minus the sound of course. By now Diane was trying desperately, with the other folies to get under the shade – but without success. However they were all in a position to witness the most ironic event of the proceedings. Most of the crowd obscuring our view were naturally enough, children, and there were lots of them wearing t-shirts with the slogan ‘respect the rights of children’. Unfortunately, that doesn’t wash with the crowd controllers, who proceeded to clear the restricted views with the aid of a big stick! Needless to say, the kids are obviously used to it, as they kept coming back for more! At this point, as the proceedings nose-dived into harmonious chaos, I took my leave. I couldn’t see anything or hear anything that was going on, and also the others had headed off to the local bar – so I went to join them.
We didn’t see the presentation of the marching awards (certificates designed by yours truly), however as we were relaxing in the local bar, a band arrived (trombone and a few assorted drums), leading the victorious school to the hostelry, where the children each received a well earned mineral and a cabin biscuit. Just for the record the overall winner was The Great Provider School.
The afternoon was spent relaxing and chatting with a few locals, before we retired for our late afternoon nap – Whitehill habits die hard. A great day was capped off by a visit to the Danes house in the evening, where they provided real pizza! They have an oven and a fully fitted out kitchen. There was another reason for going of course, and that was to watch the second leg of the Champions League game between Liverpool and Barcelona. Now don’t worry, the blog isn’t going to degenerate into a football blog, but the events of the evening epitomise what can happen when you’ve got something planned. Firstly, the plan was for me and Rasmus (male Dane) to watch the game courtesy of Burkina TV, whilst everyone else had a pleasant social gathering. Typically, Burkina TV decided to televise Lyon (French team) versus Roma instead. Rasmus (he’s very influential having been in Tumu over 12 months) decides to pull out all the stops and see if any of his contacts are showing the Liverpool game…without success. So we decide to settle for Lyon, after all some football is better than no football. After 5 minutes of the game, the Burkina signal goes down. So now we’ve got no football – Ghana TV was dedicated naturally enough to independence day celebrations and this despite the fact that Chelsea were playing! So we resigned ourselves to socialising with the others. Then a telephone call from Yakabu, the local electrical shop owner informs us that he’s going to show the second half of the Liverpool game. We go over to his shop, with a beer to show our gratitude, and there’s about thirty people standing outside watching a portable tv. When we arrive, Yakabu takes us inside the shop and gives us two plastic chairs, and we watch the game on a bigger tv. It was like being in an executive box. Being a folie does sometimes have its advantages. The rest is history, as they say, and we eventually returned back to the house, to finish off a lovely day with everyone else.
The next day was also typical. All schools were off, the children get a day to clean themselves up, but everyone else should be in work, unless the President decides to make it a public holiday. Well he did, although not everyone got to know, so the first couple of hours were spent with people going in and coming out of work, when they realised it was actually a holiday. So the final comment must be a thank you to President Kufuor for so graciously giving us the day off, but next time can you make sure we find out in good time to get a decent sleep in!
Tuesday 6th March was the 50th Anniversary of Ghana’s independence from British colonial rule, and it was a memorable and colourful occasion. Preparations have been taking place for a while, but more so in the capital, than in the far out reaches of places like Tumu. Anyway, come Monday everyone’s really up for it – souvenir T-shirts and caps are being sort after, running orders are being arranged and speeches written. It was a bit like the ‘A Team’, they love it when the plan comes together …eventually.
The general gist of the day was a big parade, where different groups march, giving and taking the salute from the Chief Executive Officer of the Sissala East District. There was also a range of other events that filled up the day. It’s a national holiday every year and everyone heads down to the Community ‘Field’ to watch proceedings. To get in the spirit of the celebrations we were decked out in traditional Ghanaian attire. Diane had a Ghanaian dress made with local material and I bought a ‘fu gu’ (a smock) – see photograph. Before you start sending the e-mails, yes I know I look like Windy Millar (that’ll puzzle our younger readers)! We went to the occasion separately, Di was with TUTCO, who were marching (not Diane I hasten to add), and I went early to get a seat with those from GES…in the shade.
