CALABASHES
A LOCAL GHANAIAN EQUIPMENT - made from the Gourd.
INTRODUCTION:
In Ghana, what is referred to as a “calabash” is a bowl-shaped kind of vessel manufactured from different types of gourds from different members of the gourd plant family. In actual fact, however, one member of this family is called the Calabash Tree and produces the calabash gourd which can also be used to make “calabashes”. So the term ”calabash” was derived from the name of this particular gourd and misused. However, for this paper, to prevent misinterpretation, the term “calabash” will be used to refer to that bowl-shaped vessel made from various gourds and used in the Ghanaian setting.
Thus calabashes and vessels, and other equipment that are made from a variety of gourds for household use, will be considered in this paper. Most of these are manufactured in the northern parts of Ghana.
GOURDS --: THE RAW MATERIAL FOR CALABASHES AND OTHER HOUSEHOLD EQUIPMENT
Gourd plants are a group of ornamental trailing or climbing plants. There are however, a few exceptions that are trees but these are actually not members of the gourd family but have gourd-like fruits. They are thus false members.
Gourds grow in the wild although recently, people have started to grow them in the domestic setting for commercial reasons. The seeds only need to be planted in a sunny location and the gourd plants grow easily. They usually bear yellow flowers which develop into the fruit with a hard tough outer shell called a gourd. There are numerous kinds of gourds in Ghana.
The edible ones are eaten - they include watermelons and cucumbers.
The inedible but soft skinned ones such as the dishcloth gourd is used as a bath sponge. This gourd is also known as the Luffa (not loofa) gourd.
The hard skinned gourds, which are the focus of this paper, are dried and made into household vessels and equipment. They are used to hold water and other liquids, as ornaments and for many other functions.
PROCESSING HARD SKINNED GOURDS INTO HOUSEHOLD EQUIPMENT:
One area where gourds are harvested and processed is Tamale. The gourd is harvested from the gourd plant and cut into the shape of the calabash or other equipment desired. Then the flesh and seeds within the hard skin are scooped out completely. The shell left is dried in the sun until it becomes very hardened. Then it is ready for use.
Most of the equipment produced from gourds are sent down to the south of Ghana and sold in the major markets such as Makola Market and Kwasea Gwaso. Some are used in the north too.
TYPES OF EQUIPMENTS MADE FROM GOURDS:
There are various kinds of gourds and they are used to make many different equipment for the home. These equipment include:
CALABASHES:
Calabashes are semi-spherically shaped vessels made from the calabash gourd, the dipper gourd and the apple, orange and pear shaped gourds. They can be made from all these gourds because they all have some form of spherical shape.
Calabashes cost differently depending on the width of their diameter. A small one, 10cm in with costs 200cedis. A medium one, about 15cm costs 400cedis and a large one, about 20cm wide costs 1000cedis.
Functions:
Calabashes serve a wide variety of functions. The form of care and storage given them and the advantages and disadvantages of using them depend on the functions they serve.
Preparation of Banku:
At home and in commercial settings, the medium sized or large calabash is used to shape the cooked banku into oblong or spherical shape for serving. This is done by scooping out a portion of banku from the pot into a wet calabash and then moving the calabash in gentle but firm revolving motion so that the banku becomes smooth and rounded. A smaller calabash or broken or triangular shaped broken piece of a calabash is used to scoop out the banku from the pot. In some areas, the meal of banku is served in a calabash.
Care and storage:
Owners usually wash the calabash well with soap and water after each use and drained it dry. It is scrubbed with a silver sponge once in a month.
Advantage:
1. As heat is not transferred through the calabash, it makes it easy to manipulate the hot banku without getting burned.
Disadvantage:
1. The calabash easily breaks on impact and so has to be handled with care.
Serving Maize Porridge (Koko):
The “koko” sellers also use the calabash a great deal. When the Koko being prepared for the day is ready, the seller transfers it from the cooking pot to the pan she is going out to sell in, using a 20cm calabash. When serving customers, she uses the 10cm calabash to serve the koko into a 15cm calabash. She adds sugar if required and uses the 10cm calabash to stir it. The customer puts the rim of the 15cm calabash to his lips to drink it.
