Agorash Ghana House

8/8/2019 Agorash Ghana House

1/31

THE INT5RN.AL SPATIAL ORGANISATION OF TRADITIONALHOUSES IN THE NORTHERN VOLTA BASIN OFGHANA

ByE Kofi Agorsah

The consequence of human behaviour in terrestrial space posea real challenge to archaeologists, especially when it comes toexplaining the frequency with which human societies encounter

different phenomensein space and the way in which various aspectsare bonded together. The problem arises mainly from the complexsituation resulting from the simultaneou arrangements of like andunlike features and the dynamic interconnections and associationsbetween them. Looking at this challenge in relation to prehistoricsocieties is even more problematic. It is common practice amongsocial scientists to attribute certain elements of human behaviourto unique factors and thus place limitations on their analysis andgeneralisations* My experience of doing an ethnoarchaeologicalstudy of a traditional society over the past twelve years indicatesthat certain principles which govern spatial behaviour are generallyapplicable, especially when viewed within certain clearly definedsocial and environmental parameters-


2/31

The focus of this paper is on the internal arrangement orthe pattern of the distribution of features within households* Thequestion of "v/herenessu of features and equipment within the housewill be the most emphasised* In relation to this an attempt will bemade to examine how the placement of features within variousdivisions of the traditional house.can provide leads towards theirrecognition in the archaelogical record. The subject will bediscussed from the methodological point of view which I characteriseas the "situational approach"

This approach begins with the proposition that human behaviouroccurs in situations and that the unit cf anaLysis is the situationthat combines the society and its environment into one typicalscheme: In the case of the society in question, the Nchumuru, thissituation is the house-

In this paper an attempt will be made to demonstrate how eachpart of the Mchumuru traditional life-style contributes to thespatial patterning within their houses as units of their settlements*The geographical focus is thesettlement of Wiae in the Banda-Wiaetraditional area, north of the town of Kete-Krachi in the northernsection of the Volta basin of Ghana-

The settlement history of the Nchumuru occupation of theirpresent home - the Banda-Wiae area, (Fig- 1) has been reconstructedinto four phases each cf which is characterised by the interplay of


3/31

TOJLUJSTRATIONS

RESTING PLATFORM

RUBBISH DUMP ;

H E A R

0 -

/53HOLDING

UNDER CONSTRUCTION ORWALL

f f

f lH EARTH PLATFORM

FIG!-:=rsrJKsrr.r.=r-~F I G . 2


4/31

LOCATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF STRUCTURAL FEATURESIN HOUSES '

F I G . 3 (a )

DEMARCATING AREA OF A HOUSE( E X A M P L E S )

' * *MOUMMO. 23L

a u# ri


5/31

- f 03 -

s o c i a l and s p a t i a l ad ju stm e n t ( n g o r sa h , 1 9 8 3 ) . S t r i c t l y , t h e s ea r e p h a s e s i d e n t i f i e d o n ly on t h e b ^ s i s of l o c a t i o n of s e t t l e m e n t ,changes in house forms and p lacement of s t r u c tu ra l fe a t u re s w i th int h e u n i t s o f t h e s e t t l e m e n t .

The f i r s t ph -se was marked by the h i s t o r i c a l breakup of th ewhole Guang-speaking eth n ic group (P a in te r , 1967; Dakubu, 19 76 ) .

Nchumuru :On th e i r a r r i v a l in the Banda are a the / as p a r t of the majorGuang group had als o broken up i n t o ph r a t r i e s (n suro) There i s noaech aeo lo g ica l ev idence so f a r t o sugges t t ha t t hey se t t l e d in t h e i rnsuro groups , a s in d i ca te d by the smal l s iz e of th e i r ea r lyse t t l em en ts , -which proba bly be longed to fami ly g roupings or c la nswhich however, found i t nec essary t o id en t i fy them selves wi th th el a rg e r ph ra t ry no t on ly fo r pu rposes of co -op e ra t iv e de fense du r ingth e un s ta b le war pe r io d , bu t a l so for fea r of l o s s of cu l t u ra lident i ty The se t t lements were smal l and c lose ly packed- The houses t ru c tu re s were c i r c u l a r and con ta ined sp ec i a l en t r an ce hu t s*

The second phase of the Nchumuru settlement in the area wasmarked by a pe r io d of expe r im enta t ion w i th the na tu ra l res ou rc es ofthe a rea- Na tura l c a l am i t i es such as f i r e , f lood and famine werecon s idered as t ra g ed ie s caused by th e i r gods as punishment t o showdi sap prov a l of t he s e t t l eme n t l o ca t i on s - The r e su l t was a s e r i e s ofmovements from lo ca t io n to l o ca t io n un t i l i n t he f ace o f t he t h re a t


