A Trip to my Wife's Ancestral Village

My wife's lineage is quite confusing to many Ghanaians. She has an Ewe name Dzigbordi which means patience. But she does not speak Ewe. The Ewe people reside in the South Eastern Part of Ghana and in Togo. She has never lived in the Volta region which is primarily comprised of Ewe people. Her father is Ewe, and her mother's family migrated from Burkina Faso. They met and lived in Tamale in the north of Ghana where my wife was born and raised. She speaks Hausa and Dagboni along with Twi.

Her father's family is from a community in the Volta region of Ghana called Atiavi. Last year one of her father's sisters passed away and we all made plans to go to the funeral. My wife had not been to the village since she was a child and her father had not been back in a long time also. She still has an uncle and a lot of family there though so this was sort of a homecoming.

Atiavi is about a 4-hour drive to the east of Accra. It is located inland of a giant lagoon and is right on the edge of the water. Most of the land around it is marshland most of the year.

Dzigbordi and I drove there with Bjorn on our own and met the rest of her immediate family there who came down from the North. Her mother, her father, her younger brother, and her niece. Bjorn got to hang out with his cousin who he adores and was with us when he was born. He also got to dress up in his traditional fugo which he looked great in.

We came in a day before the funeral and visited her father's father's side of the family and then her father's mother's side of the family in their respective houses. The next day we proceeded to the funeral. She was Christian so a pastor presided over the ceremonies with a sermon, then an invitation for people to provide a eulogy, a viewing of the body, and prayers. After that, the body was laid to rest in the cemetery.

Being right on the edge of the lagoon there was a lot of extra rain this year and flooding in some parts from releasing excess water from the Volta lake and this was evident in the water line at the village. We learned the water has been gradually rising over time and some buildings abandoned.

Bjorn got to spend some time with his grandpa which he enjoyed.

A random lady asked for a photo which turned out very funny.

Bjorn on his momma's back, the traditional African way of carrying babies.

Everyone cleaned their hands with some spiritual herbs in water.

Dzigbordi posing with two of her cousins she hasn't seen since childhood.

Bjorn and one of Dzigbordi's cousins.

I really didn't get that many pictures of the scenery. We only stayed for 3 days and were quite busy with the family affairs. I am sure we will go back again sometime.