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Carving
Tradition
in Ghana
By William Boateng
National Commission on Culture
sion based on the ideas and
ideals of the entire community or ethnic group.
C
arving is the analytic
study of the medium using
the requisite tools to remove
the unwanted parts to arrive
at a final product which has
been previously conceived in
the storehouse of the mind.
It requires the use of a
particular set of carving tools
in order to facilitate easy
carving process and the
realization of the ultimate
goal. Many media could be
used to produce artifacts.
They range from wood, ivory,
metal, bone, marble, plaster
of Paris, stone, PVC and many
other forms of hardware.
Carving in Ghana begun
as a communal form of expres-
Deviation from community acceptable standards of
expression into other aesthetic
expressions using wood or
other media was tabooed by
the community. Carving was
done expressively under the
strict dictates of clan leaders,
religious leaders, chiefs and
other opinion leaders. This
allowed very little room for
individual expression and creativity. Nevertheless, carving
still sustained communal
and social life in many ways.
Carving produced a multiplicity of drums for traditional
orchestra and ensembles and
promoted solidarity, social
cohesion and entertainment
Carving provided for a
wider range of household
equipment. Examples of these
are mortars, pestles, wooden
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bowls, ladles, combs, stools,
chairs, walking sticks, linguist
staves and countless array of
traditional games. The rest
include canoes, hoe handles,
boxes, beds, cupboards, swords
and many more.
In Ghana, wood carving
begun prominently in the
forested areas. This development was partly due to the
abundance and easy accessibility of the raw material
for carving which was wood
coupled with the people’s
interest in the profession.
Among the Akans of Ghana,
carving was practiced. It was
not practiced on a wide scale
by many carvers. Rather it
was practiced by a few carvers
in the community.
This limited number of
carvers were seen as the
privileged minority because
they were so skillful in the
execution of the art that
people saw them as having
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been endowed with special
talents from God which has
bestowed on them immense
potential to create artistic
masterpieces beyond normal
human capabilities.
This privileged minority
was accorded special respect
and their opinions were respected in the community.
Akan wood carvers who were
versatile in the production
of all kinds of wood carvings
were called “Ohene Dwumfuor”
literally translates as “the
Chief’s carpenter”. Akan traditional carvers were greatly
feared, respected and admired
for their ingenuity and practicality of their stylizations.
As the carving profession
progressed over the years
in Ghana, and particularly
among the Akans, it remained
an exclusive preserve for
only males. No female was
allowed to carve. Only the
males who were acclaimed
to be endowed with special
talents upheld the tradition.
Varieties of tropical wood
species used as raw material
for carving included the following: Afromosia, Kokrodua,
Kyenkyen, Mahogany, Odum,
Dwuma, Sese, Twenebua, Wawa,
Onyina, Funtum etc.
The trees for carving were
not felled off hand without
passing through certain ritual
purification methods. The
trees for carving were considered during those days as
abodes, dwelling places or
receptacles for certain unseen
spiritual forces or supernatural spirits and powers. Some
of these supernatural spirits,
according to Akan mythology were at certain times
very violent and malevolent.
Others were considered to be
very friendly and benevolent.
So in order not to incur the
wrath of any malevolent
spirit inhabiting any of these
wooden species for carving,
it was proper to go through
certain ritual purification
practices to dislodge these
supernatural spirits inhabiting
the tree to make the wood
accessible to the carver.
At certain times, a ram,
some fowls and bottles of
schnapps or other alcoholic
beverages were used in the
rituals to dislodge completely
a strong spirit. The offerings
varied in their presentation
because some of the spirits
were weaker and therefore
could easily be dislodged with
small offerings. The very
tough and malevolent spirits
demanded higher sacrifices
and at times at the expense
of human lives.
It was very necessary to
go through these rituals in
order to fell a tree for carving.
Previous experiences showed
the carvers that, the rampant
loss of lives when a tree was
being felled was due to the fact
that the spirits inhabiting
the trees were not dislodged
through pacification rituals.
The strange beginnings
of the carving profession
embodied the manufacture
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of carving tools. Carvers manufactured their own set of
tools from iron scraps. This
implies that the early carvers
were equally skillful in the
use of iron. Rather, for convenience sake, one either chose
to be a carver or a smith. In
which case, creativity was
the hallmark and therefore
saw them skillfully through
their productions.
