Monday 27 August 2018

chalewote. .chale daabi!!

      I started attending the #chalewote festival/carnival which is an annual affair in Ghana, since 2015..first experience was blah!..i think we were shocked at the huge crowd and also the types of things #people tried to pass off as 'art'...and my friends and I were so discouraged and disappointed we decided not to attend any other subsequent ''chalewotes'..but funny I've been attending it every year ever since!...incidentally 'chalewote' means 'buddy let's go' in Ga,which is a local dialect in my country, Ghana..also, chalewote is a nickname for flip flops too..which I think is so cool..my initial thought was I'll see everybody at the street carnival wearing all kinds of flip-flops but it was not to be...almost #everyone had on trainers,sandals,loafers, timberlands (i thought that it had gone out of fashion!),and the occasional heels..oh yea people wore heels to a street carnival!..saw some kids running around barefooted and i preferred that cos it was natural and close to the casualness the festival was supposed to preach ..and whiles I'm on footwear I might as well delve into the types of clothing styles I saw...the festival being a #cultural one, clothes made of African fabric should' ve been evident more ..I saw a few people in African fabrics but majority had on western clothes..saw lots of tights and leggings and hot-pants (i saw more buttocks cheeks than fabric!..I don't know why some ladies feel these events call for 'tackiness'..I'm a very simple but edgy woman so I'm very excited when I see fashion-forward people but there's a vast difference between trendy and 'hoochified')..my attire for the last day of this year's fair was an African print cloth(paired with chalewotes (flip-flops) which I just wrapped around myself and behind my neck and off I went!..traditionally it's called 'collar'..drummers in Ghana wear that as their costume,. .clothes are casual and easy to 'wear' cos you just wrap it around yourself anyhow you want it..perfect for our warm weather too...that's my daily wear at home...I wear no clothes,except I'm going out..yet at the fair everyone was complimenting me on it and taking pictures ..in my mind I rolled my eyes cos it's our most commonest type of 'dressing'...and it's no biggie..it also taught me that we're losing our #heritage and we should 'sankofa'!
            And don't get me started on the vendors ..almost every one was selling the same thing when it came to our artifacts and clothing..some vendors just basically pasted pieces of #African prints on an item (for e.g. shoes,bags or even umbrellas) and passed them off as cultural creativity..I thought it was misleading and embarrassing cos we had a lot of tourists and people from the diaspora and other African countries patronizing the carnival..and things made here in our homeland Ghana (woven baskets,clay pots etc) that are supposed to be cheap were so expensive..I just couldn't wrap my brain around the thought of it!..there was a time when Ghanaians didn't appreciate our own culture and artworks..we didn't get what art was,period!..I rember I'll go to the Art Centre with my abrofo friends when they visited the country to buy our artifacts and clothing..way back then seamstresses didn't have the luxury of creativity and so the designs were limited but the whites appreciated them cos African fabrics were used..and the high prices didn't put them off either cos after all converting dollars into cedis made a world of difference! ..now we can make all kinds of western-inspired clothing styles using African print but the annoying thing is everyone is making the same clothes and accessories to sell!..thanx to internet and social media the world is now a global place..our diverse cultural history and ways should be showcased more in a clean and plastic-free environment..the reason for the carnival is defeated when there is not much going on on the art and cultural side of things..no wonder people just come there and literally walk up and down ,up and down,up and down from one end of the fair street to the other and go home without seeing anything worth buying..and because of the amount vendors pay to get a stand they increase the prices of their #goods and wares and even food so the average patron cannot afford it..so most food goes to waste..one would expect prices of things would be rather reduced for everyone to afford..education of our culture should not be a money-making venture..it should be easily accessible by all.
                        This takes me down memory lane..infact two lanes..one was years ago in my teenage years when the OSU STREET CARNIVALS were this 'ish',as my buddy Akua Blakofe would say!..I attended one with my sisters and a cousin and ofcos we walked up and down the streets(it is a street carnival after all!)..but back then there was more art works..there were masqueraders..it was exciting!..so much that I didnt watch where I placed my steps and stepped in a gutter that was full of dirty water and all kinds of unsightly unthinkable unprintable crap..I guess some things never change when it comes to our #sanitation!..chale my white skinny jeans were ruined!..another time I participated in onother Osu street carnival..this time around i was working cos GUINNESS GHANA LIMITED WAS SPONSORING it and I worked with them during that period..the place was packed but you didn't feel claustrophobic unlike the current chalewotes..after spending coupla hours at the carnival i feingned illness and slunk off to a grilled pork party when I was supposed to be working!!..please dont tell anyone...hahahahaha.... let us not leave out our pickpocket friends..they usually have a field day during these events..I rember at one fair I held my medicated glasses tightly in my hand for safety cos I didn't trust my pockets..the #crowd was a brick wall and it took all I had in me to break free and enter the fair venue..when I looked in my hand I had only a stem of my frames left!!..someone actually stole them..I guess my grip had been too tight so he didn't get the whole glasses!..I was so mad but it was funny at the same time..I split my sides in loud belly guffaws!!...I miss those care-free days mehn!
