If you have not had the opportunity to go to an outdoor market, I hope you go someday. Makola Market, the central market in downtown Accra is one of my favorites. Piles and piles of brightly patterned African fabrics are reminiscent of scenes from Wonderland. You can find anything in the market. All wares are neatly displayed on stands created from plywood and scraps of metal. The stands are packed in aisles so close together, there is hardly space for two people to walk past each other. The close quarters and sensory overload can make the market very overwhelming, especially the first time. When I lived in Ghana, I tried to make it to the market once every week or two. Few places afford such entertainment and cultural learning.
Particularly interesting are the loads that people manage to carry on their heads. Some of the loads are astoundingly heavy. Mission nurses tell stories about cracked vertebra and other injuries from carrying heavy loads. Many of the loads are carried by street children and young homeless women who make their living as kayayos, or transporters. On Saturday, I saw a woman carrying twenty-two plastic chairs on her head. The stack of chairs was taller than she was and very, very heavy. It was an amazing navigational feat to get the huge stack of chairs between the stalls. I am not sure how it was spatially possible. She needed help from two other women to get them up onto her head. Another interesting load was a large metal bowl full of 10-15 live chickens. Their feet were bound which apparently makes them go limp. They lay in the bowl clucking a bit, their eyes searching wildly.
I wish I could take pictures of everything I see. I’ve posted a few in an album you can reach by clicking on one of the other photo links.
1 comment:
seems just like marketfest in redding. no just kidding sounds very interesting just like you would imagine in a movie.
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