BulabulaZim
- Ephious Davis III
- Oct 16, 2017
- 5 min read
BulaBulaZim, that is the word of the day . Peace and Blessings, I am here with my latest installment of my time in Ghana, West Africa. Today is the 13, October, 2017 and I am in Tamale, Ghana. Tamale is located in the Northern Region of Ghana and is the major hub for connecting to all points east and west to the Upper East (such towns as Navrongo, Paga and Bolgatanga) and Upper West (such towns as Wa). Similar to its first letter, T, Tamale is at the connecting point of the letter, T and transit travelers like myself from the south (National Capital city of Accra, Kumasi and other southern towns).
The journey from Accra to Tamale was twelve hours via bus and I chose to take the Intercity STC bus which was very comfortable, safe and it had Wi-Fi since they introduced their brand new bus fleet. From Accra, there are two busses daily to Tamale one at 7am and one in the afternoon. I was going to visit a friend and his wife who are providing me a space to concentrate and finish writing my thesis. He suggested that I take the morning bus because that would mean that I would get into Tamale in the early evening. This was in contrast to the other option less desired, where the bus will travel north for the majority of the night.
The middle point between Accra and Tamale is the seat of the Asante Kingdom, Kumasi. Beyond Kumasi, the road has a few villages along the way. So, over the years they have had reports of armed robberies at night. Thus, no surprise which bus I took to Tamale. Plus, most of the STC busses have an armed Ghana Police Officer on board for the ride. ( Mine did, I didn’t notice him like our Air Marshalls in the USA. I only saw him when we stopped at established rest stops. He stood by our door as we got down to use the toilets, stretch and pick up snacks or a quick meal.) It is highly advisable to get to the bus station located just beyond the Kwame Nkrumah Circle (A major Tro-Tro hub in Accra) and Kaneshie (location of “Ford Cars” which are air condition 16 passenger to Points West like Cape Coast and Takoradi) at least 1.5 hours before the trip if you do not purchase your ticket in advance.
In the station you see all types of interesting things. People travelling north to visit family, parcel service for the shipment of goods to the North. On this trip, I saw that someone was sending two boxed baby strollers probably to a family member and a women and son who arrived on a bus from Nigeria. They were going to visit her daughter who just gave birth. Okay, I’m new at making these posts and I will do better with providing additional details (I may amend this later) but I really want to get to the bulabulazim .
So I arrived safely in Tamale around 8:30pm and my friend picked me up and we dashed to his home in his SUV. The Major mode of transportation is motorcycles, scooters and bicycles. Therefore, they rule the road and you dare not yell at their sometimes “wreckless” driving. The reality is that most “Moto” riders are very good drivers and are use to navigating tight spaces and red lights!!! So, I’ve been to Tamale before and I told my friend that I am now use to the Moto drivers so nothing will surprise me. Well, it was not two minutes later that I saw two people on two motos occupying a full lane of a two lane road. They were riding side by side having a good old conversation as if they were sitting on the sofa or at a local pub lol. We got to his house and I greeted his Wife, unpacked and I called it a night.
The next day I had mentioned that I wanted to prepare for them American-style pancakes. I am specific to say it’s American-style because when you visit Ghana and you order pancakes you will get crepes! So, living in Ghana I had to learn how to prepare pancakes from scratch. So I headed out to the town center where the large market is located. There you can buy meats, fruits, beans, cleaning products, heck just about anything to buy some flour.
The market was like a chaotic, organized maze and although it was my first time going inside the market alone, I had some references to guide me from shopping at other markets throughout Ghana. The market are predominately operated by businesswomen who are very friendly if you ask them where you can find a particular item. Typically, the market are segmented by the items offered and walking through it was much like a combination of a busy New York City afternoon and walking through the Straw Market in Nassau, The Bahamas.
So I walked past the man trimming what looks like cow meat into specialized pieces for an awaiting customer to ask a lady selling black eyed peas where I could buy flour. She points behind left shoulder just as another lady pointed over her right shoulder. The lady I asked reiterated to go to the left and I did and within a few feet, I saw the lady selling flour. Relying again on my experience, I assessed that her flour was not the flour that I wanted so I proceeded deeper into the heart of the market.
Along the way, I came across another group of ladies who were selling what I thought was flour. I asked her if this was flour and she replied yes. She then told me that it is called zim in the Dagbani Language, which is heavily spoken in Tamale. The Zim she was selling she said was actually corn flour. I told her that I was looking to buy some white flour so that I can bake something. Her response was an ohhhh, bulabulazim!!!!
That is what your are looking for. I liked the name of flour so I cheerfully replied; yes, I want bulbulazim!! And most of the market ladies around started to chuckle as by that time, I was providing the afternoon entertainment. So the nice lady offered to send her little girl with me to show me to the lady who sells bulabulazim. Armed with this new vocabulary I followed the little girl as we navigated opposing tables and women who were carrying their purchased balanced atop their heads. We arrived at an area and she pointed to some black powder in a clear plastic bag and asked me if this is the bulabulazim that I was looking for. I replied no, and as I scanned our surrounding I saw flour adjacent to where we were standing.
So, I thanked the little girl for showing me the way and I proceed to greet the seller of flour by pointing to her bag of flour saying is this bulabulazim? She smiled and said yes, bulabulazim. So I purchased a medium plastic bowl full which was probably about four cups for 4GHS which is less than $1.00. I achieved my mission, and returned to my friend’s house with the flour and pancake syrup. That Sunday, I prepared the pancakes for my friend and his wife which they really enjoyed. So, when your in Tamale, and you want some pancakes, make your own by going to the market and buying some bulabulazim.
Peace and Blessings!!!
Comments