                   Let's talk about the 'artists' who exhibited their 'craft' at the festival...I'm an #artist at heart so I look for the arty angle in everything around me..I love art so much I did fine art during my O's and A levels...and I am also exploring my passion in photography now..I always maintain everything is an art...dancing, writing,eating,talking,body language..even sex is an art so please my 'fufu-pounders' and 'galamseyers' please upgrade yourself with some skills when banging and leave the pounding and digging for the chopbars and mines!. ..chalewote being an ART festival should promise and deliver real art pleasing to the eye..I've always joked 'there's a thin line between art and madness' so sometimes when someone crosses over I dey allow...but today's fair was just summin else...with some of the exhibitions I tried and tried and tried to see the Art in there..I used a mental microscope hoping that maybe it's hidden there in some corner..I thought okay maybe the 'artist crossed over that thin line' so it's art madness...still nothing...and so as Sherlock Holmes said 'when you have excluded the impossible,whatever remains however improbable must be the truth!' so I just concluded most of the Art works was BORLA..that's garbage to my abrofos!..well I'm not surprised cos the average Ghanaian mind doesn't 'lean towards 'creativity nor cleanliness (which is sad cos Ghana is supposed to be a Christian #country with them singing 'cleanliness is next to godliness'...yet the country is engulfed in filth!..I rest my case!)..I saw something that looked like a giant ant hill in a dirty glass case with a guy (I'm assuming he was the creator of that atrocity) sitting akimbo in front of it ..people were taking pictures and I couldn't for the life of me fathom what the hell he was trying to communicate!..I saw another lady,also sitting on the floor,but this time rubbing in circles, what looked like powdered white clay on the floor..then she switched to the redclay version and I was gobsmacked!..was it me who wasn't getting it or it was just plain abodam.. the only thing I found fascinating was the lady's sexy body that her dress couldn't hide!..I didn't bother taking many pictures at the fair cos I didn't see much exciting stuff..mostly rubbish everywhere..the organizers should keep the grounds clean...art and garbage don't mix well..to add insult to injury my camera battery died on me along the line...there were a few things I liked and would 've loved to have taken pics of ..I guess it was all good anyway cos the organizers kept bugging those with cameras for 'accreditation' to be able to take pics with a camera..the registration was for 50Ghana cedis!...like seriously!!!..no bloody way was i gonna pay so good riddance!
          Who allowed the motor bikers into the fair proper??!..I almost had my feet mashed a coupla times by them ..a motorcade came thru the crowd yesterday at top speed and everyone had to run for their lives...we heard it was the president and his entourage..and I'm like, really!!!..what was all that nonsense for?people could've gotten hurt..they didn't even stay for a second..they literally drove up and down the carnival streets and left..sigh!!..I saw one of his bodyguards speed past us on a motorbike. .in fact there were two people on the bike..the one at the back was standing and holding his rusty A-K47 (it's usually the make they use!) high above his head like some antique war relic bi !..I was afraid it'll go off and blow his own face off!..those guns probably don't even work cos they've seen better days!I'm sure when the day came for that gun to be fired ,it'd jam for sho'!!..Ghanaians dont practice the habit of maintenance..we only fix things when they are broken and worse for wear..chale we for change wanna attitude..not cool koraa!
Maja ,my Austrian girlfriend and I decided to walk to the beach by the carnival grounds and we met some 'crookish-looking' old men holding some funny-looking ticket booklets and asked us to pay 'gate' fee to enter...the gate was just two benches placed close together leaving a little space for people to pass thru..we told them we had run out of cash and they said we could enter. .just like that!...in Ghana someone is always trying to make a quick buck out of unsuspecting victims cos the law is not looking over their shoulder..when we got to the beach,called SHATTA BEACH by the way, a foul smell followed us everywhere we went,there was garbage everywhere and I almost stepped in shit a coupla times..don't know whether it was human or animal's. .didn't wana know!...so whiles worrying about where to place your feet we also had to worry about the flies cos they would pick up germs from the open gutters and feces and seek refuge on your food with it or play gymnastics in your esophagus!..oh yea,many of us have swallowed a few flying insects that way.!we decided to take pictures and sat on some car tires..then a guy approached us and asked if we would buy weed!..ei !!. .hahahahhahahah....I was like why us ?did we look like we enjoyed a joint now and then?.. chaaaalee!!..we didn't buy any ofcos ,cos none of us smoked weed..speaking of weed,..my friends bought brownies at last year's chalewote and gave me a piece..everyone ate theirs except for me cos I was a little skeptical since I'd heard stories about weed and brownies..the only thing I was told by my friend was whenever you eventually eat your brownie and you start to see things,don't panic!..ei !!. .when I got home I waited awhile before eating the brownie...OMG!..I realised something was wrong within seconds when I got up to go outside..I immediately sat down on the floor where I sleep..I have a bed but prefer the floor (that's another story for another day!)..then I called the one who gave me the brownie and he laughed and laughed cos I wasn't making any sense..my voice felt so far away..I had an out-of-body experience ,like i was floating. .you see how it is in the kumawood movies when a person's soul separates from his body and stands somewhere to look at his own body..I wonder if I'm even making any sense here!..lol..I got scared at some point cos I didn't know what was happening to me but I calmed down when my friend said the brownie had weed in it and it was supposed to feel that way!...I'm thinking of having some again...*wink wink*!!
                  Back to this year's chalewote!..Maja and I ended up at the foodcourt where the performances were going on..and a friend of mine performed. .shoutout to you Kymani GH..you did a great job!..and thanx for dropping us off home..you're a great but annoying guy..still love u though!..
Having said all this,'will I go for next year's chalewote'?..answer is YES!..would I see the same shit?..YES!..would I be cheesed off?..YES!!...cos I'll focus on the positives( which are the friends I met,some of the proper artworks,some good palm-wine..) ..as they say 'every dark cloud has a silver lining'..see you at chalewote2019!!..thanx for reading..#shalom #gaylesgifts
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2 comments:

Unknown said...

So funny enough, I also felt the same way about this year’s event. I left a lil disappointed cos I didn’t see a lot of art as I expected but I was excited to have seen the insides of the prison for the first time. And you really couldn’t be wrong about sanitation.....I held on to my rubbish after eating hoping to find a bin but......(your guess is as good as mine)

mztooknow said...

Thanx for your comments Dilys !xxx