Tradition had it that,
after the carver has successfully manufactured all the
tools he needed, he has to
pacify the tools before using
them. Special libation prayers
were offered to the ancestors
and the gods to protect the
carver from injuries during
the use of the carving tools.
Hitherto, during those days,
tetanus was not known as a
fatal disease which could
be caused by tools that were
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prone to the vectors of this
fatal disease. The carvers were
dying from cuts from the
tools as a result of tetanus.
Ignorance of the causative
factors for the rampant accidental cuts from tools and
associated deaths made the
carvers apportion the cause
to strained relations between
them and the ancestors.
So, anytime one was to be
apprenticed as a carver, or,
when a carver acquired a new
set of tools, the tools had to
be pacified to solicit good
and cordial relations from
the ancestors and the gods.
During the pacification rituals, strong alcoholic drinks
were poured on the tools and
special libation prayers were
offered. At certain times fowls
were slaughtered if frequent
deaths have been recorded
within that guild of carvers.
Surprisingly enough when
the tools were pacified, deaths
from stool cuts reduced drastically. The writer is of the
opinion that, the minds of
the carvers were psychologically prepared to alleviate
impending dangers and fear
of death from tool injuries
and this as a result might
have strengthened their egos
and kept them on with their
mass productions.
The carvers produced a
lot of wooden utensils for use
in the home, drums for festivals and durbars, masks for
recreation and rituals, stools,
beds, combs, rattles and the
chief’s regalia and paraphernalia. The carvers have been
versatile in their productions
and thus have made significant contribution to the betterment of communal, social,
economic and religious life. A
lot of figurative sculptures were
produced to form the basis
for ethnic religious practices.
Among the Akans, when
the Akuaba doll and other figurative sculptures were being
carved, pregnant women were
not allowed near the carvers
until the figurative sculpture
has been successfully carved
and polished. It was believed
that if the pregnant woman
sees the unfinished carving, it
would affect the development
of the foetus in the womb.
Unfinished carving has a lot
of deformities which receive
attention as the carver progresses with the carving. So,
it was a belief shared among
the Akans that when the
deformities in the unfinished
carving attract the attention
of the pregnant woman, it
may affect the orderly growth
of the fetus in the womb.
This belief and other
taboos associated with the
carving profession made it to
be secluded from public places.
It was therefore done in a
closet and not out there in the
open. The secluded nature
of the profession made it not
only sacred but increased the
concentration of the carvers.
They therefore carved with
precision, speed and accuracy
and realized further improvements in skill and technology.
In Ghana, unlike other
counterparts in Central and
Eastern Africa, figurative
sculpture received attention
mostly with the reproduction
of the male and female
Akuaba dolls. Other figurative sculptures were placed at
the tip of linguist staves and
as finials for state umbrellas.
The rest were found in shrines
and oracles. Figurative sculptures in Ghana were used as
fertility cult objects, to symbolize social class distinctions
like symbols of authority as
exemplified by linguist staves
and state umbrella finials.
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Figurative sculptures also
constitute the most important part of the chief’s regalia
and revered as cult objects in
shrines and other fetish homes.
Special stools believed to
contain the mythical soul of
the ethnic lands were carved.
These stools were used by the
chief’s who preside over these
ethnic groups. The stools have
emblems which served as
channels of identification for
these ethnic groups. These
emblems were figurative and
symbolic. They range from
anthropomorphic to zoomorphic representations. They
were specially carved with a
lot of expertise and mastery.
Ghanaian carved products
go beyond figurative sculpture into the production of
many things for use in the
family. These include traditional games like oware, dame
and archery. Archery is rarely
practiced in Southern Ghana,
unlike the North where traces
of this ancient game is still
practiced during festive occasions. Archery employs the
use of specially manufactured bows and arrows.