6/31

- 109 -of Gonja power as well as the expansionist activities of theAsante (Maielj 1981), the various phratries began to come togetherto form single settlements, one of which was the site of Old Wiae.At these settlements the identities of the phratries continued asa mechanism for maintaining the inter~settlement contact andcultural identity, .and co-operation*

The third phase is clearly marked at the site of Old wiae thebeginning of which is (Hit-dated to the mid sixteenth century. At OldWiae some of the Nchumuru, having settled down, maintained thetradition of building circular huts but failed* However, feeling moresecure as a result of their alliance with the Gonja people andconnections with the Krachi (who had the most potent oracle of thetime), the spatial arrangement in their settlements began to changegradually into rectangular forms* This change which is ax chaelogi callymanifested at the Old wiae site, was completed when it was relocatedat i ts present site*

It is within the framework of the arrangement of the rectangularhouse structures at New wiae that this paper will examine the internalspatial organisation- The final phase of their settlement historyrelates to the present and seems to be continuing-


7/31

Social Network:

Each Nchumuru village belongs to one of its major familygroupings or phraties* Banda, Chachai, Nchenke, Kpentanai and \Sunwiae- Those groupings as mentioned are traditionally referredto as nsuro (kasuro, sing-) each of which has one of its constituentvillages as the head village* y/ithin each Nchumuru village one findsone or more patri-clans called mbuno (kabttnp, sing.) each having amale head, i ts own ancestral shrine, secrets, properties andrelationships with other villages- Inheritance is by homogeneoustransmission (male to the next oldest male and female to the nestoldest female in the kabuno) There are five mbuno at Wiae, our database, as follows: Breniase, Dapoeta, Kpenwiae, Ntrapo and Tarieso*

Recognition as an Nchumuru in the village is determined by one's

relationship with a kabuno, membership of which,consists not only ofthe living but also and primarily, the dead ancestors. The ancestralshrine of the kabuno is thecontrolling factor within the kabuno,traditionally should be located in the kabuno heads house*

To the Nchumuru the seasons of the year are not thought of interms of a large solar clock or calender but are seen as a sequenceof activities calculated around traditional events such as plantingand harvest times and the days are divided into activity spans suchas the cool of the day and evening. In the Nchumuru concept one


8/31

cannot separate leisure from 'tother time"* The social network ofthe Nchumuru is highly summarised here but provides an adequatebackground for the discussion of internal arrangements with theirhouses-

In Wiae, the main activity areas of the house arc theroom,courtyard, kitchen and backyard- I shall discuss each of thesedivisions and their associated features and activities, and thendemonstrate the extent to which each part contributes to the spatialpatterning within the house- Even though the house is divided intothe above four typical areas, the activities related to them canhardly be placed' in clear-cut compartments. Further, not all thedivisions are symbolised by physical or structural features- Forexample.; the cairtyard refers to the space enclosed by the walls orother features of the house rather than a structure-

The Rooms:Every house in wiae initially consists of at least two rooms-

However, the number of rooms added to the initial structures dependupon the occupational priorities ofthe owner at the time, the numberof people, the season and, above all, the capability of the builderor owner to add more structures- The total number of rooms in a houseat any time can be divided by the number of persons in i t and multipliedby the size of.- a room expressed in square metres in order to obtain the


9/31

average space area per person . This is expressed in the equation:

S = _R.,) sP

Where R = total number of rooms per house ;P = total number of persons per hou se;S = mean room space per person;s = average size of room space held at a

constant of 12 square metres per room.

On the basis of this estimation it was observed that each person (childor adult) had in 1981 (Agorsah, 1983a) an average room space of .5 inthe range of 1.0 to 0.3

The only rooms of purely specialised use in Wiae are shrine rooms.In the short term, it is possible to indicate allocat ion of room s toinhabitants of a hous e. Howe ver , there is a great deal of movement ofpeople with the arrival and exit of family me mbe rs. This makes it moredifficult to recognise any pattern of long-term allocation. Generally,however, rooms in ;Wiae are meant for she lter in the real sense of theword . They are first of all sleeping rooms and secondly repositoiresfor personal pro perti es, and the rooms are sometimes communally shared.

