Odwira, Food, and Identity

Hi friends.

I’m sorry I’m so bad at keeping up with my blog. So much happens everyday and I get so overwhelmed and further and further behind, so catching up is a daunting task.

We spent September 15-19 (Tuesday through Saturday) in Akropong (an hour van ride from the University). Whoa, that was 2 weeks ago! We stayed, for the second time, at Akrofi Christaller Institute, which is a wonderful seminary. The last time we went to ACI was a “Welcome to Ghana” or Ghanaian Culture Retreat. This time, we went to observe a festival called Odwira that occurs annually and is very significant to the people of Akropong and surrounding areas.

We learned about different aspects of the Odwira festival (rituals and traditions) and then attended the events themselves. Sometimes we didn’t learn about a certain event until after we went to it. This was frustrating since people were speaking in Twi and performing traditional rituals that we couldn’t understand. So, at times, we had no idea what was going on.

Our week away was overwhelming and exhausting, but was also incredibly fascinating and exciting. I feel like I don’t have the energy to talk about details in a way that will convey anything you will understand ☺. No matter how in depth I go, there is not really a way that you will know what I’m talking about…so your impression will not be what it would be if you were here. I don’t mean that in a rude way, I just don’t want you to freak out about what I say. So much of my understanding of Odwira is built on the many days in the classroom, hours of conversation, and a month of living in this culture. There is so much behind this festival—culturally, historically, religiously—and words cannot convey what it was like. It’s just too big to write in a blog entry. I will try to tell you briefly about the festival and a few events that stood out to me (for obvious reasons, as you will soon see).

The word Odwira itself means “cleansing.” In the Twi translation of the Bible, the word Odwira is found in Hebrews 1:3—“Jesus cleansed our sins.” So, the short version of the purpose and meaning of the Odwira festival is that it is a festival the cleanses the people and the town. In the presence of Odosu, a very powerful deity, and the ancestors (who play an incredibly important role in Ghanaian society), the Odwira Festival brings cleansing to the people. There are number of different rituals, events, ceremonies, etc throughout the week that are loaded with meaning and significance to the people. We attended a lot of them.

This is the town of Akropong. People lined the streets to watch the Processional on Thursday. MTN is the phone service that I have. Phone companies have ads EVERYWHERE, including the sides of almost all buildings.

The first part about the festival that really stood out was the Processional on Thursday. Thursday is New Years Day for the Akan people (the ethnic group that the people of Akropong belong to). The processional is sort of reminiscent of a parade. It was a gorgeous sunny day and the people from the area stand and sit all along the road waiting for the action to pass them. The main thing that happens during the Processional is that women carry food to a place called The Mausoleum. The Mausoleum is a tree enclosed by four concrete walls. No one is allowed into those walls except the women who carry the food on this one particular day of the year. It is a significant spiritual honor to carry food to the ancestors—the women who carry often become possessed by the deity Odosu. This was an incredibly interesting thing to watch. If I had seen this processional the first day I had been here, I probably would have started crying and wanted to fly home. But, having been here seven weeks, this procession was exciting and with eyes wide open, I learned even more about the people I live with!

This is a woman carrying food to the ancestors. The men next to her keep her going in the right direction and from hurting people. At this point, she was not violently possessed but started running around shortly after I took this picture.

The second ritual that was a bit more overwhelming was the ritual on Friday that cleanses the Mpeni Tree. The Mpeni Tree is a specific tree that is located in front of the Paramount Chief’s Palace. It is HUGE and is not allowed to be touched. This tree has very significant spiritual power and is cleansed annually during this festival. To cleanse the tree, libation is poured to the ancestors, a sheep is sacrificed, and a new white cloth is placed around the tree that stays up until the following year. This cleansing is done by a family who are called the “Keepers of the Tree.” This was a pretty small ceremony and our group of fourteen made up about half of the crowd. Before the ritual began, one of the women who had carried food the previous day in the processional became possessed. Because she was two feet away from me, I’ll go ahead and say that a bit of fear came over me. She was a strong woman when possessed and three big men had trouble keeping her in one place. The spirit of the tree had come into her and communicated to the Keepers of the Tree that it (the tree) was angry. Apparently this year the tree was highly disrespected—touched, peed on, slept next to, the white cloth and a calabash were stolen, etc—and was not happy about it. The spirit wanted the ritual to be a bit different—or more extensive—than usual. So we experienced an interesting twist to this ritual. After the woman “settled down,” we all watched wide-eyed and queasy-stomached as a terrified sheep’s throat was slit and it’s blood poured all the way around the tree. My knees felt funny. The sheep didn’t die for a long time…too long. It was really hard to watch. Somehow though, the ritual in its entirety didn’t upset me nearly as much as I expected it to, and that is not because I am numb. It is because I am learning.

