28, 29 January - Back in Legon

This morning, Grace, Sue, and I set off for the Wild Gecko, a small artisan's shop where I bought some Kente cloth and gifts for friends. We went back to the mall for lunch, and I got some African textiles for a friend.

Peter arranged for me to attend a graduate seminar on oral tradition and performance at the College of African Studies at 2. The All-Africa semi-finals were scheduled for 4pm, with Ghana playing Algeria, and I hoped to catch most of the game. The professor told me the lecture would last about 2 and 3/4 hours.

I learned a great deal from the lecture. This was a small graduate seminar, only 6 students. At one point, the professor asked the students about other classes in which they had discussed the concept of performance. One young woman mentioned her gender studies class in which they discussed the importance of phallic performance in African male culture. It was to the extent that if a man were diagnosed with an STD, he would not find it so problematic, as the disease proved that he could "perform." I wonder about the connection of that line of thinking to the rampant HIV/AIDS on the continent. We also talked about performance in religion and at funerals. I was interested that these students laughed about the dramatic performance that is part of the religious experience in Ghana.

Three hours later, the lecture was still going strong, and I saw no sign of conclusion. I excused myself and got back for the second half of the game. Ghana won, 1-nil.

On Friday, Peter, Grace, and I went to a large artisan marketplace on the coast of Accra. Along with the many tempting items of jewelry, wooden items, kente cloth, and dolls were beautiful oil paintings and museum objects. Included in the collection were some pretty fantastic coffins sculpted to resemble fish, birds, a Nike shoe, a beer bottle.

I flew over with a large and a medium suitcase. I figured I'd come back with the smaller of the two after giving away so much to the schools. But after this morning's purchases, I decided the larger suitcase made more sense. I've accumulated papers, drawings, books, souvenirs, and gifts along with remarkable memories.