 Hey! Hi, boss. See you man. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Good to see you. It's good. Welcome to our St. Matthews Slave River site. Thank you so much. My name is Kofi. All right. And I'm the site guide over here. We just want to know the history about this place and you'll be in the tour guide over here. I know you have a lot to tell us and educate the people who are going to watch this video. Our St. Matthews Slave River site was seen in history as the biggest slave market during the trans-Atlantic slave trade era. It was documented by one British historian in a person of W.E. Ward in his book entitled The Short History of Ghana. Although there were slave markets like the Piccolo slave markets at the Upper East Region of Ghana, Salaga markets at the Northern parts of Ghana, Ketikachi markets and other markets as well, but the St. Manson markets here and that of Salaga played a major role during the trade. So captains that were captured from the Upper Borders of Ghana, like Bokenefa Soh, Mali Nijer and some parts of Nigeria, they were first made to march in chains and shackles barefooted enough naked to the Salaga markets at the north. It was in the Salaga markets that they were given the first opportunity to rest. Just for a few days and again, they were made to walk from Salaga to Asin Manson, which was 300 miles by foot, approximately seven months journey from Salaga to Asin Manson. When coming from Salaga to Asin Manson, one of the greatest challenge was crossing the Pra River. Basically, it was the survivor and the fittest. So those of our brothers and sisters were weak and couldn't continue the journey. When they got to the river, they were brought out of their chains and shackles and were dumped in that river to die. So when they landed here at Asin Manson, this was the place that they were sorted out according to age and sex. They were then sent from the boys, women, children, etc. And in determining their ages, a device called a speculum oris is put into their mat, open their mat, count their teeth, thereby forecasting their ages. They were then made to take their last bath before being sold to the merchants. After sending them again, they were made to march in chains and shackles to the Cape Coast Castle, to the Cape Coast Dangers, which was 35 miles from here because that was where the slave ship was being docked. During that era, wherever you were captured, it was a march of no return. You're going from your roots and never coming back. So when you're taken to the Dangers of the Castle, there's this door with the description, the door of no return. Basically things have changed now. Now our brothers and sisters in the diaspora are coming back to their roots as to when they love to return. So there was a need for us to change that right, that perception on the walls of the castle, from the door of no return to the door of return. You know, like you've talked a lot, you've taught us a lot of things that really happened. But one thing I really want to understand, they were chained, right? Yeah. Who brought them all the way from Burkina, Nigeria to Asim Manson? So in the slave trade period, I always talk about the post-slavery because both of us contributed in this. 70% of the captives were more of prisoners of war. So when I defeat you and I get your prisoners for myself, because I'm scared that they are going to live and overcome my kingdom, I just give them out as slaves. So people who give them as slaves were Africans themselves? Yes. We're having instances where we have Africans and we're having instances where Europeans even kidnap our old people to sell them. We have one man from even the Benis, maybe I'll give you the name later, who deceived them to come on a boat and got them drunk. So before they could open their eyes, they weren't closer and they were just gone. So the Europeans also had a scheme of getting these people through kidnap and raiding. But most of us, we also contributed. So in terms of slavery, we always say both of us contributed. I've seen two graves over here. What does this symbolize here? So as I was saying earlier on, in changing that name on the walls of the castle that's written, that is why we have these two of our great ancestors here. Madame Crystal from Kingston, Jamaica and some more cousins from New York, US of A. Madame Crystal was born in slavery as a young lady, but she couldn't bear seeing the pains, the atrocities, the torture that was associated to slavery. So in a way she decided to rebel against the act by starving herself to death. But during that era, whenever you do that, there's a punishment which is meted on you to serve as a deterrent from your other captives from doing same. They chisel your teeth and they fall to the feet, which is called a false feeling. This is another punishment Madame Crystal have to endure. But because she was fighting for a good cause, she never took anything until she lost her life. The name Crystal came about when they were digging and mortar remains. It was found that it was having crystals on its bosom. So it even influenced its name, the Madame Crystal. We have the descendants of Madame Crystal visiting every 27th of December, just to pull a libation and say to their ancestor, Medase, which means thank you. So the remains of Madame Crystal was here or this was just built to come and marry them? Okay. The far end, we have Samuel Cazan, the