The Philosophy of the Street in Ghana:

Mammy Wagons and Their Mottos - A Research Note

George H. Lewis
In the Winter 1996 volume of this journal, Peter Burke presents a
Brazilian philosophy of the road, pieced together, mosaic-fashion,
from handpainted mottos spotted on the backs of commercial lorries in
and around Sao Paul0 during 1994 and 1995. In Brazil, such mottos are
common on older-type, brightly hand painted vehicles, which are usually
owned by small firms. As Burke notes, his study of these slogans, or
mottos, is intended only as a preliminary survey of this cultural mater-
ial-he calls for further research of this fascinating phenomenon as a
form of urban folklore, indicating that lorry drivers in Argentina are also
fond of handpainting mottos on the backs of their vehicles (209,213).
In fact, similar displays on lorry-like vehicles of commerce and
transportation are found in Third World countries outside of South
America as well, including American Samoa, the Philippines, Columbia,
Panama and Haiti, where in Port au Prince, local vehicles of transporta-
tion are called tap-taps. Tap-taps are usually created from small
J apanese trucks whose beds have been altered to form benches, and a
roof for shade from the hot sun. They are elaborately hand painted with
traditional and pop cultural scenes (including eagles, flowers, pastoral
scenes-ven portraits), and are also likely to have mottos, or slogans-
many of them religious in nature-painted in the tailgate area. Thus,
although these vehicles carry people from place-to-place, instead of the
cargo transported by the Brazilian lorries, they are strikingly similar in
cultural form and-most likely-social function to those reported on by
Burke.
Of this lorry-type vehicle, one of the most interesting-and earliest
created-is the mammy wagon of Ghana, West Africa, which has been,
since the end of World War 11, the most economical and popular form of
local transportation both in and between Ghanian urban areas. The
wagon, basically a customized Bedford lorry, began showing up in
Ghana soon after the war, being imported from England from 1948-1959
through U.A.C. Africa Motors. In 1959, the lorries began to be assem-
I65
166 . Journal of Popular Culture
bled in Tema, Ghana. Although importation and assembly was banned in
1966 in favor of a new type of customized bus produced by Motorway, it
is estimated that there are still many hundreds-if not thousands-of
these original mammy wagons in operation in Ghana.
A mammy wagon consists of the basic lorry frame, with the body,
seats and shade roof custom designed by Ghanian craftsmen. Mottos are
painted in English, Pidgin, Arabic and local dialects on the sides, fronts
and backs of the mammy wagons, as well as decorations of flowers,
birds, animals and so on. The motto painter is considered an artist, and
usually will undertake a job only under the condition that he be listened
to in developing the color scheme of the total wagon, from the wheels
and mudguards to the wooden body itself. Thus, just as in Haiti and
Brazil, the total gestalt of the wagon, while focused on the motto, is
comprised of much in addition to it.
The mottos chosen are personal and may relate to the experiences of
the driver or owner of the wagon (something significant in his life or that
happened on the road), derive from the fact of a gift (Aunty Nana),
relate to a personal or pop cultural idol (a wagon is labeled Sampson
because the owner was impressed with the film), reflect a traditional
saying or piece of folk wisdom the driver subscribes to, or is an expres-
sion of the drivers relationship to God or Allah. These mottos seem to
be reminders of the individuality of the new African, as well as symbols
that unite driver, passengers and street viewers within an African cultural
context-the process of transporting and being transported becomes
symbolic cultural communication.
Table 1 is an attempt to group all mammy wagon mottos noted by
the author in and around Accra and Cape Coast, Ghana, in a one month
time period. (A complete listing of these mottos is contained in an
appendix to this research note.) Viewed as a composite, or mosaic, this
informal sampling of mottos-as Burkes in Brazil-ffer insights into
the everyday concerns and cares of urban Ghanian citizens.
Clearly a strong religious message is reflected in the high percentage
of slogans devoted to the pains and trials of this world (Pity a Human,
All Shall Pass) as well as the appeals to God or Heaven (Help Me Oh
God). These themes may reflect the high proportion of urban Ghanians
who are members of fundamentalist Christian religions and the impor-
tance of religion in their everyday lives. This sort of cultural message
seems also reflective of a trial-ridden society and the near fatalistic res-
ignation to such trials that seems to be all too typical in Accra, Cape
Coast and other urban centers.
Traditional culture is still strong in Ghana, even in these urban areas,
where it can clash emotively with the spirit of modernization the country
The Philosophy of the Street in Ghana . 167
Table 1: Mammy Wagon Mottos by Category,
Rank Ordered by Frequency of Appearance
Category
Pain and Trials of This World
Advice for Everyday Living
Traditional Slogans
Appeals to God or Heaven
Miscellaneous and Idosyncratic
Relationships with Women
Joy on Earth
Political Statements
Importance of Money
Rewards of Hard Work
Number of Slogans*
13
12
10
8
6
5
5
4
4
4
Percent**
18
16
14
11
8
7
7
6
6
6
*Because a few slogans were appropriate for more than one category, the total
is 73, although a total of 71 slogans were counted.
