Ruminations from Tamale

I’ve spent practically all my time in Ghana in southern parts of the country, i.e. the Greater Accra, Central and Eastern regions.  The former two border the Atlantic Ocean or, as it is more specifically called in this part of the world, the Gulf of Guinea.  The Eastern Region is a bit more to the north, being the one I prefer out of the three due to its greenery.

Some years ago, I also spent a couple of months around Kumasi, i.e. in the Ashanti Region which is, in a way, further north than the Eastern Region though still in the southern half of the country.

I long fantasized about coming to Tamale, the capital of the Northern Region.  There were a number of times throughout the years when I was supposed to come up here for one reason or another, but those trips never materialized.  It is widely understood that Tamale is different from places like Kumasi or Accra, which are more or less similar, so I longed looked forward to seeing the North.

Recently, I finally made the move up here.  What ultimately brought me to Tamale was the most practical of reasons, not adventurism or curiosity but rather a job.  And yes, whereas it's obvious I’m still in Ghana, this city is noticeably different than those I encountered in the south.

I don’t know how long I’ll be up here, though I doubt it’ll be indefinitely.  But in the meantime, I wanted to document some of my observations, perhaps turning "Ruminations from Tamale" into a series.  And who knows?  Tamale, the third-largest city in Ghana, obviously has its issues, but one day it may prove to be the premiere metropolis in the country.

A MUSLIM CITY

This is the first time in my life that I’ve resided in or even visited a predominately-Muslim city.  I’m not Islamic, but throughout my time in Ghana I’ve noticed that I often feel more comfortable in some Muslim communities, i.e. Zongos.  I presume that phenomena has something to do with my dad having been a orthodox Muslim, despite spending his entire life in the United States.

So one of the first things that popped in my head upon actually seeing in Tamale was ‘I wish my pops was around to see this’.  Seeing in this environment has me now thinking about him on a daily basis.  Of course I already knew that there were predominately-Muslim cities in Africa, and by default, since some are in sub-Sahara, their populations would be mostly Black.  But actually seeing it with my own eyes has been kinda mind-blowing.

So for instance most of women up here wear full Muslim garb, including hijabs.  This is a far cry from the more-liberal south, where it’s more common to see ladies wearing tight clothes (and with their hair out).  That may sound like a weird observation, but it’s something you notice as a man.  A majority of the women in Tamale, you can’t gawk at their bodies even if you wanted to, which I guess is kinda the point.

A mosque in Tamale, apparently one that was recently built

There’s also mosques everywhere.  Just as churches are ubiquitous in the south, up here we have mosques.  They pray, on loud speakers, during certain hours, normally, it seems, beginning sometime around (early) daybreak, i.e. 4:00am and concluding around 6:00pm.  Some mosques may also read verses from the Quran arbitrarily, especially, according to one homey, around Ramadan.  So there’s a noticeable amount of regular noise pollution.

Not everyone will see it that way, but technically that’s what it is, and you’ll likely come to that conclusion yourself when you're awakened by a mosque bright and early in the morning.  But of course, it's something that people get used to.  And at least it seems, based on my experiences, that noise pollution emanating from mosques is more predictable than that which comes from loud churches.  There were a few times, in the south, when I resided near churches that would be wildin' throughout the whole night or even sometimes for an entire week straight, with no respect for their neighbors.  Contrastingly, it appears that these mosques are reluctant to make noise late in the evening or during the mid-night.

A MOTORCYCLE CITY

This is perhaps the one thing that bugged me out the most about Tamale.  First of all, this is very much a motorcycle city, i.e. most of the traffic on the road being motorcycles.  There are also a lot of (commercial) motorized tricycles up here.  I would say about 70-80% of the traffic in Tamale is motorcycles, which is a stark change from the south, unless you’re someplace like Ashaiman, which is about 30-40%.

Secondly, at least a third of the motorcycles in Tamale are being driven by women.  You’ll see a woman cyclist occasionally in Accra, but not nearly as many as are up here.  I’ve also seen something in Tamale which I’ve never witnessed before, which is a lady driving a motorcycle while having a baby strapped to her back.  Earlier today, I saw this one woman steering a motorcycle with one hand while petting the unruly baby strapped to her back with the other.  Sometimes, you may even see a lady (and/or man) with three kids riding, i.e. an entire family on a motorcycle.  It’s also isn't unusual to see teenage girls, sometimes in pairs, riding.  Cycling is very much a part of the culture in Tamale, in a way I've never witnessed in any locality before.

I would imagine that riding with a baby or small child isn’t particularly safe, but people up here know what they’re doing because this is a motorcycle city, i.e. residents riding bicycles and eventually motorbikes their entire lives.  I haven’t seen any accidents since coming up here, and that woman with the baby I mentioned earlier for instance, of course she was driving slower than everyone else on the road.

