Libation send-off

Sunday evening, the community hosted a ceremony for us, similar to the welcome ceremony from the beginning of the summer. In typical Ghanaian fashion, the 2pm ceremony became, 4pm, then 6, then 7, and then whenever the elders showed up, which they eventually did. Sammy, our foreman, Raymond, the chief's chief warrior and our go-to man on the worksite, the masons, Idi, Fred, and Hashana, and the nameless old man who collected the worksite's tools every day from different people's homes and brought them to the work site for us to use, also showed up. We arranged plastic chairs in our compound's courtyard and our group sat in one half, while the community members who showed up sat in the rows across from us. An elder in a matching purple and white tie-dyed pants and shirt addressed us, and thanked us for the work we did on and for the community center. Then two women got up and placed kente cloths around the group leaders necks. Kente is a fabric identified with Ghana, that is woven on a special type of loom, only by men. They are traditionally worn by royals in special ceremonies. Anyhow, these women came around and then placed a kente cloth around each of the participants' necks. Then an older gentleman with cloth wrapped around his waist and shoulder in traditional fashion, came to the front the community's row, and offered libations, from the two bottles of gin we offered to the community (appropriate thanks for their hosting us this summer). The man was the strongest and most sinewy human being I have ever laid my eyes upon - you couldn't work out to get this kind of muscle definition. I can only presume that this anatomical definition came from lifetime of physical work. Anyhow, Mr. Sinew in Wrapped Cloth made the libations offer, took some shots, and then passed the bottle to the elders, and community members, of which all partook. When you take a shot, you drink most of the alcohol in the glass, and then pour out a few drops, to honor the ancestors. Ben, Sara, and I were offered a shot, and to this, we acquiesced, but stopped the bottle before it touched the lips of any participant. After the ceremony (it pretty much ends when the drinks come out), there was a drum circle and dancing, a festive and great way for us to spend our last night in Golokuati.