Esi(Sunday) and Lahari (Sunday)-Ghanaian Women working (Sold)

Artist: Kwesi Sarkodie, Artist's Location-Ghana; Acrylic on Canvas; Title- Esi(Sunday) and Lahari (Sunday)-This painting represents solidarity between women from the Northern and Southern Regions of Ghana. Ghanaians give names to their kids based on the language of their ethnic groups which includes the Akan, Mole-Dagombas, GA, Ewe and Nzema. Children are given "day" names based on the day they were born. The Southern and Northern regions use different naming systems due to the variation in ethnic groups. Esi is a Sunday name from the Southern Region and Lahari is also a Sunday name from the Northern Region. Headcarrying is a very common and most efficient practice of carrying various items including water, food, bricks, construction materials or other much needed goods. Women in particular may have practical reasons for carrying on the head, as for many African women it is "well-suited to the rough, rural terrain and the particular objects they carry—like buckets of water and bundles of firewood", then abandoning the practice when they migrate to urban areas where their daily routines, and socially accepted practices, are differentIn Ghana, affluent residents of the southern cities employ young women who migrate from the poorer northern region to work as "head porters", called kayayei, for $2 a day.

This beautiful representation of Ghanaian women carrying baskets on their heads. It is also wide-spread in Africa. .  In East Africa, Luo women may carry loads of up to 70% of their own body weight balanced on top of their heads. Women of the Kikuyu tribe carry similar heavy loads, but using a leather strap wrapped around their forehead and the load to secure it while it is carried. (see tumpline) 

 Dimensions (end to end): 30"x17"