Carving in the contemporary sense does represent
a complete breakaway form
how it existed in the past. It
still thrives on most of past
carving traditions. Places like
Ahwiaa in the Ashanti Region
of Ghana widely employ the
use of indigenous carving
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technologies that have characterized the profession since
time immemorial. A lot of
traditional carving is done
at Ahwiaa. The carvers produce a lot of stools, chairs,
drums, combs and a complex
array of artifacts of wooden
essence. Their products are
very remarkable and have
over the years served as viable
planks of non-traditional
exports capable of generating
foreign exchange into the
country. This wood carving
tradition has made Ahwiaa
a major tourist hub for the
search of souvenirs.
There are many carvers
scattered all over the country
who are doing good business.
They keep excelling in their
creativity and craftsmanship.
Carving in Ghana, as practiced by the traditional carvers,
represents a different scenario
from that of the intellectual
class. They both have different
modes of aesthetic expression.
Whichever way these expressions find themselves, they
solve a lot of problems within
the community because of
the patronage each category
receives.
Carvers have placed a lot
of emphasis on the functional necessity of sculpture.
They could produce furniture
and embody a lot of sculpture inside to heighten the
aesthetic value alongside the
utilitarian value. This functional application of sculpture
has made the art versatile
and more acceptable to the
communities despite religious
and ideological constraints.
A lot of churches and other
public buildings prefer to use
carved doors with suitable
pictorial reliefs depicting special messages that edify the
people. Churches and other
public organizations prefer
to use carved pulpits with special designed emblems that
identify them as a people
with a common destiny. The
affluent class prefers to adorn
their living rooms with beautiful figurative sculptures to
demonstrate their love for
aestheticism as a philosophy
to be embraced.
Caskets and coffins have
received an impressive sculptural outlook to the extent that
when a fisherman, a driver,
a cocoa farmer etc dies; the
casket or coffin is designed
to commensurate with the
profession of the deceased
whilst alive. A fisherman is
buried in a casket which takes
the semblance of a fish, a
driver’s casket or coffin takes
after the car or lorry the
deceased drove when alive,
and a cocoa farmer is buried
in a casket or coffin shaped
like a cocoa pod. This is a
potent form of sculptural
expression is a major breakthrough in the carving profession. These developments
amplify the need for the functional necessity of sculpture.
Carving in the contemporary sense dwells massively
on creativity. It therefore
depends on the sculptor’s
ability to make it big using
creatively as the means. The
challenge lies ahead of both
the academic and the traditional carvers. The more creative one becomes the more
vocal and attractive the productions become.
Wood carving exhibitions
on solo basis are quite rare
in the country. Exhibitions of
carvings are normally seen
and heard of during Craft
Bazaars and other public
and private fairs. However,
there are always a lot of
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play and sale to the general
public in many towns and
cities in Ghana. Such places
include the Kumasi Cultural
Centre, Arts Centre, Accra,
Tetteh Quarshie Roundabout,
Accra, Ahwiaa, Kumasi,
Aburi, Cape Coast, Sekondi
–Takoradi, Koforidua etc. The
interesting aspect of the
carving industry is that it is
gradually dissipating itself
from that static poise which
has characterized the profession since time immemorial.
A new era has dawned on
the profession where creativity
signifies the key to success.
Wood carvings are becoming
beautiful everyday.
The wood carving industry of the Akans of Ghana is
an indigenous craft tradition
that remains vigorous in a
world of rapid change. Wood
carving has retained its economic and cultural importance for hundreds of years.
Wood is one of the most
important materials Akans
use in their arts to express
their thoughts. Wood essentially continues to be used to
carve various items for household use as well as for ceremonial uses. Among the household items that are carved
from wood are adwa (stool),
akuaba (doll), dua afe (comb),
poma (staff) to be used by
okyeame (spokesperson or
linguist) for either the abusua
(family) or ohene (King). Other
products of Akan wood carvers
include containers and boxes,
and wood sculpture. Wood
carvings have symbolic, aesthetic and ceremonial values.
At the personal level,
dolls, jewel boxes, and combs
are used to express beauty,
love and fertility. A man may
carve and give a wooden comb
to a woman to express his
love for her.
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Wooden dolls are used for
fertility, play, religious purposes, and also to express the
Akan notion of beauty. Dolls
are used as fertility figures and
worn by women either to
induce conception or, during
pregnancy, to assure the birth
of beautiful child. When a
woman carries a doll on her
back, she is expressing the wish
of having her own children.