The distinguishing marks of a woman's room are raised clay platformbed(s) and smaller platforms along the walls of the rooms with pot hol esin them for holding pots 6f all sizes ( Fig. 3)= A female adult 's room


10/31

- 1 1 3 "

may also have a hearth in one corner, close to the entranc e. Sucha hearth may be used for heating rooms in cold weather or asalternative cooking places when the kitchen is inaccessible duringthe rainy season. The practice of erecting a hearth in rooms isbecoming less popula r, especially with the young* There is never ashrine insid e, in front of , or at the entrance of a female's room.Large, tall pile's of pot s are a characteristic feature of the adultfemale's room but as the pots and other similarly unfired objectsare moved around from time to time they cannot be used a s a final,indication of female o r male room . The structural features consistof the heart h, earth-bed and the raised platform for holding pilesof pot s in which personal eff ects are stored-

The floors of many of the rooms are beaten hard and smoothed.A whole range of objects can be found on the floor of the room,mostly along the wall s. These include stools, food baskets containingcooking utensils, ceramic pots and bowls , wooden ladles, gourds, emptyb o t t l e s, sandals, and tables. The cooking u tensils, stools and sandals

are very frequently moved in and out of the room. The other majorobjects remain at their positions for fairly long periods'of timeoOnce in a while the ba skets are brought out , cleaned and refilled withfresh food supply. The main link between the rooms and their users isthe courtyard, which will be the activity area that is discussed in


11/31

t h e s e c t i o n w h i c h fo l lo w s. .

T h e C o u r t y a r d

T h e c o u r t y a r d i s t h e a r e a of t h e h o u s e e n c l o s e d b y t h e i n n e rw a l l s o f t he b u i l d i n g a n d o t h e r s t r u c t u ra l f e a t u r e s . S e m i - p r i v a t e ,i t i s th e c e n t r e o f t h e h o u s e a n d t he a r e a u s e d f o r t h e a c t i v i t i e s t h a t m e m b e r s o f t he h o u s e h o l d s h ar e i n c o m m o n , s u c h a s c o o k i n g ,e a t i n g , a n d d i s c u s s i o n o f f a m i l y a f f a i r s . I t p r o v i d e s a c c e s s b e t w e e ns l e e p i n g a n d b a t hr o om s . , T h e c o u r t y a r d t h u s c o n s i s t s o f t h e a r e a , f o rt h e l o c a t i o n o f h e a r t h s , b e n c h e s , f i s h - s mo k i n g o v e n s , m o r t a r , l a r gew a t e r p o t s , f a m i l y s h r i n e s a n d g r a v e s . I t i s a ls o a p l a c e f o r r e s t i n gi n t he e v e n i n g s a n d o n k e p o w e ( n o n - w o r k ) d a y s . I t i s a l s o t h e a r e a f o rt h e m a n u f a c t u r e a n d m a i n t e n a n c e o f f i s h i n g a n d f a r m i n g e q u i p m e n t and-t o o l s . F u r t h e r , i t i s a n e x t e n s i o n o f t h e b e d r o o m d u r i n g t h e n i g h t so f t h e w a r m a n d h u m i d s e a s o n . T h e c o u r t y a r d i n w i a e d o e s n o t p o s s e s s _.a n e n c l o s u r e a n d h a s n o t c o n t r o l l e d e n t r a n c e o r p r i v a c y . O n l y t h es l e e p i n g r o o m i s r e a l l y p r i v a t e a n d a l w a y s r e q u i r e s a c o m p l e t ee n c l o s u r e , go o d v e n t i l a t i o n a nd s u b du e d l i g h t . T h e r e . i s n o c l e a rp h y s i c a l b o u n d a r y b e t w e e n c o ur ty ar ds H o w e v e r , o b s e r v a t i o n s i n d i c a t et h a t , t h r o u gh t h e c o u r t y a r d s t h e s p a t i a l d i m e n s i o n s , o f t h e h o u s e a r em a k i n g u p f o r w h a t s o c i a l f a c t o r s a r e u n a b l e t o m a i n t a i n . F u n d a m e n t a l l yt h e p h y s i c a l d e v e l o p m e n t s o f t h e a c t i v i t y a r e a s o f t h e Nc h u m u r u h o u s e


12/31

entail more than satisfying the purely functional1 requirementsof the society., In general terms, the development of the individualhouse provides a history that links the basic unit (the house) andits activity areas vo the social context'

-The house (l^nno) to an Nchumuru, in a territorial sense refersto the geographical location and extension of the kabuno and itsmembers, It also means an assertion by a family that a geographicalspace is" under its influence and controlo The concept which isreflected; in tfee activities connected- with the courtyard concerns tworatiowstleai'C-Sr ng and sharing, which 'are embodied not only in thekabun&^ljtld&s'hip but also and necessarily, in the phratry' (nsuro)relationships.PThis has support in the fact that the individualbuilder provides in his structure, an openness based on the courtyard,that links i/tto the houses of other kabuno rriemmbers. The grouping ofthe houses and the openness of the courtyard into one another reflectthe social order. Each person' Ss house is usually surrouned by thoseof his kinsfolk as social/rib rks; requireo This clearly indicates howthe pattern of activities, values and constraints and also the patternof daily life are fused in the physical form. That the house forms andtheir1 related activity areas krerversions of the same simple form andconvey1aKp6werful sense df physical coherency has been demonstrated(Agorsah, T985) Although the physical requirement of the orientation


13/31

- 116 -of the Nchumuru courtyard and related activities aestic considerationssuch.as beating hard of the floor, the main goal is the cultural andpractical function,.