This is the white cloth, sheep head, and empty bottle of Schnapps (for libations) at the foot of the Mpeni Tree.

Christians that observe Odwira or are from Akropong find it difficult to find their identity within the Festival (especially because of things like sacrifice and possession). Because the cleansing that occurs during Odwira is a Traditional Religion and is not through Jesus, many Christians don’t like Odwira. Some Christians choose to think of the festival as simply a reminder of Christ’s all-encompassing cleansing of our sins. The Ghanaian woman that taught us all about Odwira seemed herself to be very confused about the discrepancy between her culture/heritage/history/ancestors and what Christians are “supposed” to think about Odwira. This aspect alone raised about seventeen million questions in my mind. So much to process!

When we got back from Odwira, I for some reason had a hard week. I felt okay physically (well, I’m never completely normal, but not too bad), but emotionally and mentally, I felt so weird. I was homesick. For my parents and my sister, for my friends, for Grand Rapids, for Fall, for Thursday night Office Parties, for Saturday morning Farmers Market, for work, for easy access to a place to paint, for FOOD…

Last week Monday (the 21st) was a National Holiday to celebrate the day that Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana’s first president after Colonial Rule) would have been 100 years old. To celebrate, a few of us went to a nearby outdoor resort-like pool/hotel and I spent the day getting tan and pretending to be in Florida with my family. I ate hummus and pita and pizza. After that, I went through about a week of grumpiness and fantasy over foods that I wished I could eat. This lead to going out of my way to not eat normal Ghanaian food and to fill myself with foods that at least minimally reminded me of home. The pool started the snowball effect that continued for a week: I ate avocado and cheese sandwiches, pizza, ice cream, cheesecake, a latte, TONS of chocolate chip cookies, made bruschetta and pasta one night, Snickers bars (well, chocolate of any time), an orange float, jelly on bread, peanut butter and nutella, the list goes on… I even called my dad and told him to send me EasyMac in the mail (not realizing it would be confiscated by customs anyway). I never even eat EasyMac at home! Our entire group went “out out” for the first time to a bar called Champs. It felt way too much like a bar at home. But it was fun and felt like home to eat a delicious burrito with guacamole, drink Long Island Iced Tea, and sing Karaoke. Without further detail, let’s just say our group deeeeeefinitely bonded that night!

Today was one of the first days that I felt like eating Ghanaian food again, and I enjoyed it! Groundnut soup with Garden Eggs tasted lovely. That’s good.

I have also been reflecting the last few days on how being here has made me feel like I’m having an identity crisis. So many parts of my identity are at home…people, places, things…and it’s hard to figure out what is left of me and who I am. We read an excerpt from Shauna Niequist’s book Cold Tangerines today about her study abroad experience. She says about being abroad in England for a semester: “They were the days. They were singularly beautiful, terrible days. In some ways, I was never more myself, and in others, never more unrecognizable.” This is freakishly true. At times, I feel misunderstood. Like I’m trying to be myself but failing at it. The people we debrief life with are an expensive phone call away and it feels so far. There is a real beauty in getting to know a group of people in this way, but in some ways it is also really hard to not have people who have known me a while (or forever) be here to hug me. Based on recent conversations with friends here, a lot of us feel this way some degree. I know that this is part of the experience—figuring out who I really am without the people, places, and things that I thought made me who I was. I heard this would happen but had no idea how it would feel or what it would look like. And I’m sure this isn’t the end…

Shauna Niequist also says: “We were young American travelers, stumbling and crashing through [Ghana], falling in and out of love with it, with one another, with ourselves.” This too couldn’t be more true. (Except I’m not falling in love with anyone…haha.) I have seen in the past week this back and forth feeling of falling in and out of love with Ghana. There are days all I want is to sit in my front yard in my hammock talking to Katie Pals who loves me no matter what. Then there are other days when the thought that next week marks the half-way point in our trip makes me want to cry because I can’t bear the thought of leaving this place and these people.

This is getting long. I’m sorry that it’s so hard to put up pictures. I’m going into the Northern Region (“going North” as it is said commonly) this coming Monday. The Northern region is predominantly Muslim, and is much more impoverished and rural than anywhere we have yet been. We are going to learn more about the Muslim community, visit some villages and witches camps, step across the border into Burkina Faso, sit on a crocodile, do a safari ride, and visit a lot of NGOs. I’m really looking forward to the trip (Not the 12 hour car ride on bumpy roads. Pray for health and safety for our group!) I’ll do my best to blog about it soon after…I have a feeling I will, yet again, have a million things to say.

