Sheep and Goats of Ghana

It’s not as easy as one might think to tell the goats from the sheep that roam the roads in Ghana. Sheep look nothing like the curly-haired creatures we know in the U.S. And when I told our students that I had trouble identifying the animals, they laughed.

They enjoyed explaining all the by-products of a butchered goat (commonly slaughtered only at Christmas, Easter and special occasions). Besides the meat, which is incorporated into stews and soups, there is the leather which, when dried, is transformed into shoes, drums, bags and other practical items. Glue is made from the hooves, medicine from the stomach, and goat horns become spoon handles resembling ivory. Goats are also used for sacrifice, the children told us, when the gods need to be appeased. Tribal beliefs die hard.

Here are a couple of stories about the goats of Ghana. The first is factual; the second is true creative writing, and was undeniably my “Hi” that day!

Doris Amppial Botwey
Goats
A goat is a calm animal that lives in the house by its owner. A goat can give birth to the young and also breastfeed its kids. In Ghana a lot of people like rearing up goat because of the money they gain for them.
Because, when a goat is pregnant and it is time for it to deliver it gives birth to more than three. When the young one grew up the owner sold some of them. This help them to earn money. A goat is very important for Christmas because their skin is used for leather, hooves for glue, dropping for manure, horns for handle spoons.
Some people too slaughter goat for sacrifice when someone breaks the law of the society or the gods for apology.
Goat is use for many activities such as Christmas, and parent slaughter goat for the children’s gift and this makes us happy and we sometimes exchange rice with mutton for Christmas gift.

Precious Gyan
A Story About Goats
Once upon a time there lived a man call Budu. He has a goat that can talk, sing and dance. So Budu went to the king of the town that he has a goat that can talk and dance. The chief agree with him and said, All the people will meet at the market and if your goat did not talk, what should I do to you. Mr. Budu said let your soldiers cane me till I die.
One day all the people in the town met at the market waiting for Mr. Budu to bring his goat. Mr. Budu brought his goat and the goat couldn’t talk. Mr. Budu gave the coat cassava pills but still the goat did not talk. Because the goat couldn’t talk, the chief solders started beating him up with canes.
As they were beating him the goat started saying Hey people! Why are you beating my owner like that? After the goat said that the soldiers stopped beating him.
After that the chief gave Mr. Budu match money two cows and five sheep. Because no one have a goat that can talk.
When Mr. Budu was going home he ask his goat, why did you let the people beat me? The goat replied to him, That is how to get match money, two cows and five sheep.