Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary is unique. It is the only
place where two different species of monkeys, regarded as sacred
- the Campbell's Mona and the Geoffroy's Columbus - live
together within the same habitat in peace and in harmony with
human beings. Monkeys around the world do not enjoy this status,
according to Wildlife Experts. Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey,
Minister of Tourism and Modernisation of the Capital City,
observed during a trip to the Sanctuary that Boabeng-Fiema could
be an icon for the implementation of a national Tourism Action
Plan that seeks to increase tourists arrivals to more than a
million.
Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey paid a visit to the Sanctuary as
part of activities marking this year's World Tourism Day.
Boabeng and Fiema villages in the Brong Ahafo Region have become
synonymous with monkeys. There are about 500 Mona monkeys in the
Sanctuary. They are brownish and omnivorous. The black and white
Geoffroy's Columbus monkeys number about 200. They are
vegetarians, living on leaves mainly. Boabeng-Fiema Monkey
Sanctuary typifies traditional African conservation - the
Ghanaian way. Here the culture of the people has been fashioned
to include the acceptance of the monkeys as part of the society.
The two communities came together in 1975 to pass a byelaw,
prohibiting harm to the monkeys. They revere the animals with
the belief that the monkeys are the children of the God of the
twin-community. A visitor to the Sanctuary in the early morning
would certainly hear monkeys calling loudly to one another.
A local folklore has it that a hunter, who once lived in Boabeng, came into contact with a spirit being called Daworo
sometime around 1842. In the course of the relationship he went
to the forest one day and saw five monkeys gathered around a pot
covered with calico. The hunter was mesmerised and could not
shoot them. When he consulted Daworo it told him to treat the
monkeys as relatives. Dawuro asked the hunter to take the calico
home and when he did that the monkeys followed him home. With
time the number of the monkeys increased and the fortunes of the
hunter also increased. The hunter attributed his improved
material condition to his association with the monkeys and this
led to a symbiotic relationship that has persisted to this day.
Any monkey that died was buried and funeral rites held for it
just as human beings.
Another settler came to settle in nearby Fiema. He was also
in contact with a spirit being called Abodwo. Because the spirit
beings lived as neighbours they got married, according to the
folklore. The physical representations of the marriage were the
monkeys. Daworo is said to have given some of the monkeys to
Abodwo to take them as its sons.
At Boabeng-Fiema one thing that catches the eye is the
cemetery where monkeys, priests and priestesses have been buried
together. There are graves that have inscriptions like "Adult
Male Mona Monkey, Buried on 5th December 1987" and "Baby Male
Mona, Juvenile Male Mona, Buried on 7th March 1993". There are
graves, which also have names of priests and priestess, like
Afia Boahen in the cemetery. The monkeys are buried in a coffin
or an empty key soap carton they are always covered with white
calico before burial. The cemetery has 12 graves at present.
Whenever a monkey is about to die, it comes to the village to
die. They live for between 30 to 50 years. There is a law by the
Ghana Wild Life Society that states that whoever kills any of
the monkeys would be prosecuted and jailed if found guilty.
However, according to the laws of the area, who ever kills a
monkey suffers a calamity. The story is told of a man, who
killed a monkey in the 18th century and all his relatives died
one after the other soon after. The rule also requires that
anyone who kills a monkey accidentally should report. People of
Boabeng-Fiema observe Fridays as special days for the monkey and
do not go to the farm. In the two villages monkeys are seen
playing with children. They jump from roof to roof without any
apprehension. Boabeng-Fiema is a place where every Ghanaian and
every tourist ought to visit. It is a place where monkeys live
happily together with human beings. The Baboons in South Africa
are not so lucky as they are gunned for stealing common
chocolate.
by Hannah Asomaning |