Chiefs

An interesting thing about Ghana is, that although it is a democracy with politicians, laws and elections like you would see in the states, the concept of tribes, tribal heritage, and old style culture is still very much alive here.

The country has a President, VP, speaker of the house, and representatives for every one of the 10 regions of Ghana. But aside from this each region has a chief who oversees the region. Each city also has a chief, who defers power to the higher chief of the region.

The chiefs have no real political or legal power, but more importantly they have huge cultural strength in this country. They are the embodiment of a city, and a region's cultural beliefs. This position is very highly respected, always deferred to, and revered in places. The chief is usually the most wealthy person in the area, and is selected based on noble qualities including a level head a big heart and a caring about his people.

Our visit to the chief was a sign of respect for the people and for his power over the region. Everyone in the different training cities visited the chief in their respective city. The math teachers in this community all went with their homestay families to see the chief here.

We were supposed to meet at 3:45. At 4:30 my homestay mother was still on the phone and I was losing my mind. At about 4:40 we finally left the house to the chief's palace. I said "you look great! but we're late!"

"yes... we are late... *puts her arm around me in a calming fashion* but we are coming..."

How can you argue with that?

When we arrived a local religious elder was giving a prayer for us and the chief. The chief welcomed us all and prayed safe journey for us. It's interesting to see the mix of old and new cultures. The chief was sitting in a big chair, which looked much like a throne, at the head of the room, and was dressed very regally. Around him his elders had gold staffs, and everything was conducted in a very noble way. On the chair next to him? 2 remotes, one for his plasma TV and one for his satellite television.

Overall it was a great experience and he was very welcoming. We will visit his palace again soon for an upcoming festival (more on that later)