ACCRA, GHANA, June 2009
Most of the day was very low-key as I slept in, and did quite a bit of reading to review the literature on the plight of Liberian Refugees to prepare for my visit later this week. A highlight of the day came in the evening, as several vendors were invited to visit our group and teach us the difference between "authentic" merchandise and fake merchandise, equipping us to peruse the numerous Ghanian markets that surrounded our little enclave. The two prominent examples were the trading beads, which are now largely made into jewelry (but in the old days were used very much like we use money today) and the Kente cloth, which used to be woven by hand using a loom, but today is often mass-produced by machines. Clearly, you will pay more for the traditional beads and the hand-woven cloth, but unless you can discern the craftsmanship, you might be paying top dollar for the more commonly available items as well.
The items were all laid out on a very long table that is usually reserved for the buffet-style dinner that is served every evening. There were so many colors and textures that covered the table, making the atmosphere the one of a spectator at a Cirque de Soleil performance. And while I wasn’t eager to partake in the bargaining and shopping the other day, an overwhelming experience in the stifling heat, I made my first purchase this evening. The items laid out were a visual feast, as appetizing to the eyes, as food is to the palate, bringing me the same sensations as a bakery window laden with a diverse array of treats! A beautiful yet, mysterious string of chunky beads caught my attention as the multiple colors and patterns of each bead, situated in between equally whimsical and flighty beads reminded me of a fairy tale with villains, castles, forests, pirates, any mythical landscape that is usually distant, unknown and out of reach! So, here is where the real story begins, with these serendipitous beads : I ask Daniel, the seller, how much, and he replies, "80 cedis." The rule of thumb for bargaining is to offer half of the asking price and then find a middle ground from there so I counter and say that I will pay 40 cedis. Daniel reminds me that these are the real beads and not the fake ones at the end of the table, and says that he cannot take less than 70 cedis for them. I offer him 50 cedis, and since he still refuses, I proceed to gorge my visual appetite by perusing the other items on the table, hoping that he will lower his price if he feels that I am no longer interested in the beads. Ramenga, a professor of literature and the one leading our group of students, asks me how much Daniel wishes to charge me for the beads. When I tell him, he immediately proceeds to walk up towards Daniel, and very dramatically says, "After all of the years that I have been allowing you to come and sell especially to our students, you take advantage of me in this manner. You see there, she has been crying because she loves these beads, but your price is unreasonable. Why do you make my colleagues cry?" I then assert that I have not been crying at all, and he loudly overrules me and says, "yes, she has, she is devastated…how you can you cause such pain? How can you charge such high prices for these beads?" And to this Daniel replies, "Professor, you know how much these beads are worth, why do you undermine me so?" Ramenga, undeterred says, "We will take the beads for 50 cedis, but that is all" and it seems as though Daniel agrees. But at the last minute, he charges me 55 cedis, which didn’t bother me so much. But as I pass him the money in exchange for my new beads, Ramenga asks me the final price that I paid and he immediately heads back Daniel’s way and demands my 5 cedis back. Daniel reluctantly concedes, but I am now thoroughly embarrassed by this scene, and say that I don’t really care about the 5 cedis. Daniel had earlier mentioned that he would be visiting his grandmother near Kumasi after he left us, and so Ramega suggests that I offer the 5 cedis as a gift for his grandmother but that I sternly reiterate that it is not for the beads. Ramenga then also offers him 5 cedis for his grandmother’s gift and makes him put both bills in his opposite pocket, as it is not "his" money but for his grandmother.
Ramenga later tells me that he, of course, embellished the story about my crying not to suggest that I was crying to evoke sympathy for me or even to manipulate the transaction, but because bargaining is about a flair for the dramatic. For example, one of the fabrics that Daniel was selling had a couple of holes in it, and he had told me that these were cloths that were once worn by warriors, and that the holes were spear holes from battles that may have happened one hundred years ago! So, I did end up getting these beautiful beads for 55 cedis, but only after a quite spectacular scene! What the experience has taught me is that what I was told the on the first day here about bargaining is true, that is a conversation as well as a dramatic performance, more like an art form than a conventional transaction. If you are hunting for trinkets, you should reserve not just hours for perusing the racks of items like you would in a beloved flea market or consignment shop, but also must not expect a fast "check-out" but rather a swapping of tales, a meeting of wits, and a goodwill gift for the grandmother! But, at the end of this performance, you don’t walk out of the theater empty-handed. Perhaps equally important is the realization that a few of my family members should have actually been born Africans (no-names, of course!), and could be quite successful here as street vendors in Accra! Nevertheless, I now refer to the beads, as my "drama queen" necklace. And now I have to wonder, "Am I a real-life drama queen?" Just another reason to love Africa, the richest continent on earth as far as I am concerned...:)
Update on April 8, 2013- I am still trying to design a necklace for the beads. It is a long-time coming, but I am convinced that it will be spectacular!!