The relationship of the courtyard to the other parts of theNchumuru houses can be clearly contrasted to that relationship innon-Nchumuru houses (Prussinr, 1969; Tait, 1961). Among the non-Nchumuru the residence unit aggregation results in a group of inter-connected courtyards into which access is obtained through only onemain entrance huto In the case of the Nchumuru (Agorsah, 198j5a) thehouse is a more open though private, part of the settlement, the wholeof which forms the setting for all their activities. In non-Nchumuruhouses such as those of Konkomba settlers in the north-easternsection of modern V/iae, the house (compound?) is the whole settingfor domestic life. The significance of this comparison is that whileconnectivity is strong between Nchumuru individual courtyards, it isvery weak between those of non-Nchumuruo This difference demonstratesthe consequences which socio-spatial relationships can have in theplacement of structural units and which can be invoked to explainpatterning within residential units The type of connectivityobserved in Wiae is a basic characteristic, and a mechanism formaintaining liberal social connection between family groups andbetween the houses and also area of the traditional settlement and itsadjoining activity areas. "Connectivity" is used here to indicate the


14/31

degree of accessibility between houses.. Th^ most enclosed courtyardsare considered to r.^.v-j le-ast connectivity while the most open court-yards have ..most connectivityo The connectivity pattern is alsoemphasised by the network of foot-paths which accommodate the criss-cross movements between relatives in different compounds and giveaccess to the main paths leading out of the settlements to the streams,farms, shrines and: the lake-sidec IPhe-importance of the foot-pathslies in the fact that courtyards and? structural features located neareach other can give greater connectivity,. but this juxtaposition maynot necessarily ensure connectivity.

Growth and Development of the CourtyardThe definition of the courtyard is linked with the growth of the

houseo As has been observed in Wiae, the erection of the initial two-room structure determines which side the courtyard would be* However,

w h e n " it is onlw another structure such as the kitchen or drying platformor additional rooms have been erected that the courtyard begins totake shape The development of the courtyard is characteristic of thethe growth of the house in Wiae;. such that even when not fully defined,the courtyard area is somehow recognisable- One way of recognising thecourtyard is by monitoring the area of the house swept by the womenusually each morning or at any other time


15/31

Measurements taken, of the courtyard sizes indicate that there issome degreL.oi close uniformity It is not possible to classify the.shape of the courtyards into any descriptive geometric terms because ofmost them are open, and even though the builder knows the eventualextent of his courtyard it is not physically apparent until theerection of the structure that encloses it Figure 4 provides examplesof the courtyards as they are defined by the beaten floor area, theswept area, and by the position of structural features * It is evidentthat the courtyard area immediately in front of the sleeping room isthe area that is initially beaten hard. The expansion of the beatencourtyard floor area is also illustrated by the structural growth ofsome selected houses (Agorsah, 1983a: 1i8r-12O).

Courtyard Activities and Asspciat^d FeaturesThe courtyard experiences' hot 'only the''highest rate of traffic -

flow in the house but also many and varied activities* It is, therefore,one of. jbhe most important areas for inter-house information flow andaction* Even without a clear definition of the physical limits of thecourtyard,;:!it is -very well known which activities are or are not court-yard activities., However, not all activities are represented bystructu^pa!l_.feat'ures,, and ini some cases where they exist they are notf i x e d . ,,;. ...,-: y " l o o i - - ; . : ' ' ;";' ' --'1"li'V;

An inipprtant courtyard feature is ?the hearth Observationindicates;that at least one out. of every three hearths"in the house


16/31

- 119 -

is located in the courtyard usually close to kitchen walls or fish-smokin ovens It is not uncommon to find a hearth in..the middle ofa houseo. Because of its permanency and i>..s heat effects on itslocation, the hearth is an important feature for rsccgninisii-pg -foodpreparation activity in the courtyard. 4-h the absence of a kitchen ahearth is usually fixed at the location where the kitchen is.likely tobe built, under a drying platform for shadeor; shelter. However, thisis not a hard-fast rule because drying platforms could be erectedanywhere in the courtyard* and are' ften considered temporarystructures. They are often dismantled to give space for the erectionof other structures.

