A TRIP TO THE MUSEUM

Waking up early in the morning to beat the rush hour traffic for work; returning home late; breaking over the weekend (if lucky) only to return to the same cycle at the beginning of the next week makes living in Accra quite hectic. Weekends are mostly spent catching up with family and friends, attending social gatherings such as marriage and naming ceremonies. The night scene is pretty packed with lots of places to go to and so many events and concerts to attend but nevertheless, this city life can be really monotonous and pretty soon living becomes mundane.

It just happened to be one of those times when I felt I was stuck in this uncomfortable rut and needed to shake it off so I decided to visit the museum. I am ashamed to admit that of my over twenty years of living in Accra, I have never been to the national museum even though I have passed by it lots of times. This seemed to be a good time to make amends.

The National Museum of Ghana (Archaeology, Ethnography and Art) located on the Barnes road in Adabraka, Accra is the largest of the ten museums in Ghana. Construction started in 1956 it was inaugurated on 5th march 1957 as part of Ghana’s independence celebration. At the moment it charges a reasonable fee of five cedis (for adults) to enjoy its historic exhibits.

The collections in the museum focus on the early lives of Ghanaians; our costumes; way of life; traditional dances; trade and commerce whereas exhibits from other African countries are on display as well. At the beginning of the tour was a display of a cloth made out of the bark of a tree where our tour guide enlightened us on how the tree bark was “processed” into the cloth. Then next was a display of the kente loom with different designs of the fabric where each design had a meaning.

The next exhibit was Kwame Nkrumah’s presidential chair which felt surreal for the fact that one could touch and feel the chair he once sat on when he was inaugurated as President of the Republic of Ghana. Also on display was the chair of the last governor of the then Gold Coast, Lord Listowell as well as that of the last Governor of Trans Togoland. The intricate designs on each chair tell a story on its own. There were also displays of masks from northern Nigeria and Mali and jewelry made out of human teeth and bones (quite grotesque but very fascinating).

The museum also has pictures of young girls going through dipo rites as well as ritual dolls such as the akuaba doll (doll for fertility among women). Another end of the museum had on display statues depicting some of the Ghanaian dances such as adowa, kpalogo and agbaza. There was also an exhibit on some of the occupations the early Ghanaian engaged in such as farming, wood carving and blacksmiths. There was also on display the regalia of a northern chief, stools used by other chiefs from various parts of the country, gold weights and a pictorial display or timeline of how the country moved from the barter system of conducting commerce to the use of money. In addition was an exhibit chronicling the slave trade that happened in our country with emphasis on Baba Ato and Samori who were notorious slave raiders in the northern part of the country. There also exist a gift shop and a gallery within the museum.

The highlight of the tour for me was seeing the car Kwame Nkrumah once used. Considering the fact that the car had been vandalized and left at the mercy of the weather for a very long period of time, it appeared to be in good shape. Though the window shields were riddled with bullet markings it was still intact showing the durability of his bullet proofed car.

The past is always a precursor to the future hence imperative that one makes time to visit historical places such as the museum. Besides it can serve as a perfect getaway from the hectic life in this city of ours. You definitely need to visit the museum one of these days.