Resources

The Willis Bell Photographic Archive has worked with its partners and conservation team to develop conservation, scanning, and cataloging workflows, as well as copyright and use permissions aimed at promoting global access to the collection while protecting the images from misuse and unauthorized commercial exploitation. The Willis Bell Archive makes these resources available (below) under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. Metadata created to describe the materials in the archive will soon be available for bulk download. This metadata is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA) license.

The materials on this page include the project's conservation workflow for cleaning, rehousing, scanning, cataloging, translating, reviewing, editing, and post-processing access copies of digitized photographic prints and negatives and their associated metadata. These guidelines are based on leading professional practices and were developed in collaboration with specialists in the fields of photo conservation, digital imaging of photographic collections, cataloging, and the organization and management of digital archives and libraries.

Finally, although these materials have undergone several review processes, additional revision is expected as new information comes to light. Please contact us if you notice duplications, inconsistencies, or inaccuracies, or if you have information to share as we continue to augment and improve our documentation of the archive.

Glossary

The following is an alphabetical list of terms, words, people, and places that Willis Bell captured in his photographs. Phrases or terms in local languages are translated into British English; iconic figures and locations are contextualized with brief biographies or explanatory text describing their significance within Ghanaian history or local cultural practices. As a living archive, this list is neither comprehensive nor complete. We expect it to be augmented, over time, with our continued work.

Saka Acquaye: a renowned musician, folklorist, sculptor, painter and textile designer. Over a long and illustrious career Acquaye was able to create in many capacities. Among many other things, Acquaye authored Ghana's first opera, Obadzeng, which toured the Soviet Union with President Kwame Nkrumah. He helped discover internationally renowned neo-traditional band, Wulomei and would go on to produce their first album 'Walatu Walasa' and direct the band for nine years. As a sculptor he worked in clay and fibreglass, producing many notable sculptures standing in public spaces today. In 1971 he organised and produced the 'Soul to Soul' concert at the Black Star Square in Accra which featured Tina Turner, Roberta Flack, Santana and others. Renowned artists El Anatsui and Kofi Setordji studied under Acquaye.

Victor Adegbite: One of Ghana's early architects, appointed by Kwame Nkrumah as Chief Architect of Ghana Housing Corporation. He also served as President of the Ghana Institute of Architects, Chief Architect of Tema Development Corporation, and was the Chief Architect overseeing the design and construction of, among others, Job 600 and Trade Fair.

Adinkra: traditional Akan symbols representing concepts or aphorisms.

Lieutenant General Akwasi Amankwaa Afrifa: Afrifa was one of the leaders of the 1966 coup that ousted President Kwame Nkrumah and would for a period also serve as a head of state. He was executed by firing squad by the AFRC military regime led by Jerry John Rawlings in 1979.

Akuaba figure: An Akan fertility figure made out of wood. These were carried on the back of young Akan women wanting to conceive or wanting to ensure the attractiveness of the child being carried. The akuaba would be ritually washed and cared for in the traditional homestead when not being carried. Some enslaved Africans carried to the Americas and Caribbean carried these dolls as deities, a connection to their homeland.

Ephraim Amu: Amu was a renowned Ghanaian composer, musicologist, and teacher who is best known for his contributions to the development of choral music in Ghana. He was also a pioneer in the field of music education in Ghana and worked to promote the use of traditional African music in the country's schools. Amu composed several popular choral pieces, including "Yen Ara Asase Ni," which is now considered one of Ghana's national songs. He was a recipient of several awards, including the Order of the Volta, one of Ghana's highest honors.

Lieutenant General Joseph Arthur Ankrah: Ankrah was the Chairman of the military and police-run National Liberation Council (NLC) responsible for the overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah in February 1966 and was head of state from 1966 to 1969.

Kofi Antubam: Antubam was a renowned Ghanaian artist and designer whose works of art depicted understated aspects of community life in Ghana. He was appointed State Artist by Ghana's first President, Kwame Nkrumah, and was responsible for the design of the presidential mace and presidential seat used by Nkrumah.

