I have been waiting to write this blog post because I was
not sure how to write it or what to write about and honestly was so speechless
about the entire experience I did not know how to recount it. This post does not do justice to anything I experienced, but I know some of you keep asking how the castle tour went, so here it is...
Ghana was one of the top places where slaves were captured,
sold, and sent off by the Europeans. The two largest castles that held them
were Elmina Castle and Cape Coast Castle located 30 minutes away from each other. Last weekend we had the chance to
learn more about the slavery process in Ghana. We went to tour the Cape Coast
Castle and the Central Region Slave Market. It was the most intense experience
I have ever had in my life. I was expecting it to be sad and hard to get
through, but never imagined feeling so much guilt being an American.
We started the morning by driving an hour and a half to the
Central Region Slave Market. There we could see the artworks painted outside
the gate showing the process of slavery from being captured, to being sold, to
going on a ship and sent off. We were the only ones inside getting a tour,
which was actually nice. We did not have any distractions. The tour guide
showed us the graves of two people who were slaves and killed, one in Jamaica
and the other in the US. Their bodies were brought back to Ghana through the
Door of Return, which it’s called now, and buried in honor. After that the tour
guide made us remove our shoes to walk along the path to the Last Bath.
We were
able to experience exactly what the slaves experienced since nothing has been
changed or altered. We dealt with rocks cutting our feet and stepping on fire
ants. The fact that our group could barely walk this 10-minute path without
something happening to us made me realize how much these people went through.
They would walk for four months from the northern region to a slave market and
then another three weeks after their last bath to Cape Coast Castle all while wearing
shackles around their necks, wrists, and feet, with chains and balls hanging in
between them. We actually were able to hold real chains and balls and they were
so heavy! I could not believe it!
 |
| The path the slaves had to walk down |
Once we reached the Last Bath area, I was overcome with
emotions. It is an area where two rivers come together. One is known as the
dirty river, the other the clean river. In the dirty river was where they
forced the slaves to get clean and they shaved them trying to make them look
younger before they were sold. They showed us where and how they would hang
them to the tree to dry in the African sun. It was all so real that it made
everything so intense.
After the Last Bath, we drove back to Cape Coast to the
castle. I have never heard the group of 20 of us be so silent before.
We started off with going through a museum of the history of
slavery, how the Ghanaians overcame it and how they are doing today. After we
were led on an hour and a half tour throughout the castle. During the tour we
were shown the male and female dungeons where they would be held for 3 months
with little food and water in the complete darkness. The smells were still so
strong inside the dungeons, and it was so dark that it made it seem so real. We
also were able to see the canons, George McLean’s office and bedroom, the
school, the condemn cellar, and the room that placed females if they did not
let them be raped by the soldiers. We also saw the church in the castle. What I
think I found most interesting about the castle is that the Europeans built 5
male dungeons that each could hold 200-300 men. On top of these dungeons was
their church where they would worship to God every day. They called it heaven
above and hell below. The castle was led by several different groups of people
(English and Spaniards) while it was operating, but each had the same idea of
the church above and dungeons below.
The last thing they showed us on the tour was the tunnel
system and the Door of No Return. The Europeans closed off the tunnel with
brick when slavery ended. The brick is now covered with a white cloth and
different things in memory of those who were at the castle and passed through
the tunnel, which leads to the Door of No Return. The Door is the last thing the
slaves would pass through before getting on the ships. They had us walk through
the Door to try and feel the emotions they must have went through.
The interesting thing is when I walked through the Door of
No Return, I saw the entire fishing community. There were hundreds of people
right outside that door that were fishing and happily singing and dancing. I
was shocked because these people who had horrendous things happen to their
ancestors right inside that door could be so happy and close to the castle. But
from what I’m told, many of the Ghanaians accept that it was part of their
history and pray that nothing happens like this ever again. (The interesting
thing I learned is that chiefs of villages in Ghana actually helped in the
slave process. They helped the Europeans capture their people and got money
because of it.) Once through the Door of No Return, we were led back through
the door except this time the outside said Door of Return to show people that
they are welcome back in Ghana. That was the most amazing part of the day,
walking through the Door of Return knowing that many slaves had walked through
this door returning to their home country.
As intense and saddening as this experience was, I am so
happy I had the opportunity to tour these places. You can only learn so much in
a history book. I could actually see where history took place and try to
imagine what it must have been like. Both the market and castle have not been
altered. The castle is over 400 years old and if anyone was to try and alter it
or knock down a wall, it may collapse. Knowing it has not been changed in
anyway since the Europeans handed it over to the Ghanaians, just made
everything much more real and hit that much closer to the heart.
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