Another feature of the courtyard be'sides' the hearth and. dryingplatform is the mortaro Fixed mortars in the courtyard are mainly forthe preparation of a popular food called kapare (fufu in Swe and Akan,). They are sometimes communally used for pounding grain^ in whichcase

; ' . . - ' : - ; . T - ' / ' - . . . . ' ,they are erected in the courtyard and are rarely removed:even when indisuse.. Unlike., other objects of the courtyard, mortars are positionedoff walls, of the house to prevent damage to the walls. ;. ,. ,,,.:.-,

Another courtyard feature of considerable importance is the clan(kabuno),- hrine which is located in the courtyard on the; immediate.outside of the wall, and by the entrance of the doorway to; the jrooniof the kabuno head* Family shrines which are specifically for the ..family of a house are also located inside the courtyard.. A third typeof shrine, the twin (ntaa) shrine is erected on the- outside of thewall near the entrance of the family, not kabuno head's room. However,


17/31

where there already is a kabuno shrine in a house as mentioned abovethe twin shrine is fixed near to it The courtyard is also thelocation for burials of important family personalities.. The practiceof burying the daad in houses is one that is observable in otherNchumiru settlements in the area such as Akaniem, Banda, Buafiri andGrubi, There is no specific location for graves in the courtyard,but they tend to be located away from the kitchen side of the house.Wiae traditions mention that properly, deceased kabuno heads shouldbe buried in the courtyards of their houses- However, today, it isthe deceased's family that makes the final decision which isinvariably accepted by the community.

As part of the development process of the house in Wiae, burrowpits sometimes and up being the part of the house that eventually

becomes the courtyard In such a situation the pit is turned into arubbish dump,, It may take several years to fill upo For example onesuch a pit being used as a rubish dump by a house during my visit in1972 was only half-way filled in 1981 The restriction imposed by the

itcourtyad until is fully filled with trash, is that structuralfeatures such as mortars and hearths can only be located around it.The pit thus becomes a trap for left-over food and other discardedobjects for several years. Another restriction is that only certainparts of the courtyard can be beaten hard.

Other features or objects located in the courtyard includewooden benches, water storage pots, grinding stones, gourds, stools,


18/31

chairs, tables boxes, piilss of firewood a,-cl various items of house-holds equipment and toolso These objects are ao much moved aroundbetween rooms? courtyard and kitchen, that it is not possible to armar^:

any specific locations. However, an overall observation indicates thatthe above-mentioned objects tend to be lived up along the house.

Clearly, the courtyard is a K.;."


19/31

i 2 H S s ys t em o r r e l a t i o n s h i p s -

T H E KITCIM'-i

T h e k i t c h e n (gjaare) i s o n e o f t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t f i x e ds t r u c t u r a l f e a t u r e s o f t h e r e s i d e n t i a l u n i t i n is/iae. I t m a y c o n s i s to f a n y t h i n g f r o m a r a i s e d r e c t a n g u l a r p l a t f o r m w i t h o n e o r t w oh e a r t h s t o a w a l l e n c lo s u r e w i t h a t h a t c h r o o f . T h e r a i s a d p l a t f o r m ,a b o u t t h r e e m e t r e s hi L)h i s o f te n t h e n u c l e u s o r l o c a t i on i n d i c a t o ro r a f u t u r e k i t c h e n . O w i n g t o t he l e s s o n o f t h e o u t b r e a k o f f i r ew h i c h d e s t r o y e d O l d W i a e , t h e pe o p l e o f m o d e r n W i a e h a v e t h e t e n d e n c yt o l o c a t e k i t c h e n s a f a i r d i s t a n c e a w a y frorr, t h t m a i n b u i l d i n g s .A f t e r e r e c t i o n o f t h e k i t c h e n , o t h e r f e a t u r e s Eire c o n t r a c t e d t o f i l li n t h e g a p s a n d t o s q u a r e iu> t h e h c u s e i n t o t h e : L" an d ''U" sh ap ed

p a t t e r n s t h a t a r e t h e g e o m e t r i c c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f n d ae n o u s e s(Agorsali, 1 9 8 3 a ) , i h e e r e c t i o n o f t h e k i t c h e n i n v a r i a b l y g i v e s t h eh o u s e i t s i n i t i a l s p a t i a l d e f in i ti o n, , L a t e r a d d i t i o n s t o t h e i n i t i a lb u i l d i n g , s u c h a s o v e n s , f o w l p e n s , s t o r a g e b a r n s a n d s i m i l a rs t r u c t u r e s a r e t h e n b u i l t a t a p p r o p r ia t e l o c a t i o n s * f i n a l l y , o b je c t si n t h e k i t c h e n t e n d t o b e l o c a t e d c l o s e t o t h e w a l l s , e i t h e r o u t s i d eo r i n s i d e o f t h e k i t c h e n ( F i g . 3 )

Fe at ur es A ss oc ia te d v/ith vJiae Kit ch enA k i t c h e n i n wi a e m u s t h a v e a t l e a s t a h e a r t h , b ut n o t a l l

h e a r t h s i n t h e h o u s e a r e i n t he k i t c h e n i'-ore th an .50% of the

t o t a l n u m b e r o f h e a r t h s i n t he h o u s e a r e l o c a t e d o u t s i d e t h e