Care and Storage:
The calabash is rinsed in a bowl of water after each use. At the end of the day's sales, she scrubs all calabashes well with a silver sponge and water and dries them well in the sun. They are stored in a big bowl until needed for use the next day.
Advantages:
1. They are ideal for serving the Koko as they are not conductive. Customers will not be burned by the heat of the hot koko if they hold the sides of the calabash.
2. They are cheap.
3. They are always available.
Disadvantages:
1. They have a short life span.
2. They easily tip over and spill koko if put on a table.
3. Sometimes the inner surface of the calabash blackens. This means there is fungal growth occurring. This is usually die to the calabashes not drying well especially during the wet seasons.
This blackening also happens if the calabashes are not well washed for a long time. Customers do not like to eat in blackened calabashes.
4. The calabashes which are frequently used in serving have a two month life span. After this period, they will blacken and crack easily.
Storing Sheanut butter ("Nkuto”):
The sheanut butter produced in Northern Ghana is poured into large calabashes while still warm. When they are cooled and set, two of these filled calabashes are put together. They are then wrapped in brown cement bag paper, put in a sack and tied up with cafa leaves and rope. This is how they are transported to the various market centers in the country including Makola, Accra. The market women who buy these calabashes of Nkuto, retain them in the calabashes in a cool dry place until they are ready to cut them up and sell. Until then, the “nkuto” will stay in top form in the calabashes for several years. The calabashes usually break up when the “nkuto” is being removed from it.
However, the “nkuto” sellers sell these pieces of calabash to the Gari sellers to be used as stirrers for the Gari.
Care and storage:
These calabashes of “nkuto” need to be kept in cool dry areas, away from water, dust and heat.
Advantage:
1. The calabash is oil-proof that is, impermeable to melted oil so there is little leakage of oil from the package.
Disadvantage:
1. Calabashes crack on impact and so have to be loaded and unloaded with care from the trucks which transported them.
Fetching, Carrying and Drinking Water.
Calabashes are used by water carriers especially in the rural areas of Ghana. It is used to gently fetch water out of streams, ponds and rivers without agitating the sediments at the bottom.
When carrying a bucketful water, the calabash prevents the water from spilling if it is left on the surface of the vessel of water.
Calabashes are also used to drink water. These calabashes are in a semi-spherical form.
Care and storage:
The calabashes are dried every day and kept in a bowl or basket until needed.
Advantage:
1. Their smooth exteriors help to glide through water gently.
Disadvantage:
1. They need to be frequently dried in the sun if they are being used in water all the time. This is to prevent mold from growing on them.
Straining Foods:
The sieve calabash is made by punching small holes in the cut gourd before drying. When dried, the sieve does a good job of separating liquid from chaff. When preparing palmnut soup the, the liquid is drained out using the sieve. It is also used to strain maize porridge to remove roughage for infants.
Care and Storage:
The corky interior of the calabash absorbs oil from oily foods being strained. It should be washed well soon after use with hot soapy water to remove as much of the oil as possible and well dried. It can be stored by hanging on a nail in a cool dry area.
Advantage:
1. It does not heat up as metal strainers do when straining hot palmoil.
Disadvantages:
1. It does not last too long
2. It discolors after absorbing the food being strained for a long time.
Storage “Yakeyake” and “Abodoo”:
Large sized calabashes with lids, called “apakyi” in the akan language, are used to store “yakeyake” and “abodoo” to keep them hot until ready to be eaten. These calabashes can be as much as 50cm wide. The lids have a short bit of stalk left to make lifting it easy. These days, to retain more heat, all the “yakeyake” or “abodoo” put in a polythene bag inside in this calabash. Formerly, the food was covered with a clean white cloth before the lid was placed to keep it warm.
Care and storage:
As with other kinds of calabash, it must be well washed daily after use. Apart from the daily wash, some owners scrub the “apakyi” weekly with lemon or lime and sandstone or vim and dry it in the hot sun. This whitens the calabash and makes it look clean. When not being used, most people keep the “apakyi” on a table and use it to store other smaller calabashes.