Thanks for reading this!

Love, Annica

P.S. I should have brought Ugly. I miss him.

Pictures!

This is my family in Ghana: Rachel Victor, Miranda DeVries, Chelsea Parr, Me, Grace DeBoer, and Anica Jeremie. Stalk them on facebook :)
Shia Hills. This place was breathtaking. I could have stayed on this rock for hours...
Cedi Beads, a company that makes jewelry from recycled glass. So cool to see the process and the product!
This is a gorgeous view from Elmina Castle. Daddy, I hope you appreciate this. Doesn't the water look like the Galapagos?
Amy, Rachel, Random Guy, Naomi, Chelsea, Grace, Anica, and Me at a local radio station in Ga East (part of Greater Accra).
A picture I love. This is at the top of a hike we took to Umbrella Rock (near Boti Falls). Double click on it to get the full depth of this wonderful, colorful sight! (Note: Paa Kwesi, the little boy in blue, is one of my favorite people in Ghana!)

Cape Coast and Illness...

Hi everyone!!

Hold your horses, I have so much to catch you up on!!

We went to Cape Coast last week Friday-Saturday (a town right on the ocean). Friday we went to Cape Coast Castle and Elmina Castle (both are slave castles where slaves were kept for months before getting on slave ships to the Americas) followed by some cloudy time at a beautiful beach called Brenu Beach. The beach was relaxing and a good place to reflect. The whole time I was at the slave castles, I wanted my parents to be there with me. It was so powerful being there, standing on the dungeon floors where people suffered worse than I can even imagine and many died. To think the smell of misery (months of hundreds of people's bodily waste and tears) is still in the floors. So many questions/feelings/thoughts ran through my head all day. I felt small and almost crippled by the realities of history that day. In both castles, there is a CHURCH directly above the dungeons where human beings were moaning and weeping...just unbelievable. I also was struck by the dichotomy of how thecastles are in such a beautiful place. Standing nearthe canons in the castle the ocean, the breeze, the bright sun, the
castle itself is gorgeous...and below my feet such horror took place. Ah, I just can't shake that off. And I shouldn't. I just wish everyone from home could have stood there, heard what I heard, learned what I learned, and seen what I saw. It was pretty cool to know that Obama and Michelle were here a few months ago too :)

Saturday, we went on the Kakum canopy walk. It is a walk on metal/rope walk ways 120 feet above the ground through a canopy. I wish it had been longer but it was beautiful. The forest reminded me of Ecuadorian jungle. Later in the afternoon we went to the Fetu festival in Cape Coast. There were a gazillion people watching and participating in a big parade. I kept thinking "this is like the 4th of July on crack!" The people and the energy and the colors took my breath away--I took a lot of pictures I'm really proud of. I'll try to attach a few...I don't know if it will work though...

Sunday we went to a football (soccer) game here in Accra. It was so high energy and colorful too. Like so many things here :) Ah! I had so much Ghana pride. The Ghana Black Stars (referencing the flag) beat Sudan in the Qualifier Match for the World Cup next year. YAY!

So...for the illness...
I was in the local clinic Tuesday morning around 6am after what I like to call "the night from hell." All of a sudden around 11:30pm Monday night I felt funny...then I felt awful. And spend the entire night in the bathroom in dear old ISH2. Literally, I was on the toilet with diarrhea and a puke bucket in front of me from midnight until 6am. Sorry for the gruesome details, but I figured I'd just tell it like it is. Oh, I should mention too that I have not thrown up in ten years...so doing it by myself and not even remembering how awful it really feels was not my idea of fun! Finally Professor Hugen took me to the clinic. I had blood/stool/urine tests done and it ends up I had a really severe infection. Bacteria and amoeba all over my tummy--probably from food, said the very nice doctor who was the only good part about that morning. He prescribed me a couple antibiotics (which for the last few days have made my mouth taste like metal...yuck!) but I didn't have to stay in the clinic which is good. It is now Thursday night and I am finally perking up!

