Kukuo: Part I

We had heard about a village near Tamale, by the name of Kukuo, known for its pottery-making. It sounded like the perfect opportunity for an excursion, so we went to the bus station, and asked for "Kukuo". Before long we were rumbling along dirt roads, toward the northwest, until our taxi dropped us off at a smattering of adobe huts. It took us about twenty seconds to realize that no pottery-making was taking place here. But there was a group of villagers, absolutely baffled by the sudden appearance of these two white guys.

We'd learn later that there are two Kukuo's in the immediate vicinity of Tamale. We had been taken to Kukuo-Kumbungu. But the pottery village is actually Kukuo-Jekariyili, which happens to be within walking distance of our hotel. Anyway, we were here now in Kukuo-Kumbungu, and decided to make the best of it. There might not have been any pottery, but we'd never been in a random Northern Ghanaian adobe village... so we asked the ensemble of silently-staring rubberneckers whether we could hang out for awhile.

I can't lie -- this was initially an encounter of wicked awkwardness. But it didn't take long for Kukuo to warm up to us. By which I mean: it didn't take long until the village's children to learn about the strange new visitors. Their exuberance was more than a match for their elders' reticence, and we soon felt reasonably comfortable.

In America and Germany, the natural reaction of a child when presented with a strange adult is to cocoon into an impenetrable ball of shyness. But Ghanaian children have no such hesitance. The instant they spy you, they will sprint forward, on a reckless mission to hug your legs. If you manage to peel them off, you'll find a little hand now holding yours. If you try and shake the hand off, you'll find another child using the distraction to climb up your back. The kids here love strangers... which is exactly how it should be! Spying a new adult should be reason for excitement. The children in our countries have been taught to react with fear. When you really think about it, that's simply not the indication of a healthy culture.

Continue reading on our Ghana Travel Blog: https://ghana.for91days.com/2019/05/06/kukuo/