first African-American to rise to the highest rank in the US Navy. He was assassinated, he died at the age of 35 years, but he wasn't given a befitting barrier because he was one of us. When you want to know more about Samuel Cazan, you can watch this movie, Men of Honor. So in 1998, when this site was opened, their families consulted our Ministry of Tourism and told us about the wish of their great-great-grandparents. Now it was in their wish that they were buried right on their ancestral route. So in collaboration with the two families, their mortar remains was found in from Jamaica and US with the Ghana Airways to the Kotoka International Airport. Then by boat to the Atlantic Ocean to the Cape Coast Castle, passing through all the channels, coming out of the door of no return to change it to the door of return on the 31st of July, 1998. When they landed, it was a big ceremony that was held in their favor. Everybody in the community here was made to wear black and red to mourn our ancestors. We had a vigil for them. So the following day, which was the 1st of August, these two of our great ancestors were buried here. So every 1st of August is when Ghana Assenation we decided to celebrate our Emancipation Festival. This is not just the ancestral graveyard of Madame Christa and Samuel Cazanau. We have a lot of our brothers and sisters who have sprinkled their ashes all around here. So when you want to even go into this site, it's so sacred that you can't go with your shoes on unless you go with your shoes off because you can walk before you can walk on this sacred path. Can I just go there? You can with your shoes off. So we have one beautiful plant called the Mimosa plant which played a role in our history during the era of slavery. This time Mimosa is not a drink in Ghana, it's a plant. So I'll be taking you to the Mimosa plant and I'll tell you the role that plant played in our history as Africans. So if you don't mind, please let's go. I really mind. So I told you about the Mimosa plant and the role that it played. You see, during the era of slavery, some of our people also engaged in that but majority of us were against it. So those that were against the slavery were also seen as rebels and they were equally targeted. So to avoid them from being captured, they also started hiding in caves and mountains to protect themselves. So at their hideout, they grew some of this plant at the strategically placed positions around the cave. So this plant informed their decision whether it's safe to come out or not. So whenever they want to come out, the leader of the group will peep through the tiny walls around the caves to see whether the plant is as open as we are seeing now. So if it's as open as we are seeing now then they suspect it is safe, nobody is out so you can come out and do whatever you feel like doing. But when the plant is like this, close like this, then they realize there's a movement around. They don't want to take that risk, so they don't come out. So this plant called the Mimosa plant saved a lot of our brothers and sisters during the era of slavery. Now I've changed this name from Mimosa to a destiny plant and it's asked some important information to share with our Africans in the diaspora which I'm not going to give it out today but when you come over to visit a settlement so you're going to know more about this Mimosa plant. You know what, I have people that they really don't have money to come to Africa but they would love to know more about their roots, you know. So I would love to like, you know, on behalf of our, I will put it on their behalf if you would just share a little bit, not too much but a little bit, because I've been getting emails about people telling me what am I, I really want to come to Africa but I just don't have the finance. So please, on behalf of them, can you just tell us a little bit, don't go into details, just one minute. So basically about this plant, I always call it the destiny plant because it is following us wherever we go as Africans and when you check, you realize that it is, we can find it at almost every part in the Caribbean and almost some selected sites in the US of A. So basically whenever you see this plant, our ancestors will never leave us without giving us traces of where we're coming from. So whenever you see this plant, it's only telling you one thing, where you belong, which is why they should pray to their ancestors, they'll get money to come back to their roots. Wow, that is it. So basically whenever they see it somewhere, it's just telling them and telling them where they're coming from and that is Africa. So because this place was the biggest market, we were having the slave market at the same time the slave camp. The slave camp was where the captives were made to look attractive before bringing them to the market to be auctioned out. So the slave camp starts right after the ark you see over there, all the way to the river that serves as a slave camp and the market starts right in front of this ark all the way to the township, so that made the biggest market. So as Africans as we are, most often at times, when we go into this park, we do it with our shoes off. And the reason that we do it with our shoes off is because I always talk to myself, Kofi, I always believe that our ancestors were not selfish because if they were, through all the pain, the torture that they endured, they