When a pregnant woman
carries a doll on her back, she
is expressing the wish to have
a boy or a girl depending on
the shape of the head of the
doll she is carrying. A flat
discoid (or oval) headed doll
is a girl and a flat rectangular head represents a boy.
The doll representing a girl
has a long ringed neck and
may be wearing beads around
the neck and waistline to
emphasize beauty. In the
past, dolls were left at the
outskirts of town as part of
a religious ceremony to ward
off evil spirits.
shaped buttocks and legs. The
Akan woman may wear beads
around the waist and neck.
The okyeame and abusua
poma (linguist’s and family
staffs) are used for political
and judicial purposes. In the
king’s court, for example, the
linguist will carry the poma
to express profound messages
relating to justice, peace, conflict resolution, and arbitration. The linguist will also
carry a staff on diplomatic
missions for the chief. In such
instance the symbol on the
staff will encode the message
being carried by the emissary.
In the chief’s palace,
carving culminated in the
production of palanquins,
drums, state umbrellas, state
swords, linguist staves, figurative sculptures for ritualistic performances and others
depicting bigger forms of
wildlife.
The Akan lineage organization comprises matrilineal
clans (mmusua, pl.; abusua,
sing.) that have major and
minor segments. The clans
(mmusua) number seven in
total. In various places different names may be used
for one and the same abusua.
Sometimes, even in the same
place, more than one name
may be used to refer to same
abusua or its minor segment.
This leads to some writers
to give the erroneous interpretations that Akan mmusua
number more than seven.
A female doll may portray
some of the physical aspects
of Akan view of a beautiful
woman - oval or round broad
face, long ringed neck, roundly
Each Abusua is identified
both by its proper name and
its common emblem, totem or
symbol. The Beretuo (Twidan)
Abusua’s totem is the leopard
(etwie or osebo). The Aduana
(atwea, ntwea, aowin, aborade,
or adwinade) is represented by
the dog (kraman, bodom) or
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frog (atwere or aponkyerene).
The Kona (asokore, ekoona or
adonten) Abusua is represented
by the water buffalo (ekoo).
The Oyoko (daku, yogo,
yoko, oweko, or anona) Abusua
is represented by the hawk
(akroma or asansaa). The
parrot (akoo) represents the
Agona Abusua, while the whale
(bonsu) or the bat (apane) represents the Asinie Abusua. Asona
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(odum, odum-na, dwum or
dwumina) Abusua is represented
by the crow, white crested
raven (adene or akonkron).
Stool Carving
The Akan stool is carved
from one piece of wood
(monoxyle). Its seat part is
shaped like a crescent and
represents the warm embrace
of a mother. The middle part
is carved as a symbolic meaning that can evoke either the
status of the owner or beliefs,
history, social and cultural
values. The Akan stool has
sents the permanence and
continuity of the nation.
Akan wood carvers also
specialize in masks, murals
and other pieces of work that
can be hung on the wall. The
Akan masks are dramatic portraits of spirit beings, departed
ancestors, and invisible powers
of social control.
Masks are more associated with the Akan west of
present-day Ghana. The Baule
are one of the Akan peoples
that use masks in public performances. They moved west
neighbors, the Guro, Senufo
and Yaure peoples. There are
three basic types used in a
special dance of rejoicing
called Goli, symbolizing the
social order. Most of these
masks are Kpan, with elaborate coiffures and refined
carving, and represent the
Senior female in the ceremonies. Another mask, Kplekple,
represents the junior male.
It is round and flat and is
among the most abstract of
traditional African masks. A
third type, a Goli Gulin, represents the Senior male.
Stone Carving
Stone carving has not
been practiced extensively in
Ghana. Figurative forms of
expression in stone in the
traditional setting are rarely
done. A few academic sculptors
venture into stone carving.
The use of stone in the
homes is most often in the
form of grinding stones usually prepared for use in the
kitchen. Igneous rocks that
are beautifully shaped and
are found in the wild are most
often revered as sacred geographic formations. Rocky
land sites have some kind of
mysticism associated with
such sites. Traditionalists and
Christian groups at times visit
such sites to commune with
primeval nature because of
the spiritual ascetic nature
such sites portray. Beautifully
shaped rounded stones lying
idle at some places especially
mountainous areas are considered to be cult objects and
are therefore venerated.
multiple functions and is an
object of veneration. It is used
as a seat, as an aid to convey
expressive messages, as an
indicator of the status of its
owner and it is a prominent
object associated with rites
of passage, from birth to
marriage. The stool serves as
a medium through which
the living establishes and
maintains contact with the
ancestors.
