Kayayei or Kaya Yei is a Ghanaian term for a female

porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., ...

or bearer. Many of these women have migrated from a rural community to any of

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

's urban cities in search of work. They generally carry their burdens on their heads.

Etymology

The term ''kayayei'' (singular, ''kaya yoo'') is a

compound Compound may refer to: Architecture and built environments * Compound (enclosure), a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall ** Compound (fortification), a version of the above fortified with defensive struct ...

formed from two languages spoken in Ghana. ''Kaya'' means "load, luggage, goods or burden" in the

Hausa language Hausa (; /; Ajami: ) is a Chadic language spoken by the Hausa people in the northern half of Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Benin and Togo, and the southern half of Niger, Chad and Sudan, with significant minorities in Ivory Coast. Hausa is a member ...

, and ''yei'' means "women or females" in the

Ga language Ga is a Kwa language spoken in Ghana, in and around the capital Accra. There are also some speakers in Togo, Benin and Western Nigeria. It has a phonemic distinction between three vowel lengths. Classification Ga is a Kwa language, part of ...

,. People in

Kumasi Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is the ...

refer to the porters as ''paa o paa''.

Role

''Kaya'' have always been

manual labour Manual labour (in Commonwealth English, manual labor in American English) or manual work is physical work done by humans, in contrast to labour by machines and working animals. It is most literally work done with the hands (the word ''manual'' ...

ers. They transport goods to and from markets, particularly agricultural goods. Typically, ''Kaya'' carry their loads in a large pan placed on their heads, using a moistened coil of cloth as a buffer, see

Head-carrying Carrying on the head is a common practice in many parts of the world as an alternative to carrying a burden on the back, shoulders and so on. People have carried burdens balanced on top of the head since ancient times, usually to do daily work, b ...

Conditions

''Kaya Yei'' still toil away in markets in Ghana today, often in poor conditions and with minimal income. Occasionally, ''Kaya'' are brought into private homes to perform domestic tasks, where they may earn slightly more. The ''Kaya'' are often transient, and often without basic sanitation. Basic hygiene & nutrition conditions are also poor. In larger cities such as

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

, ''Kaya'' are often migrants from remote regions who have come to the cities in search for better employment prospects. In May 2016, the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection

Nana Oye Lithur Nana Oye Lithur is a Ghanaian barrister and politician. She was the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection in Ghana from 2013 to 2017, appointed by President John Mahama after the Ghanaian general election. She is a member of th ...

ensured that over 1,000 ''kayayei'' from

Agbogbloshie Agbogbloshie is a nickname of a commercial district on the Korle Lagoon of the Odaw River, near the center of Accra, Ghana's capital city in the Greater Accra region. Near the slum called "Old Fadama", the Agbogbloshie site became known as a de ...

and Mallam Atta markets in Accra were registered onto the National Health Insurance Scheme, to help provide them access to basic healthcare service. In the 2017 annual budget, the Minister of Finance

Ken Ofori-Atta Kenneth Nana Yaw Ofori-Atta (born 7 November 1958), is a Ghanaian investment banker who serves as the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning in the cabinet of Nana Akufo-Addo. He was a co-founder of Databank Group, a Ghanaian financial ser ...

exempted ''kayayei'' from paying market tolls to their various assemblies .

References

External links

Kayayo: Ghana's Living Shopping Baskets
(Al Jazeera Documentary)
Baba Blankets - A Social Project

National Commission On Culture

Carrying the Load: Kayayei in Ghana -- Peace Corps Ghana
Personal care and service occupations Transport occupations Women in Ghana Gendered occupations Walking Human-powered transport {{Ghana-stub