An encounter with sacred monkeys
It was a spectacular panorama of monkeys swinging from one tree to another in chic. Some sat on rooftops breastfeeding their young ones and gazing at both the local folks and tourists while others played with their colleagues and human beings. Some were on people’s compounds walking freely.
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These monkeys are not afraid of human beings as they are known to be. They see human beings as friends, thus their ability to come close.
When a banana is stretched forth, they rush in their numbers as they all try to get hold of it. You can hold a banana in your hand and about five to six monkeys will be eating it at the same time. The brave ones can actually stand on their hind legs eating the bananas from your hand.
This story can only be told of the monkeys of Boabeng-Fiema where a large colony of monkeys seek asylum in the riotous forest surrounding the towns.
Having travelled from Sunyani through Chiraa, Techiman and Nkoransa in the Brong Ahafo Region with towns and villages dotted along the way, I finally got onto a dusty trail, that is, the road leading to the Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary in the Nkoransa North District of the Brong Ahafo Region. I spent close to 20 minutes on the dusty road.
Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary
For several centuries, the people of Boabeng-Fiema, twin communities located in the heart of a forest, have lived in harmony with two species of monkeys, namely the Black and White Geoffrey's Pied Colombus and smaller Campbell Mona monkeys which are considered sacred according to their beliefs and traditions.
The 4.4 kilometre square forest is a home to more than 200 Geoffrey’s Pied Columbus and 500 Campbell Mona Monkeys.
Mona monkeys have brown agouti fur with white rump while Columbus Monkeys are black and white in colour and are vegetarians, feeding only on leaves.
The Campbell Mona monkeys, however, feed on a wide range of food, including the ones brought to them by tourists, such as bananas and biscuits.
Besides the known monkeys, other creatures such as birds, reptiles, antelopes, deers, grasscutters as well as green monkeys (vervet) and red monkeys (patas) all find their habitat in the forest. The red monkeys are so shy they don’t come close to people.
History
There are several accounts surrounding the Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary. All the accounts date back to the colonial times and attempt to explain how the monkeys came to the place.
According to the Information Officer of the sanctuary, Mr Samuel Amponsah Mensah, when the Nkoransah Traditional Kingdom captured the area, they asked the Boabeng and Fiema people who were among the warriors that captured the area to select a place of their choice.
He said the Boabeng people started scouting for a place to settle, adding that the warriors came to a river and met some Mona and Columbus monkeys around a pot covered with white calico, explaining that the warriors, fascinated by the scene, consulted their god, ‘Dawuro’, who told them not to harm the monkeys but consider them as their relatives.
Mr Mensah said the god instructed them to take the pot home so the monkeys would follow them home.
He explained that during those tribal wars, some of the warriors who feared being killed turned into animals, including monkeys, but could not revert to their human form. Thus, the monkeys were believed to be those warriors who could not revert to their human nature.
He said the warriors of Fiema also faced a similar situation and when they consulted their god, ‘Abodwo’, it instructed them not to kill the monkeys but to live in harmony with them as part of their society.
He said the monkeys were treated as sacred and it was a taboo for anyone to eat them. However, when Christianity was introduced into the area, some of the Christian converts who did not believe in the traditions surrounding the monkeys started hunting them.
Mr Mensah explained that during those times, a teacher in the community, called Mr Daniel Kwame Akumwiah, who was worried about how the Christians were killing the monkeys, wrote a proposal to the Game and Wildlife Department in the early 1970s to come to the aid of the monkeys.
When the wildlife division came in, they placed an embargo on killing the monkeys and called the place Boabeng-Fiema Wildlife Sanctuary, until the name was changed to Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary.
Oral account
Another account has it that a hunter who once lived in Boabeng came into contact with a spirit called ‘Dawuro’ and in the course of their relationship, he went to the forest one day and saw about five monkeys gathered around a pot covered with white calico.
The hunter was said to have been enthralled by the monkeys and, therefore, could not kill them. The unusual scene forced him to consult Dawuro, who told him to treat the monkeys as relatives.
He was also asked to take the pot home and when he did, the monkeys followed him. His fortunes increased after having treated the monkeys well.
In a related scenario, the one who settled at the nearby Fiema had a spirit being as friend called ‘Abodwo’. Because Fiema and Boabeng were neighbours, Dawuro and Abodwo got married and the monkeys are believed to be their offspring.
It is a common belief that whoever kills any of the monkeys will suffer some form of bizarre calamity, and this belief has been proved to be true by a local legend which says a certain recalcitrant man killed one of the monkeys and afterwards, all his relatives died simultaneously.
However, if anyone mistakenly kills a monkey, the person has to report the incident to the chief for some rituals to be performed to clear the person from suffering any calamity.
Nana Wiafe Akenteng, who has lived in the community for more than 50 years, said the monkeys come to town as early as 6 a.m. and return to the forest in the evening.
“It is a taboo to kill them because we see them as our brothers and sisters,” he said, adding, “Our ancestors who came to this place first never killed them and they protected them against any evil thing.”
According to him, those who deliberately killed the monkeys developed strange diseases, while others committed suicide.
Nana Akenteng said, “They come to us and we play with them. If you don’t cover your food and you go to farm, they will come and eat everything; they are just like human eings.”
Business in town
The monkeys have created a business for people who sell bananas as many tourists buy the bananas at high prices to attract the monkeys.
“The banana business is really good here comparing it to other villages around,” Sister Ama, a banana seller, said, adding “Many tourists want to snap photographs with the monkeys so they buy the bananas to attract them.”
Monkeys’ cemetery
Amazingly, whenever a monkey is about to die, it comes to the village or close to the footpath where it can be seen to die. The monkeys are buried in small coffins covered with white calico. Burial rites are performed for them and they are buried in the same cemetery with the traditional priests and priestesses.
Fridays are observed as a sacred day for the monkeys in the town.
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