Kayayei or Kaya Yei is a Ghanaian term for a female

porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian 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., a locom ...

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

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

'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 struc ...

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

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

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

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

,. People in

Kumasi Kumasi is a city and the capital of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly and the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It is the second largest city in the country, with a population of 443,981 as of the 2021 census. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region ...

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, bu ...

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 (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) 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, , had a population of ...

, ''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 Bampoe Addo, formerly known as Nana Oye Lithur, is a Ghanaian barrister and a politician. She is a human rights advocate. She is currently the Deputy Chief of Staff (Administration) at the Office of the President in Ghana. Early life ...

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

Agbogbloshie Agbogbloshie was the 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, before it was demolished by the Ghanaian government in 2021. Near the ...

and

Mallam Atta market The Mallam Atta Market) is a major commercial market in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and ...

s 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 served as the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning in the cabinet of Nana Akufo-Addo from 2017 to 2024. He is co-founder of Databank Group, a Ghanaian f ...

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