Asante shrine house, near Besease, Ghana

"Similar to a typical traditional Asante courtyard house, a shrine house or 'Obosomfie' is made up of 4 buildings enclosing a central courtyard or 'gyase'. Three of the buildings are open to the courtyard with raised floors. One of these is reserved for the drummers; another room is used by the singers; the third open room is used as a cooking area where ceremonial meals were regularly prepared to be partaken of by the gods. The fourth building, housing the shrine, is closed by decorated walls or intricate open-work screen walls. The entry to this room is usually strictly restricted to the priest and his attendants. An important feature in the courtyard is the 'nyame dua' or altar for the sky god. This is in the form of a tree or a forked post with calabash. It is placed to the right of the shrine room entrance." [Asante Traditional Buildings. World Heritage. A Ghana Museums and Monuments Publication]. The photograph depicts open building reseved for the drummers. The last conservation work was carried out in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon traveled to Africa from March 17, 1970 to July 17, 1970.