Asafo: Asafo are Akan warriors and their groups (called Asafo Companies) are Akan militia groups populated by members of the community, often according to paternal descent. Their traditional role was to defend the state. In contemporary times they play a more ceremonial and social role, responsible for community peace and security.

Asante: an ancient Akan kingdom in what is now central Ghana.

Asantehene: the King of the Asante people of the Asante kingdom.

Asesegua/Asesedwa (Mfantse/Asante): A traditional Akan stool carved out of wood.

Atumpan: a carved talking drum played with an L-shaped stick called a kɔtɔkorowa.

Batakari: smocks made out of woven fabric, originating in northern Ghana and usually worn by men. This outfit has been adopted for wear throughout Ghana.

Batik: Batik is a technique of wax-resist dyeing applied to a whole cloth. This technique originated from the island of Java, Indonesia. It is popular in Africa, especially Ghana. Batik is made either by drawing dots and lines of wax with a spouted tool called a canting, or by printing the wax with a stamp. The applied wax resists dyes and therefore allows the artisan to colour selectively by soaking the cloth in one colour, removing the wax with boiling water, and repeating if multiple colours are desired.

Bodua: a horsetail fly whisk carried by various social, political and cultural officeholders.

Kojo Botsio: Botsio was a key figure in Kwame Nkrumah's Convention People's Party (CPP). He was arrested with Nkrumah and other prominent leaders on January 17, 1950, after calling for 'Positive Action' and immediate self-government. He served as Ghana's first Minister of Education and Social Welfare from 1951 and served twice as Minister for Foreign Affairs under the government of Kwame Nkrumah. He passed away in 2001 at the age of 85.

Adeline Ama Buabeng: A famous Concert Party artist. Concert Party is a form of popular theatre developed in Ghana from the 1920s, involving music and improvised dialogue. Typically, the venue for the production is the courtyard of a traditional compound house. The Concert Party was practiced by itinerant professional theatre groups originally made up only of male actors and musicians (including female impersonators). Actresses joined the Concert Party in the late 1960s with the Brigade Drama Troupe being the first to include women in their cast.

Concert Party: Concert Party is a form of popular theatre developed in Ghana from the 1920s, involving music and improvised dialogue. The Concert Party was practiced by itinerant professional theatre groups originally made up only of male actors and musician (including female impersonators). Actresses joined the Concert Party in the late 1960s with the Brigade Drama Troupe being the first to include women in their cast.

Cowrie: For hundreds of years cowries were the dominant form of currency across West Africa, having entered the region via trade routes as early as the eleventh century. During the slave trade era enslaved Africans were often purchased by Western traders using cowrie shells, among other currencies. The introduction of several thousand tonnes of cheaper cowries in the colonial era led to inflation, causing colonial governments to introduce cheaper coins as a replacement currency. This resulted in the disappearance of the cowrie as currency, except for a resurgence during the Great Depression in the 1930s. They were still in use in some rural areas by the late nineteenth century. The Ghanaian currency the Cedi is named for the cowrie, 'sedeɛ' being the Akan word for cowrie.

Dagomba: an ethnic group whose people are found in northern Ghana and Togo.

JB Danquah: Joseph Boakye Danquah, better known as JB Danquah. Danquah was a politician, academic, lawyer and statesman whose political career spanned both pre- and post-colonial Ghana. He was a member of the 'Big Six' leaders of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) to which Kwame Nkrumah belonged before he formed the Convention People's Party (CPP). The Big Six are seen by many as the founding fathers of independent Ghana. After independence Danquah went into opposition. Tensions between him and Nkrumah escalated and in the 1960s he was detained on suspicion of coup plotting. Danquah suffered a heart attack while in prison and died in 1965.

Dansinkran: hairstyle common to these occasions; short, dyed hair. The dansinkran was originally named kentenkye.

Joe De-Graft: famous Ghanaian playwright, dramatist and academic, who was appointed the first director of the Efua Sutherland Drama Studio upon its establishment in 1962.