Advantages:
1. It is deep and wide and so can be filled with a large quantity of food.
Disadvantage:
1. The lid does not fit well sometimes and this allows the food to get cold quickly.
Storing Dry Grains and Legumes:
The “apakyi” also serves as a storage bin for dry grains such as corn and rice, and legumes such as cowpeas. These are dried for a day in the sun after purchase, poured into the gourd and covered with the lid.
Care and storage:
The gourds of grain or legume are stored in a cool dry place. If it is stored in a dusty pace the exterior needs to be dusted weekly. Once in a year, the “apakyi” can be emptied, scrubbed with lime and sandstone and dried well in the sun.
Advantages:
1. It is convenient as it makes the grains easily assessable as against keeping them in a sack that needs to be untied and retied every time.
2. It allows for circulation of air within the grains and prevents them from perspiring and going moldy.
Disadvantages:
1. It is usually not completely air tight and may allow ingress of insects and reptiles..
2. It breaks easily.
Jewel and Bead Storage
A smaller form of the ”apakyi” also with a lid, is used by some people to store their beads and jewels. These can be quite small - about 8cm wide or larger. They keep them dry and orderly.
Care and storage:
The “Apakyi” used for storing such items is usually kept dry and in a cool place.
Advantages:
1. They help keep some order on the dressing table of most rural Ghanaian women.
Disadvantage:
1. They cannot be locked and so do not secure the jewels and beads against theft.
Storage and Service of Corn Drink (“Ahai” or “meedaa”):
Corn Drink (“Ahai” or “meedaa”) sellers use a large spherical gourd with only less than a quarter of it cut off to store and sell the Corn drink. After the drink is cooked, it is poured into this gourd and large blocks of ice added to it before serving. They also use smaller calabashes to serve the drink to customers.
Care and storage:
It is well washed with hot water and soap after each day’s use and then placed upside down in a cool dry place to drain off the water. This is the position in which it is kept until it is needed for use.
Advantage:
1. It is able to maintain the cold drink at a low temperature due to its relatively small outlet and corky matter.
Disadvantage:
1. The bigger the gourd, the harder it is to clean its unreachable parts well.
SMALL ROUND GOURDS:
These very small round gourds- about 5cm in diameter were used very much in the past to store powders and dusts. Today, they are less popular.
FUNCTIONS:
Snuff storage:
A few members of the older generation who still use snuff use it to store the snuff. Snuff (“asra”) is made by grinding tobacco leaves, with “kawu” or plantain skin ashes and is used as an all-ailment cure. People sniff it to “clear phlegm from the head” to stop headaches and colds, they put it under their teeth to cure tooth-ache, etc.. The powdered concoction is put in a small round gourd which has a small opening. This gourd is known as the ”Asratoa” in Akan. The snuff is poured out of this in small pinches as needed.
Care and storage:
The asratoa is gently banged to remove residue of expired snuff and refilled with fresh snuff. It is kept away from water.
Advantage:
1. It is able to keep powders dry.
2. It is portable.
Disadvantages:
1. The opening is so small and makes refilling the gourd tedious.
BOTTLE GOURDS:
These are usually very large fruits, although some come in small size. They are bottle- shaped and possess a rounded bottom - Much rather like a pear with the smaller end elongated. This end is may be straight or hooked.
They also serve a variety of purposes for different people.
FUNCTIONS:
For storing palmwine and water:
Palm-wine tappers and other individuals fill the bottle gourd (“toa”) with palmwine to be sold or to be drank personally.
Farmers in the rural areas also carry water to their farms in these bottle gourds and take a swig at it anytime they are thirsty. The gourd opening is plugged with a piece of wood or any natural stopper. A rope is tied around the neck of the gourd and hung on the shoulder for easy carriage.
Care and storage:
The gourd is rinsed every day with water. About once every week, a hand full of small pebbles some water and crushed lemon are put in it and shaken hard to clean the insides.
When not in use, the bottle gourd is cleaned, dried in the sun and stored in a dry area.
