As part of the 67th Independence Day Celebration in Ghana, Denkyiraman News Network goes down memory lane to educate the public on the usage of some Ghanaian items which have been forgotten by many, such as Raffia local mat and Leave Plates used for food dishing.
Some people in Upper Denkyira East, Dunkwa On-Offin in an exclusive interview with Reporters from Denkyiraman Radio shared their experiences with the use of Raffia Mats, saying it was a wonderful way of sleeping yet being massaged.
Meaning the Raffia Mat massages the body during sleep, leaving marks on the body which shows renewal of strength.
However, as it benefited some, other expressed discomfort with sleeping on a floor though the mat is laid down. They explained how cold it was back in the days and how people wished to have better options in place of the Mat.
Others also called back usage of Leaves for serving foods in place of plastic bags and foreign plates.
Some shared the health benefits of foods eaten or kept in Leave plate –
“As the heat drains the health nutrients in the leaves to the food, it helps the body system as all nutrients goes directly into the body.
It can also be disposed anywhere because it decomposition also serve as fertilizer for the land as compared to the Plastics which only increases the amount of refuse in the Municipality”, they said.
“Using of Leaves to serve certain foods outside, such as Waakye, Jollof, Corn made foods,Etc yielded profits because it’s cost lesser than today’s plastic products” they added.
Dr. Nana Ama Braso III, on the other side, gave some education about these two local items which have been abandoned by Ghanaians.
She said in the olden days, people especially youngsters hardly died and fell sick due to the use of herbs and local products.
“We have ignored our heritage for far too long and we need to bring back the old ways of living. Lots of people are dying out of the life we’ve adopted and it’s about time we do something about it”, she said.
Dr. Nana Ama noted that sleeping on locally woven beds was helpful both healthily and financially than today’s Mattresses which come with lots of health implications.
“Our Parents sometimes wove the beds themselves with products gathered from their farms, this helped in saving up money while we keep our health checked, unlike how and where we sleep today ”, she added.
Nana AMA Braso III concluded that there’s a need to bring back the old ways into the country to enable children of the new generation to learn about their culture and heritage and know their roots.