20/31


21/31

b s c k y a r d o Cu b b i s h d u m p s ;.:nd t o i l e t p i t s ar e l o c a t e d o n t h e o u t e r m o s tl i m i t s o f thv.- b a c k y a r d . C o m m u n i t y f e a t u r e s s u c h a s m o r t a r s f o rc o m m u n a l p o u n d i n g o f g r a i n a n d r e s t i n g platform.:, o r b e n c h e s a r ea l s o l oc at ed , i n t h e b a c k y a r d . C u r r e n t l y t h e c e m e t e r y o f t h e vi ll ag e-i s l o c a t e d o u t o f t h e v i ll a g e b u t b u r i a l s c o n t i n u e t o b e m a d e i nt h e b ac k ya r ds , I n a d d i t i o n ' o t h e a b o v e a c t i v i t i e s o t h e r a c t i v i t i e s

s u ch a s d r u m m i n g a n d d a n c i n g , m e e t i n g s a nd e x c h a n g e t r a n s a c t i o n st a k e p l a c e i n t h e b a c k y a r d . H o s t o f t h e s e a c t i v i t i e s v a r y i nf r e q u e n c y o f o c c u r e n c e

T r a d i t i o n a l l y , t h e e n d o f th e b a c k y a r d m a r k s t h e b o u n d a r i e so f th e s e t t l e m e n t . T h e a r e a b e y o n d t h e b a c k y a r d i s th e a f u i t o ,m e a n i n g "e m p t y s p a c e " . T h e a f u i t o i s t h e -area b e y o n d t h e r u b b i s hd u m p s a n d l a t r i n e p i t s w h i c h p h y s i c a l l y m a r k t h e o u t s k i r t s o f t h es e t t l e m e n t o A f u i t o i s a t ^r m a l s o a p p l i c a b l e i n Nc h u m u r u e v e r y d a yl a n g u a g e t o o p e n s p ac e w h i c h i n Nc h u m u r u t r a d i t i o n a l s e n s e , i s t h ew o r d w h i c h r e f e r s t o th e b a c k y a r d . I t s c o n t e n t s a r e c o n s i d e r e d a sp a r t o f t h e s e t t l e m e n t . T h a t i s , ^iit^o, r e f e r s t o a s p a c e t h a t h a sa t t h e t i m e o f m e n t i o n , n o t b e e n i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t o t h e r e s i d e n t i a lp a r t o f t he s e t t l e m e n t . T h e l o c a t i o n o f s om e o f t he m o s t i m p o r t a n tfe at ur es such as storr.-?o ba rn s, ru bbi sh du mp s, and pile's off i r e w o o d i n d i c a t e t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e b a c k y a r d a s p a r t o f t h es e t t l e m e n t , and. t he b o u d a r y c o n n e c t i o n s t h a t i t p r o v i d e s b e t w e e nt he r e s i d e n t i a l a r e a a n d t h e f a rm l a n d s .


22/31

Loca ti on al Dec isi on "-making i-micaf t h e r-chur/iuru:

W i t h t h e a b o v e d e s c r i p t i o n s o f t h ^ b a c k y a rd i t i s n o w p o s s i b l et o r e v i e w t he f o rm t h a t , to g e t h e r w i th r o o m s , k i t c h e n a n d c o u r t y a r d ,i t pr o vi d es . . T h e d i s c u s s i o n s o f a r i n d i c a t e s t h a t e v e n t h o u g h t h ev a r i o u s d i v i s i o n s o f th u h o u s e h a v e d i f f e r e nt f u n c t i o n s , t h e y a rcc o n n e c t e d b y th e a c t i v i t i e s r e l a t e d t o t h e o b je c t s t h a t l i e i n t h e m .T h e c o u r ty a r d i s s e e n no t o n l y a s a m u l t i pu r p o s e d i v i s i o n o f t h eh o u s e b u t a l s o a s t he a r e a t h at p r o v i d e s c o n n e c t i v i t y b e t w e e n t h eo t h e r a c t i v i t y a r e a s a s w e l l - R e l a t i n g b e h a v i o u r a l v a r i a b l e s t om a t e r i a l o b je c t s i n s p a t i a l t e r m s i s a n e x e r c i se t h a t e l u d e s m a n ys p a t i a l a r c h a e o lo g i s t s . . O w i n g t o t h e s t a t i c n at ur e- o f t h e e v e n t u a la r c h a e o l o g i c a l r e c o r d , t he u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e d y n a m i c s o f a no n g o i n g c u l t u r a l s y s t e m , c o n s t i t u t e s o n e o f t h e b e st w a y s o fe x p l a i n i n g b e h a v i o u r r e l a t e d t o t h e r e c e n t p a s t . Ye t a d o p t i n g s u cha n a p p ro a c h i s o n l y a f i r s t s t e p . Di f f e r e n t s p a t i a l p r o c e s s e s m a yp r o d u c e t h e s a m e s p a t i a l p a t t e r n s a n d v i c e v e rs a. , A w i d e v a r i e t y o fi n t e r n a l s p a t ia l p a t t e r n i n g i n h o u s e s m a y b e d e v e l o p e d , b ut t h e s ec a n o n l y b o u s e f u l w h e n s e e n i n r e l a t i o n t o th e t r a d i t i o n a l v a l u e so f t he s o c i e t y a nd a l s o w h e n t h os e v a l u e s c a n b e d e f i n e d i n p r a c t i c a land measurable terras

