Falon Goes to Ghana: Cape Coast

It's been far too long since an update and there's a lot going on. I'll eventually get everyone caught up, but let's take it back to Friday. This weekend the group made the 10 hour drive from Hohoe to Cape Coast to spend some time at the beach, do a little sightseeing and most importantly experience first hand a piece of Ghanaian history.

Cape Coast, formerly known as the Gold Coast, was established as a trading city by the Portuguese in the 15th century. The discovery of gold along the coast has caused the city to pass from the control of the Portuguese to the Dutch, the Swedish and finally the British. The city was built around the Cape Coast Castle which became the hub of British colonial rule and one of the biggest trading posts for the trade of human slaves.

As an African and African-American Studies minor, I’ve spent time studying the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade and have even researched the Middle Passage. Throughout these studies, I’ve been exposed to information about both the Cape Coast Castle and the nearby St. George’s Elmina Castle. I’ve seen pictures, read descriptions of the abhorrent conditions people were subjected to and watched various films that attempt to recreate the ugliness of it all. I’m sure everyone has heard about the horrible things that were done to millions of Africans before they were shipped as cargo to the Americas. Hearing the retelling of these stories doesn’t even come close to spending time walking around these castles, standing in the dungeons and walking through the Door of No Return.

We went on a guided tour of the Cape Coast Castle and then drove to Elmina where a few of us decided to walk around St. George’s Castle on our own. Wandering around Elmina without a guide, gave the castle a completely different feel. Myself and another volunteer found ourselves walking through dark hallways and finding passages from the female cells to the outdoor courtyard. Quietly wandering around and realizing what each room was used for was super eerie and definitely an emotional experience. What really struck me was seeing just how close the Portuguese and British churches were to the dungeons of their captives. At Elmina, the church is right next to the male holding cells, at the Cape Castle, it is literally right above the small, dark room they forced 100 of the strongest males to stay in. In both locations, they could hear the screams coming from the dungeons while in church.

Cannons at Cape Coast

Map of Cape Coast Castle

Hallway to the Male Dungeons - Cape Coast

Door of No Return - Cape Coast

The group in front of Cape Coast Castle

Entrance to Elmina Castle

Elmnia Castle

Inside Elmnia Castle

Cells at Elmina

The Church is the building in the center,
surrounded by cells at Elmina

The sign says "Slave Exit to Waiting Boats". We found this
tunnel while wandering around the female dungeons

Visiting these castles was one of the things I was most looking forward to doing while here in Ghana. After leaving Elmina, the group spent the rest of the day lazying around at a beautiful beach resort. It was here, that I had an interesting conversation with a young African artist selling his paintings and jewelry that seemed to bring everything full circle. After the typical introductions, he realized that I was in fact, a ‘Black American’ and immediately asked me if I had felt at home yet here in Africa. After sensing my hesitation in answering his question, he continued with, “You should. My family is your family.” That small statement triggered an incredibly complex conversation about my connection with the people I come into daily contact with here and the people who spent time in those horribly beautiful castles before boarding the ships that would forever separate them from their homeland. Our discussion in short... there’s a shared history and common heritage between us. I’ve definitely felt this link and it’s something that has been made clear by the way the young Ghanaian women call me “sister” and the children so easily differentiate between me and the “Yobos” in my group. It’s hard to explain, but a sort of centering experience.

In both castles hung a plaque sharing a poem written in the voice of the African people after the slave trade was put to an end. You can check out the picture, but it reads...

“IN EVERLASTING MEMORY OF THE ANGUISH OF OUR ANCESTORS. MAY THOSE WHO DIED REST IN PEACE. MAY THOSE WHO RETURN FIND THEIR ROOTS. MAY HUMANITY NEVER AGAIN PERPETRATE SUCH INJUSTICE AGAINST HUMANITY. WE, THE LIVING, VOW TO UPHOLD THIS.”

Cape Coast and Elmina are both extremely beautiful cities that carry such a tainted past. I thought it was interesting to see the hundreds of fisherman and boat builders working in the shadows of both castles. Here are some pictures: