Asante Traditional Buildings - Ghana

Drums please!! After years and years collecting cards from UNESCO sites, I've finally reached the impressive, at least to me, mark of 1000 UNESCO sites. To make it even more special, the card is quite unique. Is not only from a missing site but also from a rare country and written and sent from there. This is my 2nd card from Ghana but the 1st written and stamped from there. It was sent by Karolyn.

This building is Asenemaso shrine, one of the 10 Asante Traditional Buildings classified by UNESCO as WHS in 1980. 

Near Kumasi, a group of traditional buildings are the last remaining testimony of the great Asante civilization, which reached its peak in the 18th century.

 

Arranged around courtyards, the buildings are constructed of timber, bamboo and mud plaster and originally had thatched roofs. The unique decorative bas-reliefs that adorn the walls are bold and depict a wide variety of motifs. Common forms include spiral and arabesque details with representations of animals, birds and plants, linked to traditional “Adinkra” symbols. As with other traditional art forms of the Asante, these designs are not merely ornamental, they also have symbolic meanings, associated with the ideas and beliefs of the Asante people, and have been handed down from generation to generation.

The buildings, their rich colour, and the skill and diversity of their decorations are the last surviving examples of a significant traditional style of architecture that epitomized the influential, powerful and wealthy Asante Kingdom of the late 18th to late 19th centuries. Asante Traditional Buildings reflect and reinforce a complex and intricate technical, religious and spiritual heritage.

The traditional religion, still practiced in the Asante shrines, takes the form of consulting with the deities to seek advice on specific situations, or before an important initiative. That is why the shrines have been maintained complete with all their symbolic features. - in: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/35/

Elmina Castle - Ghana

This is not only a card of a new UNESCO site but also a card from a new country. Elmina Castle is one of the Forts and Castles, Volta, Greater Accra, Central and Western Regions in Ghana. It was sent from the USA by Boyana. 

The first European slave-trading post in Sub-Saharan Africa, Elmina was built in 1482 by the Portuguese. Although the castle initially served a hub for the gold trade (hence its title ‘Elmina’ – the mine) by 1500 the castle had also become a base for the slave trade. People captured from the interior of the continent were held prisoner in the castle, and guarded by soldiers before being transported to ships bound for the colonies. In 1637 the Dutch took over the fort, and continued to use it as part of their own slave trade operations until 1814, when the practice was abolished by the Netherlands. in: https://www.travelmag.com/articles/ghanas-elmina-castle/