T h r o u g h o u t Nc h u m u r u s e t t l e m e n t h i s t o r y i n t h e Ba nd a- V/i ao a r e a ,d e c i s i o n s r e g a r d i n g l o c a t i o n o f f e a t u r e s an d o b j e c t s a r e o b s e r v e dt o b e t a k e n a t t h re e l e v e l s : a t t he n s u r o ( p h r a t r y ) l e v e l t o m a i n t a i n


23/31

whole; at the mbuno level within a settlement, to maintainrelationship between family groups; and at the household level,to maintain family identity, The first two decisions are at thegroup level while the third one is at the individual level It is

- : t h a t ' . , :

the individual decision / affects the internal patterning in thehouse and accord with the taste and values of the builder and hisdependants* However, all the three decision levels affect not onlythe location and distribution as well as the frm and arrangementof hou ses and objects within the settlement as a whole but also th elocation or other structural features within the individual houses *

The principles of locational decision-making within Nchumuruhouseholds as considered in my study are not the types familiar inmathematical logic and other similar spatial theories,, They cannot

be fed into a computer to yield decisions that would be of help tothe archaeologist Their application requires sensitivity andintuitione In view of the vagueness that this type of .analysis car-generate, it may bo questioned whether and in what sense the decisionsare rational at all- This question is difficult to ansv/er as there isno universally agree definition of ''rationality", Simply, the decisionsare considered as rational bocr-use they are derived from principlesappearing in the trends of an on-going society, arid therefre, representa type of effectiveness* They are effective in creating r type ofinternal organisation in the house that produces its own kind ofpattern* The point of my study has been in the identification of the

d e t e r m i n e . - - . .-. . ; .factors which / the locatio nal decisions rather thpja judgingthe rationality o f those deci sions.


24/31

-


25/31

- 128 -

seems to give some support to'this assertion,. However, to applythis to the Quang-speaking people there is the need for more datathat will show connection between such a feature and the socialorganisational rules of the Nchumuru; it is only then that we cansuggest that the particular location of such large mortars betweenhouso structures is typical of the 'Quango Location of mortars furtherextends the courtyard 'activities and supposrts earlier suggestionsthat the courtyard serves as an area of connection between the housesNchumuru ritual also seems to play an important role in the internalorganisation of the house. In ritual, the actions of the Nchumuru haveconsequences which reach far beyond their immediate impact. Theiractions have ritual significance not because they are exotic orbizarre but because they take deliberate' steps to maintain contact

with their oncestral spirits" For example, in their minds the ritualaction of guarding the location of the kabuno is a way of maintaininggood relationships with the spirits of their ancestors but at the sametime it 'manipulates their use of space and thereby manipulates theirlife. As has been noted earlier the kabuno shrine has a speciallocation in th house. In the period before modern V/iae, some threedecades ago, it used to be located in the centre of a house consistingof circular hutso In modern V/iae it is located at the entrance to theroom of the kabuno shrineis therefore, easy by virtue of its locationwithin the house* Similarly, the kabuno shrine locations made themvisually and psychologically accessible to the household and otherkabuno members. Archaeological evidence obtained from Old Wiae


26/31

- 129 -

indicates the importance not only of the ancestral kabuno shrinebut also of the Dento shrine which has been described as thepr ote cti ve god of the vi l la ge o

In a society in which the builder of the house is the userand at the same time the one who als o main tains i t , i t i s qu iteobvious why so ci al conne ctions should play qu ite an important ro lein thei r spat ia l behaviour or pat terning* General ly in bui ld ing ahouse and deciding on i t s i n t e r n a l o r g a n i s a t i o n s , t h e s p a t i a lbehaviour of the Nchumuru does not pose merely a technologicalproblem but is dictated principally by the character of thev i l l ager ' s soc ia l r e la t ionsh ips Al though the spa t ia l behav iourinvolves ae sth et ic and geometric cons ide rati on s, the main goal i sthe c u lt u r a l and p r a c t ic a l func tion.. The house in Nchumurut r a d i t i o n a l s o c i e t y , t h e r e f o r e , r e f l e c t s t h e i r l i f e s t y l e s , as it u a ti o n which i s n ot common among Western s o c ie ti e s in which th edes ign er of the house i s di ffe re nt from the b ui ld er , and the u seris often neither of the twoo

