No Bukatuae today!

Tuesday, July 2, 13

            As incredible Ghana is at stringing things together at the last minute, having everything work out best in the end, one equally runs into the problem where plans fall through.  Today is the first Tuesday of July, marking the celebration of Ghana’s Chiefs – Buketuae Festival  (pronounced Bücket-way).  Normally, chiefs would flock from every town and region in Ghana, adorned with Kente cloth and heavy with gold to be paraded in the streets.  Unfortunately, the head chief in the Ashanti region has recently run into some legal trouble with the national court system.  From what I could gather, he was “De-Stooled”, meaning he lost his seat of power, and I’m assuming he refuses to give it up.  As a result, Buketuae was cancelled this year by the court system.  Saaa!

This morning, I woke up and headed to a breakfast “bar” down the street.  The madam had excellent coffee and I took Indome Noodles.  From there I walked to the Castle in search of a new fad here Kente-verse!  The Rasta Boys have taken to sewing Kente Cloth onto high top Converse Chucks, and Me Pe Paaaa!  In addition, I made a purchase of some Kente cloth myself from a friend Sam and his daughter Elizabét.   

After that I headed in a public taxi to Elmina to meet the school group and check to see if some festivities remained at the festival grounds, like boat racing.  Unfortunately, that was not the case.  Instead, I did a walking tour of the town and headed out of town to a drinking spot with a view of the Castle.  Selfies are the best I can do here!  I sat drinking my Alvaro and watched a small boy fetch coconuts for his older brother.  The water shops were closed, and here in Cape Coast and Elmina, the common language is Fanti, a Twi variation, so I have a little trouble getting around.  Tomorrow I’ll head to Koforidua, and the following days I hope to get my final interviews done.  A week from now, I’ll head to London!