could have taken their lives and they'll know it was you, they'll know it was me. It is at the back of our ancestors that we are alive. Today, we've been able to make it because of them. We don't even deserve to walk on the same path that they did. But because we are their children, we just give us the opportunity to walk on the same path that they did so that tomorrow when we have the opportunity to say to our brothers and sisters, we will tell them how privileged it was to walk on the same path that our ancestors did and we will tell them from our hearts but not from our S. The second reason why we go with our shoes off is a covenant that you need to fulfill. You didn't come here because you have money to come here. It is written in your destiny that today you have to come here. So whilst coming back to you, you need to connect with your own land. How do you connect with your land? It's by walking barefooted. So the soil of the ground. I don't have any problem with that. We touch your feet and your ancestors will recognize you by your real name and say to themself, is it this, is this guy not the great grandson of Yau Kweku Menu? Wow, is it not the daughter of Ako Sri Ayaa? So if that happens, it makes them so much excited to see you going up like this, coming back to them. The third reason is just for an experience. So when you have the opportunity to say to your brother or sister, you say it from your heart but not from your head. The last one, most of our brothers and sisters were buried at a bamboo cemetery. I can't come to visit you without alerting you first. So same way, you go into them, you have to unleashed them that you're coming. So by walking barefooted, before you get there, your garden angel is already seated, waiting to answer whatever you brought on board. So basically with me, Kofi, the kind of blessings that I get whenever I go through this path, I always prefer going through this path with my shoes off. So as we're going, I'm taking my shoes off so that we make the journey. We have done it already. We have done it already, man. So we go. So which means that the whole place was bush, right? The whole place was a forest. And this path, when we go into this path, is very, very serious. We don't talk, we're very, very silent. This is where you have the opportunity to connect with your ancestors. This is where you have the opportunity to meditate. You have to bring back yesterday, today, and even the future. You have to think about all that they endured and the spirit and the power that comes from this journey is something that you don't even need to miss it. So basically, when you go in here, it's basically for yourself, silently, while you make the journey to the river. You go. You go though, slowly, then like you're meditating. So now, as you can see, we've landed in the slave camp. But this, the marketer section that you see around, played a major role during the treat. This was the first auctioning site in the slave camp. This was where the first auction and the first brandy took place. Now, we're going to go closer to the river and there are lots that we're going to talk about. So please, let's make the gentle river. As you can see, we have the last bath. Now, this river you see over here, there are two separate rivers. We have one river that is always moving with a gush flow. And we have the other river, which is always slipping. Now, the river that is always moving is called Amma Emisa, which gets its source from the prair river. Mind you, the prair river was one of the river that our brothers and sisters were dumped in to die. And this is where this one is getting its source from. We have this river also to be known called Insu, which literally means the slave river. Now, this river is getting its source from the township. This river does not meet. There are two different rivers at their own settlement. They don't even meet. Now, they were meant to watch themselves in this river, but not in that river because with this river, it was always so. Last two weeks when you were here, if you could have been here last two weeks, you realize that this river has overflowed its bank and all this place where it was flooded. Yes, it was a big river, but when it's up, the only difference that you see is that this place is always still and this place is always moving with that intensity. So, they made them watch themselves in this river, still in chains and in shackles. So, how can you watch yourself when you're in chains and shackles? Imagine if the river is up here and you are thrown down there to watch yourself. Basically, you're going to be drowned. Now, most of our brothers and sisters were killed in this river because they couldn't survive it when they pushed them in. We have people that were coming from Solaga in the Deprabo state. They were seen as so weak and they were killed. We have other people that were very rebellious and they were also seen and killed. Now, all those people that were killed were just discarded at this site. We call this the Bamboo Cemetery. So, all these places that you see are graveyard of our ancestors. We dug this graveyard for some time, and we wanted to come over and dig it a little longer because the chief said for once we should allow our ancestors to rest in peace. Because I told you all the rituals in this community are performed around this section. Now, in the river, because this place was