NAFALANDS

THE TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE RITE, BANDA - GH

noreply@blogger.com (NafaLand) — Sun, 14 May 2023 19:15:00 +0000

The next stage after puberty is adulthood and marriage. The Bandas respect marriage a lot and more importantly celebrate virginity and marriage as a very sacred ceremony which was carried out for seven days and seven nights. There are hardly any ethnic groups which celebrate marriage like the Bandas do. A whole community standing still to celebrate one marriage for seven days and seven nights is no mere joke.

Men who came of age, either simply told their kinsmen of their preparedness to get married with a proposed bride or left the option for their parents to choose for them. Such young men who opted for it or were prompted by their parents or kinsmen to get married will propose a lady they are interested in or the one their parents will have proposed for them and they will have accepted. The said lady's family are subsequently informed of the intentions of the man and if accepted dates and timelines are decided between the two families for the marriage.

Because of the cost involved in doing such marriages a period of a year and above were often given for the groom to prepare himself. Before that time the groom will have often, during the yam festival arrange yams and meat to be given to the would-be in-laws. He is also required to gather friends and work on the in-laws’ farms. During this period the two families get acquainted with each other and the groom is examined by the in-laws.

The Hunting

The groom and his friends prior to the date will go for hunting far away from home and spend months there hunting and smoking the meat for preservation and this kind of hunting is called Nyagulɔ. When they will have gathered enough game, they will return home and harvest yams. Friends and families also donated yams and other ingredients for cooking for the ceremony. Mainly agushi, groundnuts, salt, pepper etc. were all gathered before the date. The marriage must usually be done before fire guts the great mountain (Nyua kpɔɔ). People have often thought it was any mountain at all in Banda that should not catch fire before the marriages but it is not so. On the ridges of the Banda mountains each section has a name like Nyanchlo, Lelaa Fanga, Nyua Kpɔɔ, Wewae Nyua, etc. Among all, it is only the Nyua Kpɔɔ that when it catches fire marriages cannot take place.

Day One

When the time is due and a date was set which usually begins on Thursday. Early the Thursday morning the bride's own family will tie a cloth around her waist and inform her that from today this man (the grooms name) has taken you as his wife. And from that morning the bride and other brides will go in the outskirts of the town where they will sit in fasting until evening. That day the groom’s family provides 12 tubers of yam and accompanying meat to the bride's parents and a bottle of locally brewed liquor (apeteshie) named akɔtua jan is given to the bride's father.

In the evening the brides are taken home by their parents, and still in the fasting the parents advise the brides and shortly after the sisters of the groom will arrive and take the bride home as their new sister in-law. The fasting is continued till the next morning. That marks the first night of the marriage. To break the fasting the brides are provided with wenjɔ nyum and fuura. Which they drink to break the fasting all morning.

Day Two - Six

When the bride wakes up that morning the elderly ladies inquire from the groom if the bride was indeed a virgin or not. When it is confirmed that she was a virgin the bride is carried by another woman shoulder high with a traditional veil called nyankacha over her face and the 'Saa e Ndaa song is sang amidst clapping and dancing back to the bride's house. Upon arrival the maternal relatives of the bride bring out a calabash full of corn and cowries which they pour on the feet of the bride to signify the gracefulness of her feet for coming back home with glory. This Nyankacha is sawn by the groom's friends on the same day the wife is in the outskirts of the community fasting. Songs and celebrations are done to show that the lady was a virgin at marriage. The chants of Amoesha, Amlɔɔgɔ are chanted to publish the good news to all neighbors. A song like 'Ndeŋu nyaana' was sang which literally means my daughter is good.

Agushi soup with yam fufu

The great feast (sukpɔɔ) then starts with bride's father preparing yam fufu with bush meat and sometimes dry fish in big calabash called mgbre to kick start the party. Father's show the love they have for their daughters and their ability as men who can provide through this feast by preparing the biggest foods and its accompanying meat and agushi soup.

The groom is now required to provide the bride and her friends with enough yams and meat to feast for the remaining six days. The bride and her friends are housed in one house and the groom and his friends in another. In the next six days the drinking and eating will continue till the last day. And every evening the bride will be accompanied by friends to the grooms’ room with a veil over the face amidst singing.

During this period every morning and evening the groom and his friends will go all round the community singing and dancing. For those days everyday all the friends and the groom will sit at one place playing music, telling stories and sharing jokes amidst the eating and drinking. The groom is addressed as the king and his best man is the linguist and laws are set to govern the house. The groom must be treated like a king and all the friends are expected to promote decorum and offer maximum help to make the marriage ceremony a success. There are women assigned only to preparing food for the groom and his friends while in the brides house the friends and other relatives prepare their foods.

Kubleke is done in the morning and fufu in the afternoon and evening.

Day Seven

On the seventh day, the groom is dressed like a king and the bride like a queen mother and the two flanked by their friends and families are paraded on the high streets of the town where lovers and relatives come to give alms to the new couples mostly in the form of cash. And that is the climax of the whole ceremony. The woman after this day normally moves in and stays with the husband. In some circumstances the woman still stays with her relatives and prepares food and carries the husband's own to him every evening and goes there only to sleep.

