Sunday, September 19, 2010

Africa







































We live very near The Frontier Culture Museum. This is a huge place that has exact replicas of farms from different countries and different time periods. They have costumed actors and re-enactments of how diffrerent cultures lived from the land. Yesterday, we happened to be passing by, and I saw these people in their wonderful, traditional ceremonial costumes. The museum was having the dedication ceremony of it's new South African farm. Nigeria donated quite a bit of money and partnered with them for the building and upkeep of the farm replica. When I got there, the ceremony was over and the participants were all mingling in front of the gift shop, waiting for their bus to leave. They were so lovely to talk with, and gladly let me snap them. Many had come here from Nigeria just for this day. One thing that kind of surprised me was that most had cell phones or blackberries. One lady let me snap her, but wouldn't put her cell phone down to smile! The technology seemed so out of place with the beautiful native outfits. It was probably in the 90's, and I can't imagine how hot they must have been, especially in the big headdresses. But they were laughing, and no one seemed to mind! I wandered around the small gift shop for a bit, that is another story for tomorrow's post. Of course I had to buy something to remember this special day, and wait till you see what I got! This was a day that Phil and I are not likely to forget.


"See how the farmer waits for the land to yield it's valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. " James 5:7

31 comments:

Ann, Chen Jie Xue ι™ˆζ΄ι›ͺ said...

had a neighbor family from Ghana. On special occasions, Dorothy dressed like that.

Re: Chimney. I was surprised with it's height as well.

Anonymous said...

Certainly their clothing made for some gorgeous pictures Ginny. Can't wait to read Part II.

Reanaclaire said...

Very interesting Ginny.. their national costumes are so colorful..

Dawning Inspiration said...

What a unique place - beautiful colors in your images,too!

Jane said...

This must be multi-cultural Monday as your blog is the second I have read this morning that has addressed this. Wonderful shots - most definitely a place that I would enjoy visiting!

Jane

From the Kitchen said...

I had not heard about this wonderful addition to the museum. Those ladies are so colorfully and beautifully clad. I thought for a moment that you were on another continent.

Best,
Bonnie

Neal said...

Very interesting. Their clothing sure makes for interesting pictures.

DawnTreader said...

Wow those are some impressive head-dresses. I can't remember seeing any quite that big before.

It's great that you have the possibilty to meet different cultures without having to travel across the earth. Of course museums are never quite the real thing but still they bring things closer than just seeing pictures.

MadSnapper said...

I thought you took a quick trip to Africa, wonderful photos, i really enjoyed this trip. can't wait to see what you bought. so cell phones are there also. who knew? i did not. great post Ginny, i am thinking it was cool for them since Africa is a lot hotter

Mary Bergfeld said...

What wonderful native costumes. It's a shame you missed the ceremony. Your photos are terrific. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings...Mary

Anonymous said...

Even I thought you were sharing photos of an African holiday you'd taken. Beautiful shots and how nice to have a museum like that in the vicinity. The headgear....amazing! Would love to see what you got!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

I didn't realize that they had glasses, sunglasses and cellphones long ago in Africa... Geee---they were ahead of us!!!! ha ha ha ha

This was a fabulous day for you... Glad you just happened to see them... What costumes!!!! Can't believe those hats... How can one not get a headache or a neckache wearing something like that.....

Love the colors.... I'm so glad you got there to take all of these pictures... Can't wait to see more.
Hugs,
Betsy

Arti said...

Very interesting... Loved the pics... The header pic is so earthly... And thanks for the comment as regards to Bpotw... I have send the mail to Betty...
Have a nice day Ginny:)

Stephanie V said...

Such wonderful colors...they work best when a tropical sun is shining. I think they weren't feeling the heat at all since Africa can be way hot. Fun post.

Together We Save said...

Wow - these pictures were great... those costumes are amazing!

srp said...

You do run across the most interesting events!

Anonymous said...

Hi Ginny, What an interesting post! Those pictures are great! I am sure you enjoyed visiting the museum. I can't wait to hear what you purchased. Always a bit of mystery in your fine blog. : )

Have an excellent Monday!

George said...

You got some wonderful pictures. The Frontier Culture Museum would be a wonderful place to visit.

janie said...

hi there, thanks a million for the encouraging comments.The lightening picture is a collage of news paper photos reworked in photoshop.
And yes I'm loving being a new mom, she's our one and only, we started a little late, but definitely better late than never:)
These photos are brilliant, their headgear is so sculptural, it's amazing.

Remington said...

Great post! Great pics! Thank you for sharing!

Fred Alton said...

Absolutely GREAT pictures! I thought you were in Africa when I first looked at them. They all looked so normal to me. I remember seeing (in Kigal, Rwanda) a Masaai warrior riding a bicycle, wearing his red "shuka" (a red & blue blanket thrown around his shoulders) wearing sandals made from thrown away tires, carrying a spear in one hand - and talking on his cell-phone!

Anonymous said...

Wow! I love those neat looking hats! I think I might buy one for my wife.

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

The Frontier Culture museum sounds like and interesting place to visit.
There are quite a few Nigerian immigrants that live in New York and I've seen them dressed in these beautiful clothes and hats on Sundays when they attend services.

I'm curious to see what you bought Ginny!

Karin said...

I've seen pictures like this from our missionary friends who spent many years in Cameroon and Nigeria! Absolutely beautiful! That is too cool that there is a museum like that!

Doris Sturm said...

What beautiful photos - I love the vibrant colors of the clothing. What an interesting post. I love learning something new every day and always enjoyed museums and galleries whenever I got a chance to go. Thanks for sharing this with us.

Kiluea Poetry said...

These are just terrific!! Love the second to the last- all of them are so colorful and your header is neat! I think this would be so exciting Ginny! I'm happy you could participate in an event like this! Thanks for the nice story and visual!

SquirrelQueen said...

The costumes are so bright and colorful, I really like those headdresses. We had a multicultural fair here this summer but it was all but rained out and I didn't get to see the costumes, that makes seeing your photos more fun.

Technology is everywhere these days, there is not escaping it.

Annie Jeffries said...

Wow, Ginny. I happened to read the souvenir story first and then read this. It took me a moment to blink and realize that I was in the USA, not Africa.

The clothing is beautiful; really stunning. The ornateness reminds me of a Japanese kimono.

Rose said...

fantastic photos. the woman's weare is pretty.

ruthi said...

awwwww... love those photos. as a former History Teacher, i find different cultural events of other countries really interesting. your photos are really awesome.

Joyful said...

The costumes are so great! They all do have cell phones in Africa since this is the cheapest mode of communication. Phones and air time are much cheaper than in NA but most of them don't own a laptop or a PC.

The Big Cow - Easter 2024

 The Big Cow is all dressed up and ready for Easter. And he has brought along some of his friends as well!