Dondo: an hourglass talking drum played with a curved drumstick. This traditional West African drum has an hourglass wooden body with two drumheads connected by tension twine. The drum is held between the player's arm and ribs, allowing the drummer to squeeze it to produce varying tones/notes, mimicking the pitch, volume, and rhythm of human speech

Duku: a head wrap worn by women. The head may be wrapped with matching silk or satin scarves as well as pieces of the fabric from which the outfit worn has been tailored.

Cameron Duodu: Ghanaian novelist, journalist, editor and broadcaster

Durbar: A durbar is a community assembly initiated by the traditional rulers of the said community often as the climax of a festival or in response to the arrival in the community of state officials for the purposes of official public interaction. Although the practice of such assemblies dates from before western colonisation, the word ' durbar ' appears to have been adapted by the British and applied in the Gold Coast colony from their own colonial experience in India where princes and rulers holding court named such formal gatherings 'Darbar'. This nomenclature has entered the vocabulary of English as the official language of Ghana.

Dr Charles Odamtten Easmon: a medical doctor and academic. Easmon was the first Ghanaian to formally qualify as a surgeon specialist and was also the first Dean of the University of Ghana Medical School. Easmon performed the first successful open-heart surgery in Ghana in 1964 and was credited by peers as the 'Father of cardiac surgery in West Africa'.

Firikyiwa: a metal percussion instrument comprising of two metal rings worn on the thumb and middle finger.

Fontomfrom: a large Akan talking drum played to convey messages and play poetry.

Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew: ...[designed by] late colonial architects Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew, renowned for their explorations of applications of European modernism in the African context in the mid 20th century. They designed, among other projects, many of Ghana's schools in that period, including Mfantsipim and Adisadel in the Central Region of Ghana.

Komla Agbeli Gbedemah: Gbedemah was a Ghanaian politician who served as Ghana's first Minister for Health and Labour, later serving Minister for Finance under President Kwame Nkrumah from 1954 to 1961. His relationship with Nkrumah would later deteriorate, and Gbedemah went into self-imposed exile until after Nkrumah's overthrow.

Goje: A single-stringed fiddle common in West Africa and the rest of the continent.

Jalabiya: An Arab-influenced tunic worn by men.

Kaba and slit: an outfit consisting of a blouse (kaba) and a simple, long skirt derived from the traditional outfit consisting of an ankle-length piece of fabric wrapped around the waist, worn with a blouse.

Kassena-Nankani: an ethnic group whose people are found in north-eastern Ghana and southern Burkina Faso. They are known for their traditional homestead architecture consisting of earthen dwellings decorated with patterned motifs.

Kenkey: Fermented corn dough steamed in corn husks

Kente: Kente is a Ghanaian textile made of handwoven cloth, strips of silk or cotton. Originally created by the Akan, it is characterized by intricate geometric patterns. Classic kente is woven with colourful silk thread while contemporary kente is designed in a variety of colour schemes.

Kodzidan: a house of stories (Mfantse).

Vincent Kofi: A sculptor, academic, and writer, Kofi explored themes of Pan Africanism and decolonisation in his works created from wood, stone and cast bronze. Kofi also taught at the Winneba Teacher Training College from 1961-1969 and was Head of Fine Art at the acclaimed College of Art (KNUST), Kumasi from 1969 until his death in 1974.

Kuduo: an ornamented brass storage container. They were used to by Akan royals to store gold and other significant personal items. In the past, upon a royal's death a selection of their personal items would be put inside the kuduo and left at the burial site.

Drs Robert and Sara Lee: two African American dentists who migrated to Ghana in 1956 to join in the work of Pan Africanism that Kwame Nkrumah, whom Robert Lee had met at Lincoln University.

Mfantse: an Akan ethnic group located on the coast of Ghana.

Professor J.H. Kwabena Nketia: Professor Nketia was a world-renowned Ghanaian ethnomusicologist and composer, with more than 200 publications and 80 musical compositions to his credit. He was the first African Director of the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana.

Priscilla Naana Nketia: Nketia is the daughter of renowned ethnomusicologist, composer and academic Professor J.H. Kwabena Nketia. She herself went on to become a respected lawyer and pastor and is also the mother of Ghanaian hip hop artist, M.anifest.

