stilts.
In the west of Ghana, next to the village of Beyin, about an hour canoe ride from land on a lagoon lies a village on stilts, one of many in West Africa. My sociology professor told us that the stilt villages were built as to not leave footprints when running away from slave catchers, but the people of the Nzulezu did not really seem to agree or give me a different explanation. But either way, Peter, our guide rowed Effie and me through this water that was so still and created reflections in the sky that were so clear it looked like we were flying in the sky on a canoe.
We arrived at the stilt village, and it turned out to be exactly what I would think of when I thought of a Ghanaian village on stilts. There were wooden buildings and pathways created and sat on the water. It seemed a little bit intrusive to be walking around somebody’s village, and we wondered what they thought of us weird oburunis, curious about the way they lived. I could never imagine living in such a tiny village, about a five minute walk across, an hour canoe ride to get any supplies. But of course, I have lived in the suburbs of New England my entire life, so obviously it would be difficult for me to imagine this. But the daily life of the stilt village did not seem to be different from the daily live of any village in Ghana, church on Sundays, eating fufu, washing clothes, the usual. The only big difference is that the children learn how to paddle a canoe probably before they learn how to read.
