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« Somba Villages in West Africa | Main | The Gurunsi, Talensi and Kassena Groups, West Africa »

Northern Togo and Ghana's Different Ethnic Groups, West Africa

The Moba are a group of warriors who still practice the rite of female circumcision. (Owie, that hurts!) They inhabit the north and build their homes of clay, with conical roofs made of straw. A wall surrounds and protects the huts belonging to members of the same family and form small villages spread out over the territory.

But the most important part of this day was Christmas Eve and we would be tenting in the Somba region. On the way back from an excursion to visit a "bracelet village", we passed a young man biking along the road with a turkey hanging by his feet from the bicycle. Turkey! How perfect for Christmas. With that, Roberto and Godfried jumped out of their vehicles and started negotiating and, even though the cook was planning to prepare something else for Christmas dinner, bought the turkey.

This was a great photo op for Godfield ...View image...and ex-Marine...

turkandson.jpg
ex-Marine and turkey

Our turkey was tenderly located on the roof of one Land Rover in a sheltered place until his speedy dispatch to turkey heaven that evening.

turkonroof.jpg
temporary home for the turkey

The next village was....??...I haven't got a clue...but it will always be the "bracelet village" to me. These very hardworking women wove and braided bracelets out of grass...which they then sold for a ridiculously low price...perhaps 10 cents a bracelet...

brace2.jpg
weaving bracelets

We immediately set to work buying as many as we could....from each and every woman selling their handiwork...View image...

brace3.jpg
selling bracelets
bracewomen.jpg
village craftswomen

Gary, in our group, then spotted this man wearing an incredible headdress which he promptly bought. Rats...it was one-of-a-kind...

headdres.jpg
shells and horns

Back to camp for a fast solar shower and festive Christmas eve dinner. The cook barbequed the turkey over a fire, and with a lot of input from us......you do not serve a turkey to a group of Americans with its head on.....he cooked up a yummy turkey.

turkdinner.jpg
turkey, before head was cut off

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