The Kraal Buildings | About Ghana

Only a few kilometres north or east of Tamale, visitors will discover the first northern-style kraals set amidst their surrounding millet fields. These traditional habitations are totally different from those of southern Ghana, and also vary from those in the rest of the country.

In the Dagomba territory, all the kraal buildings - both habitations and granaries are covered with straw roofs in the shape of conical hats. Upon their first visit to a compound, visitors are often impressed by the cleanliness of the courtyard, divided into separate areas containing living quarters, livestock shelters or sanitary facilities.

The ground, harder and smoother than cement, is composed of clay blended with cow dung that serves as a bonding agent. After application of this mixture, the surface is pounded down by women or children singing traditional chants and wielding wooden mallets. It is then further smoothed with a layer of liquid mortar.

The rounded openings in the dwellings are often surrounded with multicoloured ceramic mosaics, which on closer inspection; reveal themselves to be the skilfully salvaged fragments of chinaware. Just in front of the threshold of the houses, a shallow ditch connected with a system of gutters provides a means for the evacuation of rain and waste-water from the habitation area to the surrounding fields.

The women's huts are filled with piles of brightly coloured traditional pottery or modern decorated enamel utensils, while inside the men's quarters, hunting arms are fastened onto the straw rooftops and various ritual objects are ensconced in niches in the walls.

2015 - Despite Group

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