Now in true Ghanaian and African tradition, events were to start early. All schools had to be assembled and ready to march by 7.00am. So I made sure I got there for 8.00am. They started marching at 10.30! The schools had actually been there from earlier than 7.00am and they then had to stand around in the heat for at least three and a half hours. This was like the equivalent of putting a dog in a car during the summer with the windows closed! They were all in line, superbly dressed just itching to go, but nothing can start till the dignitaries turn up. In addition before they started marching there was: a drama from a local school, but the PA system didn’t work, so no-one knew what was going on; the end of the cross country run; the Ghanaian National Anthem sung in Sissala; and of course the inspection of the ranks of marchers by the dignitaries. All that done, then the marching could begin! The students of all ages, and sizes, were brilliant. They were immaculately turned out, and as well as marching they had to sing a song of their choice – all linked to independence. This was all pretty impressive. As well as schools and colleges, there were marchers from all areas of Tumu life: the Police; the towns butchers (who had someone marching with a cow’s head balanced on his head); the motor fitters (who looked like they were going to war holding their exhaust pipes like Arnie’s oozy – see picture), the bread makers; the dress makers (one woman did the salute with a sowing machine on her head – see picture, she’s saluting not holding the machine); the hairdressers; the mother’s union; the Christian women’s association; and a whole host of NGOs. As the marching progressed all the pristine outfits worn by the school children got redder and redder from the dust. In all, it probably took about an hour for everyone to give the salute. After this there was even more entertainment whilst the judges deliberated. First however, everyone rushed in close to try and get a better view of the proceedings. So the crowd were now confined to an area of about one hundred square yards with a bit of a space in the middle for the events to take place. Our view in the shade was now becoming seriously restricted. So not only couldn’t we hear anything we couldn’t see much either! I did manage to catch the tug-o-war between the police and the butchers – the cow’s head marking the middle ground. The police had full footwear on in the form of boots, the butchers none! The butchers slaughtered (excuse the pun) the police to celebrations reminiscent of a football team winning the World Cup. I also saw Tumu’s only Karate expert crack a few blocks of wood, and watched another mini-drama, by another school, minus the sound of course. By now Diane was trying desperately, with the other folies to get under the shade – but without success. However they were all in a position to witness the most ironic event of the proceedings. Most of the crowd obscuring our view were naturally enough, children, and there were lots of them wearing t-shirts with the slogan ‘respect the rights of children’. Unfortunately, that doesn’t wash with the crowd controllers, who proceeded to clear the restricted views with the aid of a big stick! Needless to say, the kids are obviously used to it, as they kept coming back for more! At this point, as the proceedings nose-dived into harmonious chaos, I took my leave. I couldn’t see anything or hear anything that was going on, and also the others had headed off to the local bar – so I went to join them.
We didn’t see the presentation of the marching awards (certificates designed by yours truly), however as we were relaxing in the local bar, a band arrived (trombone and a few assorted drums), leading the victorious school to the hostelry, where the children each received a well earned mineral and a cabin biscuit. Just for the record the overall winner was The Great Provider School.
The afternoon was spent relaxing and chatting with a few locals, before we retired for our late afternoon nap – Whitehill habits die hard. A great day was capped off by a visit to the Danes house in the evening, where they provided real pizza! They have an oven and a fully fitted out kitchen. There was another reason for going of course, and that was to watch the second leg of the Champions League game between Liverpool and Barcelona. Now don’t worry, the blog isn’t going to degenerate into a football blog, but the events of the evening epitomise what can happen when you’ve got something planned. Firstly, the plan was for me and Rasmus (male Dane) to watch the game courtesy of Burkina TV, whilst everyone else had a pleasant social gathering. Typically, Burkina TV decided to televise Lyon (French team) versus Roma instead. Rasmus (he’s very influential having been in Tumu over 12 months) decides to pull out all the stops and see if any of his contacts are showing the Liverpool game…without success. So we decide to settle for Lyon, after all some football is better than no football. After 5 minutes of the game, the Burkina signal goes down. So now we’ve got no football – Ghana TV was dedicated naturally enough to independence day celebrations and this despite the fact that Chelsea were playing! So we resigned ourselves to socialising with the others. Then a telephone call from Yakabu, the local electrical shop owner informs us that he’s going to show the second half of the Liverpool game. We go over to his shop, with a beer to show our gratitude, and there’s about thirty people standing outside watching a portable tv. When we arrive, Yakabu takes us inside the shop and gives us two plastic chairs, and we watch the game on a bigger tv. It was like being in an executive box. Being a folie does sometimes have its advantages. The rest is history, as they say, and we eventually returned back to the house, to finish off a lovely day with everyone else.
The next day was also typical. All schools were off, the children get a day to clean themselves up, but everyone else should be in work, unless the President decides to make it a public holiday. Well he did, although not everyone got to know, so the first couple of hours were spent with people going in and coming out of work, when they realised it was actually a holiday. So the final comment must be a thank you to President Kufuor for so graciously giving us the day off, but next time can you make sure we find out in good time to get a decent sleep in!