Common in Akan homes
is adwa (stool) that is used as
a seat. The stool is an important political symbol in the
indigenous Akan form of
government. The stool of the
king (ohene adwa) is the sacred
symbol of his political and
religious authority. It repre-
to the Ivory Coast more than
200 years ago and adpted
masking traditions from their
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Figurative sculpture as an
aesthetic form of expression
in stone has been tackled
exclusively by only a few
academic sculptors and the
impact is yet to be felt on a
wider scale and magnitude.
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Bone and Ivory Carving
Bone and Ivory Carving is
believed to have been introduced into the country by
some Ivorian carvers particularly of Baule extraction.
Bone and ivory carving find
itself in the production of statuettes and figurines which
can be used as jewels or as
miniature decorative pieces.
The larger population of
elephants in the Ivory Coast
might have contributed to
the encouragement of bone
and ivory carving in that
country. In Ghana, ivory is
an expensive raw material
and therefore artifacts produced from ivory are very
expensive. The aesthetic and
commercial value remains
high and it is therefore a preserve for only those who have
great affinity for jewels, particularly necklaces and trinkets.
Bone carvings are quite
cheaper compared to that of
ivory. These carvings have very
powerful forms of aesthetic
expressions and they are
very durable and compact.
Bull horns also constitute
a good source of raw materials
for the production of artifacts.
The products include flower
vases, lamp – stands and
decorative pieces depicting
arboreal and marine species
namely; birds and fishes.
Conclusion
Carving has remained
a unique tradition up-todate. What is needed is to
alleviate all forms of previous
mental biases that have dissipated the latent energy of
this time-tested and ancient
tradition. Carving could provide a major form of livelihood for both the rural and
urban poor, for the numerous
carvers and sculptors who
graduate from educational
institutions and also for others
who have completed their
apprenticeship training from
other guilds of master carvers.
Public attitude towards
the use of carvings should be
reviewed to arouse and rejuvenate people’s interest and
appreciation for this channel
of creativity. Civilization has
made people aware that
carved pieces cannot talk, hear
or feel so they cannot be gods
but rather man-made devices
for visual communication.
Wood carvings provide
reliable sources of historic
information. They are used
to preserve the memory of
very important events and
personalities. They depict
myths, legends, folklore, skylore and linguistics typical
of many ethnic groups and
therefore serve as channels
for identification and expression of ethno-psychology.
Carving has a lot to be
considered at this point in
time that reflections are being
made on indigenous art technologies. Carving as a major
indigenous art technology
requires the concerted efforts,
motivation, assistance and
encouragement of all and
sundry for it to thrive and be
in the position to meet both
local and foreign aesthetic
demands.
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With the introduction of
modern tools and accessories,
carving is undergoing a major
breakthrough. Both schooled
and unschooled carvers are
able to produce very beautiful
designs and patterns with
the modern tools available
to them. A complete set of
tools at the disposal of the
carver provides enormous
inspiration because the carver
will have the dexterity to produce whatever design that
may be conceived in the
storehouse of mind.
However, imported tools
continue to be expensive and
may be outside the affordability of some of the carvers.
Local improvisations always
come in handy because local
blacksmiths are able to forge
the tools which could be brittle
but could produce remarkable results when skillfully
articulated.
The acquisition of wood
for carving is not so much of
a problem in Ghana. It does
not contribute in any significant way to the depletion of
wood stocks in Ghanaian
forests because the carvers
mostly use the surpluses from
the timber merchants. Carving
is very tedious so no carver in
one lifetime can even carve
a whole big tree from the
roots to the branches.
A significant step would
be to make credit facilities
from governmental and nongovernmental organizations
easily accessible to proficient
carvers to acquire complete
set of tools and raw materials
to set up studios for work.
Carvers would also require
exposure and marketing
avenues for their products
through periodic exhibitions
and craft bazaars.
■