Who in the Nchururau soc iet y d ecided o r dec ide s the in te r n a lspatial organisation of the houses or the sett lement at large?My pr ev io us arguments (iig orsah, 1983b) seem to emphasize Nchumurudecision-making as a group rather than an individual matter- Thisi s not to say tha t a g iven so ci e t y ' s t r ad i t i o ns are m ainta inedonly on a group l e v e l , nor i s i t meant to imply th a t every groupwhich existed in the past has been perpetuated, .aowever, one canhardly conceive of a col lec t ion of individuals l iv ing ingeographical proximity without the eventual evolution of some


27/31

- 130 -

form cf group membership Individuals living in such proximityinteract, and out of those interactions a group crystallizes*In fact, among the- I-'churunai of Wia -, a person's very sense- ofidentity is shaped by the group of significance to him - the kabunoand the kasurb These groupe givo the individual his earliest andmost complete spatial experience, social identity and a guaranteedlink with his ancestryo

The human spatial behaviour evident in the modern settlement

of liiae (for example the decision regarding the location ofstructural features within the house), therefore, is a result ofdecision based on the group norms* There are no explicit restrictions,whatever, on the individual's decisions* However, since he shares anoverall space area, as well as some ideals with other people, hebehaves in the same manner as he wants them to do. Consequently, aninformal compromise evolves which, upon repetition over a period oftime, crystallizes into accepted values ?nd relationships throughwhich one may be considered as belonging to the group By identifyingthe group spatially one can socially identify the individual who thenbecomes the pivot around which the detailed dynamics of the spatialsystem can be explained.

The difficulties of isolating individuals by studying culturalmaterial in an archaeological context have been well discussed(Hill and Gunn, 1977; Donnan and Clev'.cv, 197*0 end seem to indicatethat material in the archaeological context is a result ofcombinations of both group and individual actiono % studydemonstrates that both the group and individual factors are crucial


28/31

- 131 -

at specific levels of analysis of observed cultural patterns amongthe Nchumuruo Considering spatial behaviour at all levels in ageneral sense, the evidence suggests that among the Nchumuruindividuals built their houses for the group - the kabuno in thefirst instance and ultimately the eisuro. he location of the houseidentifies the individual as a member of the group; the house formand its internal organisation identify him as an individual*

The discussion of this paper emphasises the hypothesis that inorder to understand the internal organisation of sot clementstructures such as houses, it is necessary to analyse them inrelation to the social behaviour patterns that generate them, notonly at tha level of appearance or wh-r-.t they lock like, but moreimportantly in what they are as the physical organisation of society.This is even mcr^ applicable in situations where the builder is thedesigner and the user at the same time


29/31

^uA o r

Fh.D.ur y tt.-rn^ cf - -_rti. .nt oL ,'

.\r-ilyai?. ir irh. i crtii rn

'iuIP) Roix rt f r T/S/'-BS1?f C-hari,

.ui.i'"crnla,

Donnan, CB*1974

and Cluwl w, CoV/. (Kds.):Sthnoarchaeology, Monograph IV, Instituteof Archaeology, University of California,Lea >>&

I D h r e t , Co andP o s n a s s k y , Mo:

1 9 8 2The Archaelogical Juijl inj^Ai j;^ !^ -tructicn of African history, University of


30/31

- .133 -

Maier, D. 1981

Painter, C. 1967

Prussin, L., 1969

Tait, D., 1961

H i l l , Jo and Gunn, J . ( E d s . ) :1977

Kuraah, J.E.K

Tfofe individual in Prehistory: a study ofvariability ifr style in Prehistoric - .technologies. Acado Press, New YorkoTraditions from Krachi, Institute of AfricanStudies Series Nos. 1o - 2^, University ofGhana, Legon.

The Dente oracle, the Brong confederationand Asante religion and the politics ofsecession, In Journal of African History22: 229 ~ 243oThe- distribution of Guang in Ghana and astatistical pretesting on twenty-fiveidiolets, Journal of West African Languages*f (1) : 2> - 78oArchitecture of Northern Ghana: a study offorms and functions, 3erkeleyThe.Konkomba of Northern Ghana* Oxford.


31/31

F I G U R E S

Figure

1 Map showing location of research

2 Key to illustrations*

3 Locations and distribution of structural featuresv.n& objects in house So

k Demarcating area of a houso (examples)-

Documents

Agorash Ghana House