Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Ghana: Hell Yes (nheiner)

Here's the Ghana map, in case you want to look it over and have fun clicking on all the little buttons. Who knows, maybe you can come up with a question that I can't answer. That would be ironic.


View Larger Map

Here are some notes I compiled on the media that Dave found for me at the UW library. He still has the stuff, if anyone wants to check it out and see some more ritual chicken slaughter:

Ghana: Introduction

Saturday, January 26, 2008

6:14 PM

  1. Geography - Ghana (Bradt)
    • "flat and low lying"
    • Always less than 1000m
    • 50% is less than 150m
  2. Fauna
    • Chameleons are common
      • Badass animals
      • Tongue as long as its body
      • Natural camo
      • Eyes give 1800 field of vision
        • Independent motion
  3. Folk music: 205 (Ghana)
    • Excellent
    • Sounds vaguely Mexican
  4. A Great Tree Has Fallen
    • Semi-interesting traditional stuff that can be slow at times
    • Good for a few minutes
  5. Sankofa
    • Self-centered American model
      • "I'm not an African"
    • 9:30
    • Ancient spirit dude freaks out about misuse of slave castles
      • Shows what slave castles look like
      • Commentary on their commercialization
    • Interesting cinematic style
      • 10:30 - eye contact with camera
    • 14:30 spirits attack
    • 17:02 - travels back in time
    • 17:52 - frontal nudity OMG!
  6. Witches in Exile
    • Women whose children die are accused of their death
      • Why?
      • Evolutionary instinct: if the child dies, then the mother carries bad genes as well
      • Social control mechanism (4:30)
        • "if you are too rich, if you are boastful"
        • "if you are a loner"
        • "if you are quarrelsome"
      • Method of explaining deaths (6:30)
        • Many deaths in Ghanaian society
        • Difficult to explain
      • Sexist: no male witches
        • 12:42 - explanation of this
    • 1:47
      • "Kukuo Witches Home"
    • 2:16 - powerful statements
      • "If someone is accused, what should happen to them?"
      • No sense of "innocent before proven guilty"
      • Severe punishment
    • 2:40 - impressive head juggling
    • 6:10 - traditional version of witchcraft/what people are told from an early age
    • 7:00 - excerpt from "End of the Wicked"
    • 8:25 - mix of Christianity and local culture
      • Baptist school teacher talking about witches
    • 9:50 - Human rights activist talking about witch camps
    • 11:20 - Rural, underdeveloped Northern Ghana
      • Contrasts with richer Southern Ghana
      • North v. South
      • Northerners still believe in witchcraft
        • Rural traditions still strong
      • Weaker in the South
    • 13:20 - state of women's rights in Ghana
    • 14:30 - Kukuo witches home
      • If woman is accused, she is brought there by family members
      • Community can have witch back if they want
    • 16:25 - witchcraft trial process
      • Slay a chicken
      • It flaps around on the ground
      • Final position determines whether or not the allegations are true or false
    • 18:25 - family violence is common
  7. University of Ghana
    • 1948
    • 24,000 students
    • Legon, a suburb 12km NE of Accra's center
      • Legon = Ga (indigenous Ghana language) for "Hill of Knowledge"
    • Produces many of the Ghanaian ruling class: chief justices, parliamentary representatives, heads of state, etc
    • Six other public universities

Here are the stupid questions I wrote:

Maze Questions

Sunday, January 27, 2008

10:32 PM

  1. Who was the first leader of Ghana, and when did he take office?
    1. Nelson Mandela, 1957
    2. Kwame Nkrumah, 1957
    3. Nelson Mandela, 1946
    4. Kwame Nkrumah, 1946
  2. What is the life expectancy in Ghana?
    1. 59
    2. 61
    3. 48
    4. 77
  3. What is the national language of Ghana?
    1. Ga
    2. Akan
    3. Portuguese
    4. English
  4. Where was "Sankofa" filmed?
    1. Accra
    2. Kumasi
    3. Cape Coast
    4. Ada
  5. Where is the witches home?
    1. Jaagpo
    2. Daboya
    3. Salaga
    4. Kukuo
  6. Which is most rural?
    1. Northern Ghana
    2. Southern Ghana
    3. Eastern Ghana
    4. Western Ghana
  7. What is a tro-tro?
    1. Government mass transit
    2. State-owned taxi system
    3. Type of nut
    4. Hell
  8. What is the name of our hotel?
    1. Centrum for Religious Prayer and Dialog
    2. Mama's Hostel
    3. Oki Doki Hostel
    4. Akwaaba Beach House
  9. Which of the following is a neighborhood in Accra?
    1. Jamestown
    2. Georgetown
    3. Kumasi
    4. Legon
  10. How big is Ghana, approximately?
    1. Florida
    2. New York
    3. Rhode Island
    4. Oregon
  11. Where are the slave wells located?
    1. Dobya
    2. Ada
    3. Salaga
    4. Kumasi
  12. What is neo-imperialism?
    1. European powers reestablish total control through military action
    2. Neo-Nazis take over
    3. Neo, The One, flies in and pwns everyone
    4. Western companies maintain economic control over the country
  13. Who is the current leader of Ghana?
    1. Prime Minister John Kufuor
    2. General John Kufuor
    3. President John Kufuor
    4. Tzar John Kufuor
  14. What kind of government does Ghana have?
    1. Federalist Republic
    2. Anarchy
    3. Military dictatorship
    4. Constitutional Republic
  15. What two religious are often simultaneously followed in Ghana?
    1. Islam and Christianity
    2. Judaism and Christianity
    3. Christianity and local paganism
    4. Local paganism and Islam
  16. What is the significance of Jaagpo Sacred Grove?
    1. Major slave trading post
    2. Baobab with hoof marks from horse of local Chief
    3. Natural geysers
    4. Elephant breeding grounds
  17. How big is Lake Volta?
    1. Hella big
    2. Biggest manmade lake ever
    3. Biggest lake ever
    4. Friggin' huge
  18. How much does it cost to climb the 30m James Town lighthouse?
    1. $5
    2. $2
    3. $.4
    4. $1
  19. What event was a major turning point in the African independence movement?
    1. Protestors at Cape Coast Slave Castle are shot
    2. Protestors at Osu Castle are shot
    3. Protestors overrun guards at Fort Ussher
    4. Protestors overrun guards at Fort James
  20. How many Chiefs of Ada were killed by British between 1876 and 1930?
    1. 3 of the 4
    2. 1 of the 4
    3. 4 of the 4
    4. 5 of the 5

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