Advantages:
1. It efficiently keeps water from spilling during vigorous motion.
2. It is a cheap water-bottle. A plastic one would be more expensive.
Disadvantages:
1. It cannot be seen through and so the level of liquid in it is hard to know.
2. It breaks easily.
Spoons:
All sizes of bottle gourds are cut in half vertically to make different sizes of spoon. Some of the spoons are used to eat, others as ladles to stir or scoop out food. These kinds of spoons are more popular in northern Ghana.
Care and storage:
The spoons need to be washed after use, dried well and kept in a cool dry area. Some people hang the larger ladles on nails on the kitchen wall. It should not be used to rap at or scrape on a hard surface as it will break.
Advantage:
1. It is cheap and easily available
Disadvantages:
1. It easily breaks
.
2. It is more difficult to clean than ordinary stainless steel spoons.
Syringes:
Syringes to be used for enemas (“bentoa” in akan) are also constructed from bottle gourds. In this case, a hole tiny enough to be covered by the index finger is made at each end of the bottle gourd. It is then hollowed out leaving the shell and dried.
To use, the syringe is immersed in the liquid to be used to fill it. After filling to the required quantity, both ends are blocked with the index fingers. The finger is removed from the narrower tip and the tip inserted in the rectum. Then, the other finger is removed from the spherical end. The atmospheric pressure forces the liquid to be injected into the rectum to flush the bowels.
Care and Storage:
These gourds are rinsed well, dried and stored under a bed until it is needed again.
Advantage:
1. They last quite long.
2. They are cheaper than modern rubber syringes.
Disadvantages:
1. The tip may be too large and so uncomfortable, especially for children.
2. They cannot be well cleaned.
Maracas and Rattles for children
Medium and Smaller forms of the Bottle gourd are used to make Macaras (a musical instrument) and rattles for children. These rattle when they are shaken.
They are made by cutting a small hole at the tip of the gourd. The seeds are scooped out through this hole. The gourd and the seeds are thoroughly dried separately. Then the seeds are replace in the gourd and tightly sealed. For some of the smallest gourds, the seeds need not be scooped out. The whole gourd can be thoroughly dried. When it is shaken, the seeds move about in it.
Care and storage:
These need not be given any special care except avoiding contact with water with will cause it to go soggy and rot.
Advantages:
1. It is a cheap toy but interesting for infants.
Beaded Gourds:
The bottle gourd is also used in making this musical instrument. The gourd is emptied of all seeds and dried. Then some special hard seeds threaded together to make a mesh are pulled tightly over the surface of the gourd’s shell and fixed. This instrument accompanies the drums and the maracas in most northern Ghanaian rhythms. It is played by lightly tapping it between the palms of the hand.
Care and Storage:
The beaded gourd is kept clean and dry and away from intense heat. Some of them are polished with wood varnish. It should be kept away from wood-boring insects such as Termites.
Advantages:
1. It is an interesting and unique instrument. No other musical instrument quite sounds like it.
2. It lasts for a lifetime if well cared for.
Disadvantages:
1. It is quite expensive to buy.
2. It might break if it is dropped.
Decorative objects:
All gourds of different sizes and shapes can be dried intact or craved into some interesting shape, varnished or painted and displayed for their aesthetic appeal.br>
Care and Storage:
Gourd shell objects should be regularly dusted and kept away from intense heat and moisture.br>
Advantage:
1. They make beautiful objects for a low cost.
Disadvantage:
1. They will discolor and crack if left under the direct rays of the sun for a long time or in extreme dry conditions.
2. They will go moldy under very moist situations.
CONCLUSION:
Gourd products can serve a wide variety of functions in the Ghanaian household. We could call them our own “natural traditional semi-disposable vessels”. Although most of them do not last long enough, they are well used among the rural folk. However, due to their perceived crude and rough finish, they are not as popular in more modernized urban homes. It is about time we improved the quality of these gourd equipment so that demand for them grows. If we can achieve higher quality for these equipment, they will even appeal to the international market and thus bring in much needed foreign exchange for Ghana.
References:
The World Book Encyclopedia
Gourd: G-271
Calabash: C-Ch -17
Childcraft-the how and Why Library
Instruments you can play: 7-119
A Fun Garden: 6-162