Funny part (ok, not funny) about that story is that when I got home from the clinic, I heard that Grace DeBoer (from our Calvin group) had been throwing up some of the night too...though we never crossed paths in the bathroom. I did switch bathrooms a few times so apparently we
just missed each other. But, she basically had the exact same thing as me. Miranda DeVries (another from the group) had also gotten really bad diarrhea in the early morning and Anica Jeremie (yet another from the group) was starting to feel really awful (and eventually had
diarreah/vomitting just as bad as the rest of us). We thought that was strange...because we are all really good friends. We finally figured out that the common food we ate was from some of the nicest restaurants around: We had gone out for dinner together on Sunday night (after the Football game) to Papaye (cheeseburgers!!--yes, I, the vegetarian, fully enjoyed my cheeseburger) in Osu and had very expensive ice cream at Frankie's afterwards. We finally pieced it all together when I got to my room and learned that my roommate Genevieve threw up right after I left for the clinic. She, too, had gone to Frankie's after the game. Her sister (who lives somewhere else) was also sick and had gone to Frankie's. So, in conclusion, Genevieve is calling a radio station because she said it is the most effective way for people to find out
things like this. And we are all so mad because that chocolate/vanilla twist ice cream cone was the best thing I've ever tasted!!! It's a good thing I don't (and hopefully never will) associate ice cream with illness.

So, Tuesday was spent in my room with all four of the "sickies" and "nurse" Rachel Victor (a girl from our group who is a woman of God for taking care of us all day). Everyone else's roommates were cooking food that made us all want to puke (and some of us did) and my roommate was home since she was sick too. So my room was the hospital for the day (and Wednesday too since we all could still barely move...so achy!!). We are all much better today (Thursday), finally eating/drinking comfortably again. It's really strange to think that I would be able to fit everything I have eaten/drank in 2 days in a quart sized bag...

This experience, though I would wish it on no one, really brought our little group together. I am so glad it happened with the girls I did. We were closest to each other before this, but now, after taking care of each other--being each other's family when our own families weren't there--is a gift from God. I miss my parents a lot right now. I've talked to them a fair amount over the past few days, and there are so many moments I wish they were here with me (like when I'm puking and crying...lol). My mom has been a God-send the last few days. She has basically been our doctor from afar: giving us good advice, researching meds, and telling us what to take and eat. She took a lot of time out of her day to help us. She has seriously been such a comfort and support--those of you that know her know how wonderful she is. I LOVE HER! The other girls told their parents how helpful my mom has been. Grace's mom asked where my mom lives so she could go hug her! Uh, I'm so blessed. Thanks mommy (and daddy for supporting me too and marrying her).

It was realllllllly nice to only have 2 days of class (that I actually went to) this week though. We only one day of class next week too. Welcome to the good life huh? We go to Akropong for the Odwira Festival on Tuesday until Saturday. Should be really good.

OH!!! I GOT MY DRUM TODAY! I ordered it last week from the Drum Master who is our instructor. I feel like I'm really getting the whole djembe thing down. WOO! Miranda DeVries (who also got a drum today) and I like to jam on tables and our thighs to keep the rhythms in our heads all week!

So, to conclude:
1. I have a little family here in Ghana. I am forever grateful for their love, company, and servant hearts. Chelsea greets us often (in her cute little voice) with out-stretched arms "Family!"
2. I miss my family at home.
3. I can't believe I've already been here 1/4 of our time!!! AH! Some days I never want to leave. Other days I miss people and Easy Mac but I'll give up the Easy Mac and have everyone just come here instead. Ok? Ok. Now go buy your tickets.

I WANT TO SHOW YOU PICTURES. BUT INTERNET IS SO POOPY THAT I NEVER CANNNNNNN. GR!

Love (a much healthier than 2 days ago),

Annica

How do I sum up the last 2 weeks?! I'll just try to break it down into bullet points :)

Trips: We spent 3 days (2 nights) in a small town called Akropong not last weekend but the weekend before. It was both relaxing and overwhelming. We learned SO MUCH new information through lectures and experience...about culture here, gender roles, language, spirituality. At that point, everything was so overwhelming that I felt really emotional much of the time. Since then, things are not so new and I have had more time to piece things together and not feel so bombarded by newness. On Friday we are going to Cape Coast to visit the slave castles and do a canopy walk. I'm really excited to take a nice air conditioned bus instead of little tro tros (rickety vans that are basically really cheap--as in less that a quarter to go a long way--taxi/buses) that make me carsick.

Classes: Class started last week Monday (so we are in our second week of classes). I am taking West African Literature; West African Politics and Development; Ghanaian Religion, Family and Human Services; Twi (the most widely spoken language in Ghana); African Drumming; African Dance; and Ghanaian Peoples and Cultures. We meet in a little room with a long table in the middle and our professors come to us. There has been a lot of good overlap in the different classes which has made getting a full picture of culture and history really exciting. I feel like I'm REALLY learning and grasping things because it is coming from so many different angles. You learn it in one class, it is mentioned in another, you see it when you walk back from class, your roommate explains it to you once you get back to your Hostel...THIS is the way to learn something so that is sticks :)

Living: I live in ISH2 (International Student Hostel II) and so far, it is going very well. My roommate finally moved in for good and she is so wonderful! Her name is Genevieve and she is such a respectful and sweet roommate. She took care of me while I was sick--went out and bought me Coke because she said it would settle my stomach :) It sounded awful but I drank it anyway :) We have had some great conversations and laughs. She's so pretty and I'll have to show you a picture of her soon! Genevieve's mom and my mom both turned 50 on August 28. SO GREAT! We had a moment laughing about that. She loves watching movies and does so almost every night. The Ghanaian way to relax I suppose!

