Oware – Kumasi and its culture

The project I was working on at the time was trying to see how people who lived neither in the heart of the city, nor in the true countryside, but in the fast expanding twilight zone in between, w…

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Oware – a transect of Kumasi

The stay in the BC would often be less than twenty minutes, but it was enough.  I would be happy coming down the stairs of the office, passing by the entrance to the BC library below and back to t…

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Oware – an oasis of Britain

I talk often at the number of chance occurrences that have happened during my time abroad; one day you are contemplating passing another weekend with a good book or more work, when someone turns u…

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Oware – a tapestry of daily life

 

Ada and Kwaru were sometimes pests, sometimes amusing.  We would sit and chat.  Every morning, the routine was the same, I would rise and shower, and come into the kitchen area to make a cup of co…

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Oware – sizing up the competition

I watched a few games and then felt confident enough to play against Kojo.  I tried to think things through, but was too inexperienced to remember all the catching techniques and lost heavily.  I …

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Oware – Learning to play

Kojo and the guy played a game.  It was now pouring down with rain and the seller was not planning to go anywhere until the storm had moved on.  They placed four beans in each of the cups and Kojo…

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Oware – the ups and downs of haggling

I thought that would be the last I saw of this guy, but two nights later, I was out on the veranda watching the rain tipple down as usual, and he came out of the gloom into the hut.  The guard had…

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Oware – Perusing the wares

 

A man in a traditional gown stood outside the door with a massive carpet bag.  He wore a small taqiyah which crowned a withered face.  He was a travelling salesman.  I was not in the best of moods…

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Oware – The Knock on the Door

So on life went.  I got up, I ate a simple breakfast of bread and jam and instant coffee mixed with Nido.  They eventually got a Land Rover to take me to work, so I waited for that and some of the…

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Oware – Picking up the Detail

Occasionally other visitors would pass through and I would crave their company for a few hours in the evening.  One man I particularly remember was a freelance development consultant who did a lot…

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