INTEREST. A film on the Gold Coast [Ghana], including a record of the 1946 Ashanti Durbar at Kumase.

RL.1 The town and port of Accra. 200 miles inland, the town of Kumase, capital of Ashanti. Mixture of African and European cultures, street scenes, Africans, churches. Surrounded by Equatorial forest where African farmers grow their cocoa crops. An African farmhouse. Women pounding plantain. Ashanti weekly market. Harvesting the cocoa pods. Family all help to scoop out cocoa beans, beans then left to ferment covered with plantain leaves (873 ft).

RL.2 Tribal rule by chieftains, but king of the Ashanti's is King Prempeh II. Every few years a Durbar is called when chiefs come from their villages to meet the representatives of the British Government. Preparing for the holiday - drums beating, dancing in village (150-230). Band of the Gold Coast Regiment practising. Police receiving their instructions. The Chiefs begin journeys from their villages. A Chief is helped to a litter and shielded with ceremonial umbrellas. Ritual chants accompany procession. Entire court follows chief in procession. Tribal processions arriving at the Durbar. King Prempeh and the Queen Mother arriving. All converge on the Durbar grounds (815 ft).

RL.3 Chiefs assemble in huge semicircle, await the arrival of Governor of Gold Coast. Governor visits each Chief and his court, and shakes their hands. The Governor then retires to the dais and the Chiefs return the honour, each mounting the platform and shaking hands (80-232). Finally, King Prempeh is presented and then makes a speech (530-576). The Governor makes his reply, and the Durbar is over. The Governor then returns to Accra (718 ft).

RL.4 After the Durbar, the Shanti farmers return to their cocoa crop; where dry beans are taken to the depot, graded and driven to the coast. At Accra, they are loaded and rowed out to waiting ships by the Guinea long shore men, in their traditional long-boats (400-764). Sacks are winched on to the waiting ships and then transported to England (764 ft).