Weather: It has not been THAT hot here yet. It's always warm and when the sun comes out, it burns. But, often it is slightly overcast for at least part of every day, which gives Ghana a break from the sun. Sometimes there is misty rain--like you are standing in line for a roller coaster. I haven't been uncomfortably hot that many times, but it is really humid. My hair does not cooperate here. And today I kindof missed my Chi :) I've heard that we needn't worry though--the sun WILL make its appearance and make us miserable eventually :)

Food: Ghana likes rice and chicken. It is definitely the staple here. We ate a lot of rice (I especially like jollof rice...it is seasoned with who knows what and is much better than fried rice or plain rice) the first few weeks and just recently have started venturing out. I had a local dish called fufu last week. It is a pounded dough that is plopped in a HUGE bowl of soup or stew (I had mine with big pieces of goat meat and "light goat soup") and is eaten with your hands (Just your right hand actually. It is culturally insensitive to do much with your left hand.) Then I got really sick for about five days and have just started feeling better. A few days ago, my roommate Genevieve took me to the Night Market (a market RIGHT outside our Hostel) to try some new foods. [We go there all the time for bananas, mango, toilet paper, cookies, juice, clothes hangers, bread, etc. However, we have been avoiding buying hot food (they sell all kinds of rice, skewers, local foods like fufu, noodles, etc.) at the Night Market for the first few weeks (for the sake of our tummies getting used to food here), but it is time to start eating there. It's very cheap (less than a dollar for a good meal) and so convenient.] Anyway, we got "bread and egg" which is basically a thin, yummy omlet with green pepper and onion (Yay! There are not many vegetables here!) on tea bread (which is like heaven to me!). Like a sandwhich. Made right in front of you. SO GOOD. Oh, there is also a little restaurant inside our hostel--open air and a great place to socialize--called Tasty Treats. They have cheap little omlettes, waffles, tea, coffee, and lunch/dinner food too. Some of our group almost always meets there for a light breakfast before class. It's a nice place to fall back on if we don't feel like walking to get our food.

Daily Life: It's really fun/interesting how the things that take up most of my time are figuring out how to get from place to place, where/what to eat, when to fit in washing my clothes by hand and giving them time to dry on the line, taking a shower not knowing if the water will be turned off in an hour, buying enough water/toilet paper so you don't run out...basic survival kind of things :) It has not been stressful at all--having to do things differently, that is--in fact, it has slowed me down in the best way. Putting effort into everyday activities has somehow helped me to find beauty in the process. Walking fifteen minutes to get dinner encourages conversation or comfortable silence. Washing clothes builds community...some of our best conversations with Calvin students, roommates, and new friends have been while scrubbing underwear. Sounds lofty, but it's true. I feel relaxed...not rushing from place to place is WONDERFUL. I hope I can take that back with me...

Final thoughts: Thanks for loving me from afar! I love you all so much and think of you often. Many of you must know that your faces are hanging by my bed in photographic format :)
--David Benjamin: I have especially been thinking about you since the hard news about Josh and settling into life in Portland with the boys (Hi Greggy and Atti!).
--CICW: I have also been thinking lots about all of you during this transition period into the new semester. Cindy, I love you and pray for you every day. Thank you for being an incredible influence in my life--like a second mom. I pray the MRI was clear and that surgery goes smoothly. God is in control! Thanks to Eric and Calvin for keeping me updated...I wish I could hug all of you. How is little Nathaniel and new office spaces? I feel like I am always talking about you...there's a group of people here who probably feel like they know you all by now :)
--Woodlawn and friends: I've been thinking of you lots as well! People moving in (Melissawoo) and out (Katiedear), Melissa doing orientation, basement girls getting ready for Africa (!!!!), classes starting at many different schools (Jonelle, Lorr, Mikey, Katie)... OH BABY. So much going on!! I LOVE YOU ALL AND EVERYONE HERE KNOWS HOW WONDERFUL AND BEAUTIFUL YOU ALL ARE. Your faces come up in conversation and in pictures often :)

More later (with pictures hopefully). I LOVE THIS PLACE. And all of you.

Annica