Travel Money

If you are lucky to be holidaying soon it might be a good idea to know how far your money will go. We'll be making regular posts with exchange rates and any other useful money news.


Current exchange rates in Accra, Ghana:


             BUYING                    SELLING

 USD     1.42                             1.465

 GBP     2.15                             2.25

 EUR     1.91                             1.97

 CAD     1.33                             1.4

 SF       1.3                               1.4

 CFA     2.9                               3.1


Ghana had a re-denomination of its currency, the Cedi, in July 2007 and as the new denomination, it is known as the Ghana Cedi (GH₵). GH₵1 is equivalent to 100 pesewas. The redenomination saw 1000 old pesewas become the new GH₵1, 10 000 old cedis become GH₵10, 50 000 old cedis became GH₵50 and 1 000 000 old cedis, GH₵100. The Ghana cedi comes in notes of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 and in 2010 a GH₵2 note is to be introduced.


The word "cedi" is derived from the Akan word for a cowry shell, which were once used in Ghana as a form of currency as well as in several other parts of West Africa.

More New Stuff!

Hello Readers,
Hopefully, you've noticed a few new bits and pieces we've added to our blog -

We have added a news application that makes it easier to catch up on the latest news in West African as well as references to West African countries in the world news; find it in the sidebar on the right, after the music.
We've also started compiling our very own Little Black Book collecting contact info on all the places and people we feature so you have a handy directory to refer to; it has it's own page via the tab at the top.

Coming soon - we'll be launching our interview feature, 'The ITK Q&A' in which we'll speak to West African personalities on living in and travelling around West Africa and their particular experience of it all. We are very excited about our first 'subject'... but more on that later!


As always, thanks for reading and keep doing it! 
(and we've added a nifty little share it button at the bottom of our posts so you can share posts with your friends as well as leave comments)


Ciao!


P.S. Don't forget to feed the fish, a couple clicks should do it. 

Adinkra - a world in symbols

Adinkra are symbols developed and used by the Akan and Gyaman people of West Africa to represent and encapsulate concepts and maxims. You can hardly turn around in Accra without coming face to face with Adinkra, so much so you may not realise what you are looking at. The most frequently spotted is perhaps the symbol below-

Gye nyame, meaning “except for what God allows to happen" or “except God” can be seen everywhere from business logos to decoration and fashion.Traditional Adinkra cloth was originally associated with funerals but is now used for a wider range of special occasions. The authentic Adinkra cloth is hand made – using stamps carved from sections of calabash and the dye (made from badie bark specially brewed), the symbols are stamped onto the cotton cloth.The village of Ntonso near Kumase is the centre of this kind of traditional production. Modern use now sees the symbols also produced by screen printing which unlike the traditional cloths can be washed.

The meaning of Adinkra symbols also cover a wide range with now over 500 symbols denoting objects from daily life, abstract ideas , people, animals, proverbs, popular sayings and more. There are about seventy to eighty popular symbols often referred to as the core symbols including -

NKONSONKONSON

 the "chain link"

 a symbol of unity often in reference to human relationships

DENKYEM

the "crocodile"

a symbol of adaptability referring to amphibian nature

and, of course!
AKOMA

the "heart"

a symbol of patience and tolerance.

Look out for these and many more symbols all over Ghana and the West Coast of Africa, you are sure to choose a few as favourites. 

Learn more :

An article on the origins and use http://angelasancartier.net/adinkra-cloth

A list of symbols and meanings  http://www.adinkra.org/htmls/list.htm (pictures above are from this site)

Kingdom Of Ife

Why is it so hard to get back on the wagon after getting off for a holiday??!! We haven't managed to hit the gym/yoga/salsa yet and report back but we did take in some culture (brain exercise - it counts!!) during the week during a visit to the British Museum to see the Kingdom of Ife exhibition.

If you live in London or are visiting between now and the 6th of June then you must visit this exhibition. The focus is treasures of ancient art discovered in Nigerian from what was the kingdom of Ife which flourished in Yoruba land between the 11th and 15th centuries (in present day Osun State). The artefacts are astonishing both in scale, ranging from life size heads to miniatures, and detail and are made from diverse materials and with incredible skill. You can watch videos introducing and exploring the work at Kingdom of Ife Videos. In the wider context of the history of art in the world, these bronze and terracotta creations are some of the earliest and most significant instances of realism in art, dating back to before the European Renaissance.


The masks and heads are so lifelike in some instances that you will almost recognise them as faces from modern West Africa. The stories are captivating and offer insights into life in those times. They paint a vivid albeit incomplete picture of the ancient society and its values and sheds light on present traditions. You can see where our relationship with beads began and why and how symbols such as animals are used.


It definitely made us want to run out and find out everything we could, not just on this kingdom but on what were thriving cultures right across what is modern Nigeria and West Africa. In some ways it is also a lesson in modern history as these finds were made relatively recently, after the second world war and we catch a glimpse of Nigeria at that time.


The exhibition shop carries fair trade goodies such as adinkra pebbles, baskets, khanga scarves, books on topics ranging from beads to history, stationery and jewellery all in keeping with the theme.


If you can't see this exhibition there is also the longer running Impressions of Africa: money, medals and stamps until 6th February 2011, admission free and the permanent room The Sainsbury African Galleries as well as other objects scattered through other exhibits. 

Images from the Exhibition guide from The British Museum

Happy Easter!!

Happy Easter all!


We hope you are all making the best of your long weekend, just be careful with all that chocolate!!
hope you've enjoyed our recent posts and we'll be back soon with lots more for you to explore.


Dont forget, we are also on Facebook at In The Know West Africa where you can become a fan and receive updates and see more pictures or you can follow us on Twitter at InTheKnowWA.


Enjoy the holiday and look out for more here, we'll have a few ideas on how to shift that holiday gain!!