Monkeying Around in the Shai Hills

Just north of Accra, in the Shai Hills there’s a small forest reserve that is home to colonies of baboons and some chimpanzees. There are also many antelope, snakes and bird colonies within the reserve. The Shai people used to inhabit the land before they were ousted by the government in the late 1950s. They now reside in the neighbouring communities but return every year for annual rituals and sacrifice. Our guide told us that the sacrifice used to be human but assured us this was not practiced anymore. We were relieved to see the remains of a goat’s skull which we were told was this year’s sacrifice.

The old chief’s palace is located in the reserve in a cave set on a rocky hill. The cave houses many bats! We went right into the cave and had to squeeze between two rocks to see the bats. The guide told us that when the tribe was being attacked the women and children would hide in behind the rocks for protection. The guide also pointed out vines that the tribe would use to keep a lookout on any potential invaders. At the base of the hill were two large Baobab trees. I’ve always wondered why the Baobab tree holds such high esteem among African vegetation. Turns out, the tree has medicinal bark and leaves and can even retain water! I told the guide that it sounds like the tree of life and he agreed. Every year, when the Shai people return they place a cloth around the tree to indicate that they were here. Apparently there is a cloth for every year dating back to the 1800s.

We were lucky enough to get in the 4x4 of a Japanese tourist from Honda with his Ghanaian colleague. They even drove us to the next town called Akosombo where Ghana’s major dam is located. We were able to enter the dam site and had a guide tour us and tell us all the intricacies of the dam. The dam sits where the Volta River meets Lake Volta. Ghanaians depend greatly on this body of water for food, power and livelihoods. It was a cool feeling to stand on the dam between the lake and the river and have an exceptional view of both sides.

The pictures are of some baboons that were very friendly (for no other reason than the fact we were feeding them plantain chips) from the forest reserve, the chief’s palace in the bat cave (sorry, no pictures of bats, I didn’t want to disturb them), and the Akosombo Dam.