Nzulezu: the Ghanaian village where life happens on the water

In the Jomoro District of the Western Region, an entire community lives above the still waters of Lake Tadane - houses, a school and a church all standing on wooden stilts.

Stilt houses of Nzulezu rising above Lake Tadane, Western Region, Ghana — Nzulezu, the stilt settlement on Lake Tadane in Ghana's Western Region. Photo: Luke Bosman, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 1.0.

About 90 kilometres west of Takoradi, near the town of Beyin, the village of Nzulezu stands entirely on stilts above Lake Tadane. The name is an Nzema word meaning "surface of water".

The Ghana Museums and Monuments Board describes the settlement as about 400 years old. According to tradition, the village's ancestors migrated from Walata, a city of the ancient Ghana Empire, and were guided to the lake by a snail.

Daily life is adapted to the water. The Board records that pounding fufu, schooling, worship, baptisms and burials all take place on the lake, and that the lake is said to avert disasters such as fire outbreaks.

Approaching Nzulezu by canoe across Lake Tadane — Visitors reach Nzulezu by canoe across Lake Tadane. Photo: Rad.rana, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

The village still observes traditional norms. Thursday is a sacred day on the lake, when the villagers do not engage in strenuous activity.

Nzulezu was placed on UNESCO's World Heritage tentative list on 17 January 2000, submitted by the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board under cultural criteria (i), (iii) and (v).

Wooden walkway between stilt houses in Nzulezu — A wooden walkway links the stilt houses; every structure in the village stands above the lake. Photo: Rad.rana, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

Planning a visit? The Ghana Museums and Monuments Board advises that visitors are not allowed after 3.00 pm. The site is managed with the Ghana Wildlife Society; check current arrangements before travelling.

Sources: Ghana Museums and Monuments Board; UNESCO World Heritage Centre, tentative listing 1394.