Figurative palanquin

**Figurative palanquin** connected plus de totem of ein owner be special kind of litter wey dem dey use for Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Dese palanquins wey dem dey bell am *okadi akpakai* for Ga language insyd be royal insignias dema own wey ebi only de Ga kings or *mantsemei* den dema sub-chiefs dey use am wey dem dey carry am for public for durbars den festivals lyk Homowo. With dese figurative palanquins nu, de Ga dey create ethnic differences for dema body den dema Akan neighbours wey dat only dey use simple boat or chair-shaped litters.

## Significance
Ga chief wey ein clan dey use de lion as totem mo use litter wey dey in de form of lion. De totems den family symbols for de Ga dey represent animals, plants anaa objects. Dem associate all of dem plus de history of de clan den ein ancestors.

When dem carry chief for such figurative palanquin insyd, dem dey use ein totem symbol wey dey ensure protection by de spirits den de ancestors wey dem connect plus de respective symbol. For de same tym dem transfer de totem ein magical powers go de chief wey dey tap for de figurative palanquin insyd. For contrast go de conventional boat- anaa chair-shaped Akan litters, de Ga dema figurative palanquins sanso dey function as marks of distinction between dema bodies den dema Akan neighbours, wey dem even dey denote differences between de different Ga clans.

## History
For de precolonial tyms insyd, de Ga no dey use litters, but dem carry dema Chiefs for human shoulders top. De ethnologist Margaret Field dey believe say de Akwamus wey introduce de boat-shaped Akan litters de tym wey dem dey der since de 17th century. For de course of de 19th century insyd, wen de Ga take ova from de Akwamu parts of dema military organization, dem sanso adopt de use of palanquins. Howeva, no exact sources dey wey dey describe wen de Ga start dey use palanquins for de form of dema family symbols insyd. De social anthropologist Regula Tschumi find short notice per for de Gold Coast Independent 1925 wey dey indicate say de King of Accra, de so-called *Ga mantse* dey use elephant shaped palanquin for those years insyd. According to Tschumi, de use of figurative palanquins spread for de course of de 20th century from Accra go oda coastal towns wey dis palanquins, to sam extent, dem still dey use am today.

## Exhibitions
For March 2017 insyd de Gallery ANO for Accra insyd show for de first tym palanquin for de exhibition "Accra: Portraits of A City". Kudjoe Affutu wey make de palanquin for 2013 give chief for de Central Region, Ghana insyd.
## References



## Bibliography

* Field, Margaret Joyce (1961) [1937]. *Religion and Medicine of the Ga people*. Oxford Univ. Press.

* Secretan, Thierry (1994). *Il fait sombre, va-t'en* (insyd French). Paris: Hazan.

Dem publish am for English insyd as Secretan, Thierry (1995). *Going into darkness: Fantastic coffins from Africa*. London.

* Tschumi, Regula (2012). *Die figürlichen Sänften und Särge der Ga im Süden Ghanas. Geschichte, Transformation und Sinn einer künstlerischen Ausdrucksform von den Anfängen bis in die Gegenwart* (PhD thesis) (in German). Univ. Basel.
* Tschumi, Regula (2013). "The Figurative Palanquins of the Ga. History and Significance". *African Arts*. **46** (4): 60–73. doi:. S2CID 57570945.

## Read further

* Tschumi, Regula (2014). *Concealed Art. The figurative palanquins and coffins of Ghana*. Bern: Edition Till Schaap. ISBN 978-3-03828-099-6.
* Tschumi, Regula (2014). *The buried treasures of the Ga. Coffin art in Ghana*. Bern: Edition Till Schaap. ISBN 9783038280163.

Second edition of Benteli (2008) dem revise den update.