“Bolga Baskets”: A Compendium of Trade Basketry Arts of the Gurene People of Ghana

Abstract

Gurene people are domiciled in the Upper East Region of Ghana, and are reputed for producing an assortment of innovative basketry products popularly referred to as “Bolga baskets”. These products are mostly sold to tourists, basketry lovers or exported to Germany, New Zealand, Denmark, Canada, Australia, the United States of America, Zambia and Burkina Faso. This study attempts to document the miscellanea of basketry artefacts produced by the Gurene people over the years. The researcher used an ethnographic research design, and extracted data from 103 respondents using observations, interview guides and focus group discussions. The respondents were sampled using snowball and purposive sampling methods. The data amassed were transcribed and analysed using thematic data analysis techniques in an Nvivo data analysis programme. The study revealed 60 varieties of basketry products which were mostly produced from guinea and vertiveria grass species. Keywords: Bolga baskets, basketry arts, Gurene Basketry, African basketry, African art DOI: 10.7176/ADS/100-02 Publication date: April 30 th 2022