Nana Kobina Nketsia IV: The Omanhen (Paramount Chief) of Esikado in Western Region and Director of the Institute of Arts and Culture

Fathia Nkrumah: Fathia Nkrumah, the first First Lady of Ghana. Originally from Egypt, she married the soon to be President Kwame Nkrumah on New Year's Eve of 1957 at Osu (Christiansborg) Castle. A kente design fondly named 'Fathia fata Nkrumah' (Fathia is suited to Nkrumah) commemorated their union. The couple had three children, Gamal, Samia and Sekou, who she would raise alone after the overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah in 1966 and his death in 1972. She remained a Pan Africanist until her death in Egypt in 2007 and is buried next to Nkrumah at the Nkrumah Mausoleum in Accra, Ghana.

Kwame Nkrumah: Nkrumah was the first president of Ghana. Nkrumah was a radical Pan Africanist and socialist who advocated for the total political and economic emancipation of the African people. He led Ghana to independence in 1957 and set in motion a series of projects and development plans towards industrialisation that to date form the skeletal framework of Ghana. Nkrumah was overthrown in a military coup facilitated by western elements in 1966 and went into exile in Conakry, Guinea, where President Sekou Toure made him co-President. Nkrumah died in 1972.

Ntakrakyɛ: an Akan courtier's headdress made from feathers.

Henry Plange Nyemitei: the first Board Chair of State Insurance Corporation (S.I.C.)

Nana Baah Okoampah VI: Nana Baah Okoampah VI was a Mfantse woman chief in the Ekumfi Traditional Area in the Central Region of Ghana, one of the rare women to hold such a position. She was also a renowned storyteller, orator and indigenous knowledge resource.

Okyenhene: The King of Akyem-Abuakwa

Supreme Court Justice Nii Amaa Ollenu: a Ghanaian jurist and judge who served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana from 1962 to 1966.

Omanhen: Paramount Chief (Mfantse).

Posuban: Asafo shrines usually located at the entrance or middle of a town or village. They are sacred places where the Asafo come to offer prayers, perform rituals, and seek spiritual guidance. The Asafo keep their regalia and sacred items in the posuban.

Kenneth Scott: ...[designed by] renowned architect Kenneth Scott who was behind several key projects in Ghana, including the Surgery and Maternity Blocks at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, as well as a number of educational, office and residential buildings.

Efua Sutherland: Efua Theodora Sutherland was a Ghanaian playwright, director, dramatist, children's author, director, poet, educationist, researcher, child advocate, and cultural activist. She was a pioneer and an influential figure in the development of Ghana's modern literary and theater movements. She was among the intellectual and cultural activists of the African Independence era who saw themselves as a generation responsible for the creation of new national spaces inspired by their African origins. She was instrumental in creating a number of institutions including the Ghana Association of Writers, the National Theatre Movement, the W.E.B. Du Bois Centre, The National Commission on Children, Children's Parks and Libraries, the Pan African Historical Theatre Festival (PANAFEST), and the Mmofra Foundation.

Tekua: a ceremonial Mfantse women's headdress originally made from horsehair and adorned with gold ornaments.

University of Ghana: The university marked the introduction of tertiary education to Gold Coast after years of advocacy by Africans and upon the recommendations of the Asquith Commission chaired by Rt. Hon. Walter.

Woma and woduro: Akan name for a traditional pestle and mortar used for pounding fufu, a West African staple food.

Yaa Naa: the King of the Dagomba people of the Dagbon kingdom.

Copyrights and Permissions

All photographs in The Willis Bell Photographic Archive are the intellectual property of Mmofra Foundation and are protected by copyright law. Each image is credited as "Image by Willis Bell, Copyright Mmofra Foundation" and may not be reproduced, distributed, or altered without explicit permission, except as outlined on the Copyright and Use Permissions page of this website.

Conservation Process

This workflow describes the steps and procedures used to clean, rehouse, scan, catalog, review, edit, share, and preserve photographic prints and negatives in The Willis Bell Photographic Archive. The completed conservation workflow can be found on the Conservation Process page of this website.