Education

Master Weaver from Ghana

A children's book by Louise Meyer and Gilbert Ahiagble

Small loom weaving

Build small triangular looms, like those used by African children. Few materials necessary, the results are great.

Cotton spinning

Instructions for ginning cotton, and finger and spindle spinning. A nice hands-on activity.

Building a loom

A guide to building a strip-cloth loom as used by Kente weavers in Ghana.

Kente paper weaving

grade 2, fiber arts, curriculum connection: social studies

 

Master Kente weaver Gilbert "Bobbo" Ahiagble

The 25 minute video consists of two parts. In the first, the author narrates the children's book Master Weaver from Ghana, while Bobbo weaves. In the second, Bobbo describes strip-weaving as it is practiced in Ghana. The video and the companion book, Master Weaver from Ghana, can be purchased from the Davi Lojo shop.

View on YouTube  part 1  and  part 2

African art videos by Christopher Roy

Christopher Roy, Professor of African art at the University of Iowa, has produced some wonderful videos tailored for classroom use, compiled from his research trips to Burkina Faso and Ghana which illustrate the arts and life of the people in these countries. You can now view these videos on his YouTube channel.

Arts of Ghana

The many peoples of Ghana create beautiful Kente cloth, brass castings, stamped Adinkra cloth used in funerals, stools carved of wood, and royal arts. They also use drums in ceremonies in which the tonal patterns of the drumming match the tonal patterns of the spoken messages, allowing the drums to "speak." Five very high-quality videos, shot in August 2002, describe each of these art forms in detail. Running time: 60 minutes.

view on YouTube

A Day in the Life of a Village in Africa

What is it REALLY like to live in Africa? Scenes of daily life in the village of Sayaga, a small farming village in southwest Burkina Faso. Filmed in 2002, the DVD includes scenes of food preparation, building a house, children in school, spinning thread, weaving, making pottery, forging iron, mask performances, a traditional funeral, sand divination, balafon music, and much more. Running time: 60 minutes.

view on YouTube