Marriage is one aspect of life that God has blessed mankind with. In fact, it is one of the most valuable gifts from our creator to mankind.

Being it so precious to God and mankind, our fore father in their own wisdom designed these rite or cultural practices that we should follow before acquiring this greater gift.

As a proud Nafaapo, from Banda, lets us all acknowledge this beautiful culture and maintain it as well. It is good you know how marriage rite is purely performed locally before Christianity and technology fades it all away.

Many Thanks To Mr Noah, for sharing with us all this wonderful Bandas' culture.

Source: Mr. Asare Noah, Banda Sabiye.

BANDAMAN SENIOR HIGH TECHNICAL SCHOOL

noreply@blogger.com (NafaLand) — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 02:23:00 +0000

Bandaman Senior High Technical school popularly known as BANSTECH, is a public secondary school in Banda District, Bono region, Ghana.

BANSTECH or Bandaman Senior High Technical school was founded in 1991, through the initiative of the good people of Banda (Nafana). The school was nursed for some years and finally sprout out in 2012.

Due to the good work done by the active school management board, the teachers and the visionary leaders of Banda district, BANSTECH is progressively increasing in all angles of educational life – thus academics, security, population, technology, agriculture, infrastructure and many more from 2012 till now. (For More Images >> )

Currently Bandaman Senior High Technical School is one of the Category B schools in Ghana or Bono region to be precise. I am also convinced that, very soon, BANSTECH will be noted among the Category A schools in the region.

BANDA YAM FESTIVAL,FORDJOUR

noreply@blogger.com (NafaLand) — Sun, 02 Oct 2016 18:28:00 +0000

In every society in Ghana, there are many ways to express their culture. One of the ways in which the people of Nafaland (Bandaman Gh) used to express their rich culture is the Fordjour festival.

Fordjour is the major festival for all the settlers’ of Nafaland (Bandaman Gh), which they love to celebrate every year. It is well known as Yam festival.
Fordjour is celebrated to remember the great ancestors of Nafaland and also to honor the great farmers of the land. This occasion usually take place between the month of August and October of every year. There is no fixed date set for the festival because of variation in seasons. (i.e. rainy and dry season).

Pruruu - the minor section

To me Fordjour (the Yam festival) is divided in two sections or parts, and these are the minor and major sections. Before the actual date is set for the major section, the minor one needs to be performed. It is mainly used to introduce or welcome new yam into the various communities, it is called Proruu.

In this occasion yam tubers are brought home for the first time within the year. The traditional leaders in every town, palaces, and families pray simple prayers to their gods and ancestors. After this, a date is set for the main or major festival, Fordjour, in every community.

YOUR PERCEPTION OF BANDA

noreply@blogger.com (NafaLand) — Sun, 24 Jul 2016 13:16:00 +0000

Banda is the rich home land of Our Toleele (great ancestors). Banda-land is referred to me as Nafaland, because Nafana is our real name.
I love Bandaman and her noble people as well as her rich cultural practices. And I know, you also feel the same too.
So as a proudly Nafaapo, what is your perception of your homeland (Bandaman)?
Read more »

HOME SWEET HOME

noreply@blogger.com (NafaLand) — Sat, 23 Jul 2016 11:26:00 +0000

Home Sweet Home

The economic adversity of Ghana has exerted pressure on every Tom, Dick, and Harry. Both young and aged to rove from place to place, struggling to make ends meet. This principle has rooted in Banda-land for a longer period of time, driven almost all the youths of Banda far away from home to gather for themselves and their families.

Our geographical location and some activities of men (pollution) have greatly affected the natural resource of our motherland, leading to less or no job opportunities. Because of this, the rural-urban drift is consistently improving in our

BANDA IS OUR MOTHERLAND

noreply@blogger.com (NafaLand) — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 20:33:00 +0000

Banda on Map Of Ghana

Banda, nafaland is located in the west-central region of Brong Ahafo, Ghana. Our forefather called themselves Nafana which is our original name before they came to Ghana from Côte d'Ivoire, from a village called Kakala. This name Nafana was changed to Banda, which is a corruption of 'Woanda' meaning 'they did not 'sleep'.

Ancestors of Banda were allies of the Asante kingdom during wars and they provided a strong military force that virtually refused to sleep during at war times. Later, 'woanda' was also corrupted by the Brong neighbors to become Banda.

Banda is connected by road to wenchi and Bui and its Hydroelectric power, Bui Dam. Banda is not serviced by a railway station on the Ghana Railway Corporation, but it has been proposed that a line be extended to Wenchi then to Banda as well.

WELCOME TO NAFALANDS

noreply@blogger.com (NafaLand) — Thu, 21 Jul 2016 15:43:00 +0000

Welcome to Nafalands

All The Concern Youth Of NafaLands (Bandaman Gh) Are Welcome !!!

I Hope We Will Make This Site Useful For The Sake Of Our Motherland.
Banda Need Us All.

For further information, Please Contact Us

THANK YOU