INDEPENDENCE DAY
Ghana Independence Day is celebrated every year on March 6th (see Week 9 for previous explanation). We look forward to a "sleep in" day!!!
A little more history: How did Ghana get it's name?
The name was drawn from an ancient African empire that was once famous for its significant power, land, and wealth. Ghana means ‘strong warrior’ or ‘war chief,’ which was the title given to the kings of this ancient kingdom located in some parts of modern-day Mauritania, Senegal, and Mali. The country was given this name on the eve of its independence in 1957. Prior to independence on March 6, 1957, Ghana was called the Gold Coast. The earliest Europeans to set foot on the land were the Portuguese in the 15th century (1471). On their arrival, they found so much gold between the rivers Ankobra and the Volta that they named the area “da Mina”, meaning “The Mine”.
SOURDOUGH SKILLS
We have been "so much grateful" (I hear this phrase several times a week and still love it!) to have the ability to make homemade sourdough bread while here in Ghana. All credit goes to Stephanie Powell who taught me to make sourdough during Covid lockdown. I hope to do her proud by passing on the skill to others here in Ghana. I have taught many senior missionaries and recently convinced a local couple to try it. (Side note: I've found that when a child (my grandkids) or Ghanaian hears "sour"dough, they immediately think it is too sour to eat and take a hard pass.) By teaching this skill to Susie & Joseph Amoah, we hope it will help them have something to sell in the market and make a little side money. They were very grateful and were fast learners.
It is always interesting to see where people live here in Ghana. The conditions are vastly different every time. After spending the day with Amoahs making bread in no AC and extremely hot conditions, I was a sweaty mess. However, it was wonderful to see a bit of their little neighborhood and community. Everyone works together in a central location, with small living quarters surrounding the "community" area. Here are some pictures of the neighborhood. The women were scaling and cleaning fish, making soups and stews, washing clothes in buckets, making many types of foods to sell on the streets, etc.
MAKING KENKEY
Kenkey is a staple food similar to sourdough dumpling from various regions of West Africa, usually served with fried fish, soup or stew. Kenkey is produced by steeping grains of maize in water for about one week, before they are then milled and kneaded with water into a dough. The dough is allowed to ferment for four days to a week before part of the dough is cooked.
You can see these women hard at work making the dough balls and wrapping them in corn husks. They will then steam them and sell on the street.
OTHER COOKING CLASSES
If you are an animal lover or squeamish at all.... please skip the next section altogether. It is what it is... part of Ghana. It has taken me one year to decide to share this. :/
It is sometimes difficult to understand other cultures eating habits. I'm sure we have some that seem very strange to other nations as well. While many Ghanaians keep cats as domestic pets in their homes, some people largely eat cat meat with others disagreeing with the idea, believing that cats are domestic pets which should not be eaten because of their relationship to humans.
Last year around Independence Day, this exact time of year, I received the following communication from a ward member:
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