Review education curriculum to appreciate cultural values; Kwaw Ansah

One of Africa's respected award-winning filmmakers, Mr Kwaw Ansah, has called for a review of the country’s entire education curriculum to, among others, appreciate its culture and traditional values including dreadlocks.

He said it was unfortunate that colonisation had so much influenced the Ghanaian culture to the extent that Ghanaians regarded dreadlocks, which influential national figures such as Okomfo Anokye wore, as Rastafarianism and unacceptable in public schools.

Achimota school recently asked two students who had gained admission to cut off their dreadlocks as a condition for enrolment.

This generated a public debate as to whether it was right or wrong to do so.

Mr Ansah made the call on Wednesday in a chat with The Mirror when he called on the Managing Director of the Graphic Communications Group Ltd, Mr Ato Afful, at the company’s head office in Accra to invite him to the Bisa Abrewa Museum in Sekondi-Takoradi in the Western Region, which he established.

“Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia never wore dreadlocks but was a Rastafarian. There are bald people who are Rastafarians and do you know that being unkempt does not mean having dreadlocks? There are many who do not wear dreadlocks but are unkempt”, he said.

“When someone hasn’t had a bath for years does that make him or her a Rastafarian?”, he argued.

Mr Ansah was dissatisfied that the country’s curriculum rather emphasised the teaching of foreign cultures such as in the nursery rhyme “Pussy cat, Pussy cat, where have you been? I have been to London to see the queen” .

On colonialism, he noted that “religion has taken away from us our own souls” explaining that “Christianity doesn’t want us to be close to ourselves but there is an Akan proverb which literally translates as if the back of your teeth is not sweet, it’s still the same place you lick meaning that we should appreciate our own”.

“What is wrong with pouring libation? Why must people be more concerned about which church I attend rather than my character? There are crookish pastors doing so much evil in churches, sleeping with people’s wives and stealing but it seems that is okay because they are ordained. And, ooh, angels are always white. Something has seriously gone wrong and must be corrected”, he recommended.

On the role of women, he said it was pathetic that colonialism had taught Ghanaians to discriminate against women in order to disorganise strong family bonding and the critical role women played in keeping society together.

“See the way women are treated? See how they are discriminated against? I was at the Witches camp in the north and saw how women struggled to separate pebbles from grains of rice in order to eat. The kind of water they drink and their conditions of living are so bad just because they have been branded witches, sometimes only because of menopausal symptoms which is a natural occurrence and are there no wizards?”

Mr Afful thanked Mr Ansah for the invitation and said he would honour it because he believed there was a lot to learn there.

History has it that Okomfo Anokye was a revered traditional and spiritual priest.

The works of Kwaw Ansah, who is also a writer and producer, includes films such as Love Brewed in the African Pot in 1980 and Heritage Africa in 1989 which many queued to gain access into cinemas to watch.

Writer’s E-mail: doreen.hammond@graphic.com.gh/aamakai@rocketmail.com