Elias in the village, Welcome (Woezo!) ceremony

March 25th, 2009 by Elias Parisca

That afternoon Courage took me to the center of the village (takes about 10 minutes to walk from one end of the village to another) to meet the council of elders. They were all sitting outside, in a circle, with two empty chairs waiting for Courage and me. Everyone seems quiet and serious, so following Courage’s lead, I say nothing and sit down next to him. This was my first experience with the deep cultural roots of the Ewe. After traditional meetings protocol of prayers and greetings, each group leader introduces itself and its members. Then the specific group stands up and begins shaking hands counter-clockwise (very important). There were about 15 men and 4 women. All elders except for me and Courage. This greeting process took about 15 minutes, showing that they place a great emphasis on the importance of greetings (It is definitely considered very rude when you pass someone by without greeting). After the greetings and introductions, Courage begins talking for a couple minutes, then stops, looks at me and nods as if I know what to do next. My confused look gave it away, so he whispered, “now it’s your turn to address the elders.” Needless to say, I was not prepared for this. A little heads up would have been helpful, but I relied on my improv skills and starting rambling – it actually turned out well. I basically expressed my gratitude for the warm welcomes my wishes of helping the village to the extent of my abilities for the next 4 weeks. My 5-minute speech was pretty well-received, so I was pretty relieved. Then the elder women came over and welcomed me with a small ceremony of beads that I get to wear on my wrist while I’m here. The warmth and friendliness of the town are unlike any place I’ve ever visited.