Kanyiti

Hello friends!

Over the weekend I went to visit a friend in a nearby town called Sawla. She is also from Canada and we both felt we needed some Canadian girl time to chat. I arrived in Sawla after a very early and extremely bumpy bus ride. I took a nap and then Heather (the friend!) and I went to town and had delicious yams. (Yams are huge in Ghana and you can take them in many different ways!) Also, for dinner we had fufu, which is made from yams- first they are boiled and then you pound them, (which is quite the workout)! After this you put a ball of fufu in a soup. There are three main types: ground nut soup, light soup, and a peanut based soup- all of which are delicious. Then you break a piece of the soft yam (feels like mashed potatoes) and dip it in the soup and eat it with your hands- so delicious! After eating yams we walked around town and ended up at her Ghanaian friend’s house. This is where Kanyiti comes into play.

Pounding Fufu!

I live in Damongo, which is in the West Gonja District in the Northern Region of Ghana. There are several different languages spoken throughout Ghana but where Heather and I live, it is mainly Gonja. Heather’s Ghanaian friend decided I should have a Gonja name. My Gonja name is Kanyiti. Kanyiti in English means Patience. At first I thought the name sounded beautiful and really didn’t think about its significance until the next day.

The groom and I

Heather and I

The next day Heather and I attempted to go to a Muslim wedding in Tuna (about 45 minutes from Sawla). The wedding “started” at 6a.m. and ended at 6p.m. Heather was told to go for 8 but we arrived at 7. Nothing was going on yet so we grabbed some breakfast and ended up seeing the groom in town. He took us to a guesthouse where we had a little catnap for about an hour. I was getting a little annoyed that nothing had happened yet and it was already 9:30, but I told myself “patience Bianca, patience.” We then went to the wedding venue, which was in a field where the old filling station used to be. There were only a few people there but eventually a truck of Ghanaian women showed up in their beautiful dresses! There was music playing and boy do Ghanaian women like to dance! It was really exciting to watch and the different patterned dresses were absolutely beautiful- however, it was now 12. Patience Bianca, patience. It was time to go pick up the bride so we all hopped on the back of a truck and sang songs as we drove to the bride’s place. However, she was not ready. Patience Bianca, patience. We drove back into town and watched people dance some more and waited.

Singing on the truck!

At this point in time I had to leave, it was around 2p.m. and I needed to catch the 3p.m. bus from Sawla to Damongo. So Heather and I left around 2 without seeing the bride or any wedding traditions, quite the bummer I must say. We arrived in Sawla and couldn’t help but to laugh, “only in Ghana,” we thought. After this we went out to wait for the 3p.m. bus, which of course wasn’t on time. Patience Bianca, patience. A man drove up and loaded a bunch of Ghanaians to hop in his pickup and then waved Heather and I down. He was going to Damongo so I hitched a ride in the front seat of his truck. We were off! But not for long… the truck broke down at least three times. So here I am: a white girl sitting in a pick up truck with at least 20 Ghanaians, in the middle of nowhere with no cell phone reception- good one Bianca. The last time the truck broke down we waited for a good 20 minutes. Patience Bianca, patience. Then the bus was coming! We all got out of the pick up and ran for the bus. We all got on and I was stuck sitting on a bucket in the aisle on the bumpiest road for 2 hours Patience Bianca, patience. I finally arrived in Damongo, after a very exhausting day.

It is safe to say that after my long weekend, I can now see the significance of my Gonja name. Patience, patience, patience. Even though I have only been here for two weeks, there has been so many times where I have needed to be patient. I said that this trip would challenge me, and so far it has definitely challenged my patience. Ghanaians are often on their own clock and their clock ticks a little slower than ours. Nothing happens on time (ever) and therefore my new Ghanaian life has challenged me to be patient.

All of the beautiful Ghanaian women on the truck!

Like I said before, I did not see any significance in my Gonja name, Kanyiti. Now I see nothing but significance. I constantly think of my name as it reminds me to be thoughtful of the new culture I have chosen to enter. It will take time to adapt to the Ghanaian lifestyle, but with a little bit of kanyiti it should be no problem.

Lots of Love,

Bianca