a camp, this was where they were made to look attractive. So, they used broken bottles to shave their hair for them to look better. Also, in the river, they cut the bamboo trees that you see over there, the smallest part of it and they split it open to look like a brush. And they used that to scrub them while they were in the river. So, after scrubbing them, you realize that almost all of them have bruises all over their body with deep cuts with blood oozing out. As we all know, the more you lose this blood, the more weaker you become. With all this, they drag them from the river and their feet develop this foot part. So, just in the middle of this section. And they make them go through vigorous exercises in addition just to determine their strength because it is believed that with all this blood coming out from you, for you to have been able to perform such an act that makes you the strongest. After that, they clean all the blood from you and they smear you with palm oil and shebata just for you to shine. So, please come with me. Hello, please. Can you come with me? Thank you very much. Why do you say these things all the time without getting sad? It is... I'm always sad when it comes to telling of their story. The reason why I'm always sad, I always tell my friends that during the era of slavery, I was there. And now, I'm still alive. And they don't know why I always say that to them. If this land that we are standing on can speak, if these trees here can speak, and even if this river can tell us the things that have happened here, I'm not sure we could even have the ears to listen to them. We will not, because it will be so scary that we cannot even listen to it. So, please, let us just go to this site and I'm going to show you something. You see, this path was a big barbed tree, but it has been uprooted by a strong wind. The use of this barbed tree is for the first auction. This is where after the exercises, they bring the red sleeves, cap tips here, change them around it for their first auction. So, our brothers and sisters were brought with things like youth clothes, tobacco guns, gunpowder, and even during that era, even animals were available as compared to us. One ox goes for 15 strong and slave Africans. So, after buying your cap tip, you take your cap tip to the branding section. This is where they go to put the metal in fire for you to be very hot, stab it at your back, your chest, or your shoulder as a source of identification. And after that, those of them that were brought here would be made to march straight to the Cape Coast Castle, which was 35 miles from here. And the ones that were not brought in the camp would be taken to the market to be auctioned out. So, in terms of history, this was what really happened here. But this site, as I said earlier on, goes beyond history because we have a lot of rituals that we do. So, when you come over, you just have to do these rituals only if you want to or not. There's something I really don't understand in here. The first batch of the tent and then the last batch. What is the difference between the two? Okay, so, is it during the era of slavery? The first session out there and the whole thing about it was our brothers and sisters are never going to come back again. So, it was like going back and never coming back to your roots. So, that is when they were giving their last batch. So, when you are giving your last batch, it means your last batch on your soil before you be sold to the Cape Coast Castle waiting for the slave ship and off you go. But now things have changed. Now our brothers and sisters have overcome all these things and are coming back to their roots. So, with the last batch of return, one of the rituals that we do is to pass behind it and touch the river to symbolize to the world that it's never going to be our last batch because there's nothing like last for us. Everything about us is the first. So, from the last batch, we walk through the river and we have to come from the first batch of return as a proud African that we can never be killed. There's nothing like last about us and everything about us is the first. So, for us, we are not coming for last batch. We are coming for the first batch of return. It's been... I don't know how to describe it. This is not a pleasure meeting you, but I feel like I want to say thank you so much for educating me and also the people out there. I believe that even some Ghaniais don't know that this is the history behind this place. And I just want to say thank you for dedicating your time to educate the world about what really happened because so people don't believe that slave trade really existed. So, I just want to say thank you so much and stay strong. I don't even know what to say, but I'll try and control it. I'll try and control it. So, thank you for coming and enjoy your stay in Ghana. Thank you. I'm still a Ghanian and Ghana is my home. I just want to say that whenever you come to Ghana, don't just go to the Cape Coast Castle or Elmila Castle. Make sure you come in here. Just come and find the history in here. Come and experience where your ancestors took their last bath before the Atlantic slave trade. So, it's your boy Mr. Ghana, baby, and I hope you guys... I don't say you're going to enjoy the episode. I know most of you did not enjoy it, but I hope you learn something new. And I'm going to see you in the next one. I hope my...