We started Sunday off the same way as every Ghanaian Christian - by going to church. We attended a Methodist mass, and it was a very interesting and rewarding experience. Every person was dressed in their Sunday best, and their clothing was distinctly African and beautiful. The women wore wonderful patterned dresses and the men wore colorful tops and pants. Most of the women also wore African head wraps, many of which matched the patterns on their dresses. It was very different from any religious mass that I have ever attended, but I was also amazed with some of the similarities to western mass. They spoke many of the same prayers as those recited in the Roman Catholic mass with which I am familiar, although some were spoken in English and others in the local language . These people live on the other side of the world from me, but we speak the same prayers and worship the same god. During one of the recitations, I recognized the exact prayer which they were speaking due to its rhythm, but I did not understand any of the words in that language. In that moment, I had an amazing epiphany. Hearing them recite this prayer in an unknown African language, I realized that it does not matter where a person is from or which god they worship. We all live on the same planet and we all believe in the same thing, even if we do not understand each other or speak in the same tongue. Despite all of our differences, we are one people.
After church, our full day continued as we did a bit of sightseeing in the areas just outside of Axim, starting with the Nzulezo floating village. The Nzulezo village is built entirely on stilts above the water of a lake, and the only way to reach it is by a 45-minute canoe ride through the wetlands. Local legend says that the ancestors of the village migrated there hundreds of years ago on the word of a snail that served as their god. The main occupations of the Nzulezo people are farming and fishing, and there are a small school and Catholic church in the village. After our canoe ride back to land, we visited the birth place and first burial ground of Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana. Ghana gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1957. President Nkrumah died in 1972, and his body was later relocated to Accra, the capital city of Ghana. However, his original tomb remains in the village of Nkroful.
Side note: We made friends with some cats at the hotel. Apparently they like people who accidentally spill their food. I'm too afraid to touch them, but they're awfully cute.
After church, our full day continued as we did a bit of sightseeing in the areas just outside of Axim, starting with the Nzulezo floating village. The Nzulezo village is built entirely on stilts above the water of a lake, and the only way to reach it is by a 45-minute canoe ride through the wetlands. Local legend says that the ancestors of the village migrated there hundreds of years ago on the word of a snail that served as their god. The main occupations of the Nzulezo people are farming and fishing, and there are a small school and Catholic church in the village. After our canoe ride back to land, we visited the birth place and first burial ground of Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana. Ghana gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1957. President Nkrumah died in 1972, and his body was later relocated to Accra, the capital city of Ghana. However, his original tomb remains in the village of Nkroful.
Side note: We made friends with some cats at the hotel. Apparently they like people who accidentally spill their food. I'm too afraid to touch them, but they're awfully cute.