I was telling one homey that I intend to get a motorcycle myself, since getting around Tamale otherwise can be inconvenient and relatively expensive.  There aren't any trotros at all, while car taxis are rare and, from what I heard, used primarily for traveling outside of the city.  But the homey was like 'chill out, if you haven’t been doing this sh*t your whole life, then don’t even go there' because again, concerning the residents of Tamale, bikes are literally a part of their lifestyle, like being born into a motorcycle gang if you will.  So the implication is that they're able to make it look easy and avoid accidents because they literally grew up on these vehicles.  You see someone riding on a motorcycle with a baby or small children, and that child is getting experience, though I definitely wouldn't recommend this course of action in a city where it isn't common.

I included this short video to give you an idea of what I mean by the ubiquity of motorcycles.  I’m not a voyeur or paparazzi or anything; I don’t like filming people without their consent.  But this is just to illustrate what I mean by Tamale being a motorcycle city:

DAGBANI

It seems that most people in the south of Ghana are under the impression that Tamale is dominated by the Hausa.  But what I’ve learned since coming up here is that it’s rather controlled by a tribe or kingdom known as Dagbon.

I’ve read about these peoples, both the Hausa and Dagbon, back when I was studying anthropology in the States.  But it seems that the former, which is more of a regional entity, resides further to the north of Ghana.  So the people in Tamale don’t regularly speak Hausa but rather Dagbani, the language of Dagbon.  There’s a lot of Ghanaians in the south who apparently don’t know this.

Living in Accra and Koforidua, I’ve grown accustomed to hearing Twi, and I can also recognize Krobo due to considerable time spent in Somanya.  So now, it’s like my ears has to adjust a whole new language.  But just like other parts of Ghana, even though the people here have their own tongue and may communicate with each other primarily using it, they’re fluent in English also.  And the good thing about Dagbani, unlike Krobo, is that it’s a more literary language, i.e. one that’s taught in schools.  That provides greater hope that someone like me may one day pick it up.  And I’m also hoping to finally learn Arabic, which is commonly taught in mosques (to my knowledge), while I’m up here.

SANITATION ISSUES

Speaking of Zongos, one thing they tend to have in common, unfortunately, is sanitation issues which are even more pronounced than they are in Ghana at large.  So now, imagine a Zongo spread throughout an entire city, and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what heavily-urbanized parts of Tamale looks like.

A section of Water Works, a community near central Tamale

The likes of trash heaps and open sewers seem to be just about everywhere, with some parts of the metropolis being worse than others.  One good thing I can say about Tamale though, now that I think about it, is that the main roads, i.e. the ones that are actually paved, don’t seem to have potholes.  Meanwhile, potholes are a major problem even on some of the busiest roads in the south.

In order to enjoy regular garbage collection in Ghana, you have to live in a privileged neighborhood and/or pay for the service.  I have yet to even see private garbage collection in Tamale, though I know it exists, since a few houses have external garbage bins.  But basically, the onus is on residents to resolve sanitation issues, and by the looks of things many are failing spectacularly in that regard.  But I’m sure that others are doing their best.

An open field not too far from the center of Tamale

Regularly collecting and burning rubbish is a much more energy- and time-consuming task than it may appear on the surface.  I know, because in some places I’ve lived I used to do so myself.  Such is necessary when there isn’t an external entity coming to complete these tasks for you, and being inspired to clean can be difficult when you live in a locality where filth is the norm.  So obviously, Tamale is one of these places where, if nothing else, you have to control your own space.  You have to make sure your own yard is clean, to at least give you a respite from the city at large.

TRUE VILLAGES

I don’t want to write much about this subtopic now, as I’m hoping to make the next installment in this series about a recent visit to a village.  On my way into Tamale, I saw a number of interesting mud structures, i.e. architecture reminiscent of the days of old, including some types I never witnessed before.

A compound house made of mud, not terribly far from central Tamale

Unlike the capital cities of the south these days, Tamale is surrounded by a number of real villages.  It isn’t always pretty when you have a village, lacking certain infrastructure, right on the edge of a major city.  But some of them are a lot cleaner than the actual municipal center, due to the lower population density.

CONCLUSION

I'm looking forward to residing in Tamale into the near future.  The south of Ghana is developing at a pretty rapid pace.  Now, virtually all of Greater Accra is developed, and even with many of the villages in the Eastern Region, I don’t know if they would be defined so by traditional standards.  But by the looks of things, that type of progress is not transpiring nearly as fast up here in the north.  So as a tourist, researcher, adventurer, etc., it may now be that if you want to witness a more authentic representation of (urbanized) Ghanaian culture, you have to venture ever further away from Accra and other cities in the south.

AFTERWORD

Most of the pics featured in this post are available for sale, no watermark, at their original, higher resolution.  Any interested can email me (krobofind@gmail.com) for more details, thanks.