**Percentages total 99 because of rounding error.
Category comprised of folk sayings, such as a stranger is like a child, that
give information but would not be appropriate in other categories.
has been developing. Mottos such as Death of Mother Is End of
Family are revealing in their reflection of the importance of the family
and the fragile unit it has become, especially in urbanized areas where
the functions of kin networks of the villages are not operative and
modem service agencies are struggling to assert themselves. Too, mottos
such as No Time to Die symbolize the clash between traditional ways
of life (and death) and the modem, industrialized time-conscious culture
Ghana is attempting to develop in her urban centers. Mottos reflecting
the importance of money and the rewards of hard work (No Business,
No Wife, Because of Money) reveal the extent to which moderniza-
tion is becoming a part of Ghanian culture.
I68 Journal of Popular Culture
As in Brazil, there are few political mottos found on the mammy
wagons. Those that do appear are quite general and are usually folk say-
ings that relate to earlier political structures, such as No King Is God.
I suspect this absence of political mottos does not suggest that political
issues are not focal concerns of Ghanians. Indeed, discussions with local
citizens reveal a good deal of concern about these issues. It is more
likely that negative consequences of overt political and social criticism
of the State, ranging from police harassment to the simple discourage-
ment of potential customers, is well known and strenuously avoided.
Thus, if one were to compare general themes of the Brazilian and
Ghanian mottos, it would be evident that, not only in both countries is
there very little emphasis on contemporary politics and social criticism,
but that there is also, in both countries, strong emphasis on religion, love
and sex, and morality as major categories of comment. The one large
area of difference between the countries, theme-wise, is that in Brazil
there is much more of a focus on the pride and problems of being a lorry
driver (individual work), while in Ghana, the focus seems to be a more
general one concerning conflicts between tradition and modernization.
This makes sense. The Brazilian drivers are hauling goods-many of
them for long distances-and a focus on this activity as a profession
could be anticipated. In contrast, Ghanian drivers are transporting
people, generally within a limited urban area, and the nature of this
cargo and the job of hauling it is much different. It would not likely
be good business, for example, to advertise the problems caused by
passengers on the back of ones vehicle!
Too, the social and economic nature of the two countries are very
different. With Brazil further down the road in terms of capitalist eco-
nomic development, a focus on individual work makes sense; while in
Ghana, which continues to experience the rough social upheavals of an
independent and economically emergent nation, the more general
process of change is an understandable topic of concern and comment
for both driver and passenger.
In the end, though, it is the amount of similurity in mottos across
these great geographical, social, economic and cultural distances that is
striking. Lorry mottos are clearly a global form of popular cultural com-
munication, articulating local fears and desires, as well as the philoso-
phies of those who both display and read them in their respective social
settings. Along with Peter Burke, I, too, urge more focused study of
these mottos as an important form of Third World urban folklore.
The Philosophy of the Street in Ghana . 169
Note
Typical among these religious messages are: Christ, My Savior, Son of
Abraham, and Thank You, Miraculous Virgin.
Work Cited
Burke, Peter. The Philosophy of the Road in Brazil: Lorries and Their
Mottoes. Journal of Popular Culture 30.3 (1996): 209-22.
George H. Lewis is Professor of Sociology, University of the Pacific, Stockton
CA 9521 1.
170 . Journal of Popukw Culture
Appendix
Not Yet
So Is the World
I Thank God
Aunty Nana
The Beginning of Life
A Day Will Come
Pay the Boy on the Line
New King, New Law
All Weather
Rock of Ages
I n Some Ways
Now Is the Hour
Sea Never Dry
Experience Counts
Good Never Lost
Be Sober
Home News
No Time to Die
Never Despair
Busy Bee
Dont Mind Them
God Forbid
Fear Beautiful Women
Happiness Is the Soul of Life
No Situation Is Permanent
Age Is Full of Care
No Business, No Wife
Fear Woman and Play with Snake
Man Presses
Pity a Human
Life Is War
Be Afraid of Person
Waste No Time
Blackman Palaver
Home Hard
Men Suffer, Women Dont Know
Save Penny, Auntie B
Life Is a Lesson
Time Is Honest
A Stranger Is Like a Child
God Day
Cemetery Is Not for Play
Help Me Oh God
Because of Money
Oh Father Forgive Them
All Days Are Not Equal
Think Twice
Travel and See
Life Has No Spare
No King Is God
Poor No Friend
Beware of Friends
The Philosophy of the Street in Ghana . 171
Patience Moves Mountains
It Pains You Why
High Small
Money Matters
Death of Mother Is End of Family
I No Be Like You
Ghana Blue Train
A Beautiful Woman Never Stays
with One Man
Look These Tey Dont Know
What Tey Talk About
See the Man but I Dont
Know the Party
Fly Ye Powers of Darkness
Haste Not in Life
Sampson
All Shall Pass
Sweet Not Always
Whatever You Do People Will
Talk of You
If You Do Good, You Do for
Yourself
Who Knows Tomorrow