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ST. JOHN — For V.I. National Park International Volunteer Samuel Acquaah, arriving in the U.S. Virgin Islands felt like home.
The climate, the food, the buildings were so similar, that he asked himself, “am I still in Ghana?”
Acquaah, who serves as the head of Ghana Museums and Monuments Board’s Education Department and is Officer-in-Charge of the historic Christiansborg Castle, has been on St. John since October to share his cultural and historical knowledge with the community.
He gave his final presentation on the cultural similarities between West Africa and the Caribbean on Saturday at the Resource Management and Science Building conference room at Lind Point.
“The shared cultural elements between West Africa and the Caribbean are powerful reminders of historical connections and the strength of traditions,” Acquaah said. “Preserving these traditions fosters appreciation and unity in a globalized world.”
Acquaah invited former Sen. Myron Jackson, who has visited Ghana multiple times, to share his own personal experiences of exploring the cultural connection that was forged by the transatlantic slave trade during the Danish colonial era.
“There’s much to learn, to preserve, and much to pass down and to interpret and I want to commend the park for their efforts in a program like this,” Jackson said. “This effort goes back more than 50 years, and St. Johnians who sit in the room have been the cultural bearers and tradition bearers of this history that has been passed down.”
Acquaah’s presentation covered a variety of topics, including the similarities in Western Africa’s religion, music, dance, plant medicine, and food.
One folktale character familiar to Virgin Islanders and to Ghanaians is Anansi the spider.
Acquaah noted that the spider is symbolic, as it teaches communities how to weave. Each story told by the elder to the younger generation helps to maintain values and spread wisdom.
Acquaah also spoke on adinkra symbols, which represent popular African concepts and proverbs.
One popular symbol among the African diaspora is the Sankofa, which represents that it is never too late to return to your past, and to learn from it.
He noted that the spiral patterns that are common throughout the adinkra symbols are aesthetically similar to the petroglyphs found on Reef Bay Trail.
This sparked a discussion on the origins of the St. John petroglyphs, whether they were made by indigenous peoples or by those of West African descent.
V.I. National Park Public Information Officer Ahmad Toure explained that the Reef Bay trail symbols can be attributed to the Tiano population, as Tiano artifacts found in Cinnamon Bay have symbols that are identical to the symbols carved into the rock found along the Reef Bay trail.
In addition to the presentation, attendees were treated to West African and Caribbean foods provided by chef Shaibu Abdulai, and they were invited to print adinkra symbols on T-shirts and tote bags.
Acquaah brought his own screening printing supplies from Ghana to share.
He thanked the U.S. Embassy Ghana, U.S. State Department, the National Park Service Office of International Affairs, the V.I. National Park and the Christiansted National Historic Site for making the cross-cultural opportunity a reality.
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