Kassena Ghana
Mud homes of the Kassena
You can see the wonderfully decorated mud brick homes of the Kassena just by walking around Paga. Feel free to greet anyone you may meet in your wanderings or stop and have a chat. The family compound and surrounding area are best viewed from the roof top of one of the buildings inside the compund walls. Traditionally, the Kassena bury their dead inside the family compound; adults in the courtyard in front of their hut, children in the area allocated for livestock. A sacrificial, egg and feather stained, conical shaped mud altar, not to be confused with the conical, thatched-roof grain store, can often be found at the entrance to a family compound.
Due to periodic strong winds and rains, mud brick huts need to be repaired and redecorated annually; hence rows of mud bricks are often laid outside a compound drying in the sun during the dry season. Often the family may gather together at home to prepare the local shea nut oil which is used for cooking and as a skin moisturizer. The locally produced shea nut oil is also now exported to the UK by The Body Shop and is sold throughout the world as an organic beauty product.
