Mahama Zuruka is a very talented tribal craftsman of the Ga tribal culture from Ghana. Mahama specializes in fashioning exotic jewelry, hand-made bamboo and leather bags and purses, traditional drums, and other items reflecting his African traditions. To view a catalogue of all the hand-made items created by Mahama Zuruka, click on the link at the bottom of this page. Mahama Zuruka is a thirty-year old married man from the village of Ahwia in the Ashanti region of Ghana. Mahama’s family migrated from Ghana's Northern region to the Ashanti region in search of better economic opportunities. Unlike other artisans, Mahama’s unique talent for crafting such excellent examples of African art was not something passed on to him from older generations in his family. Mahama learned his trade via an apprenticeship that he performed while in his mid-twenties. It was during this apprenticeship that Mahama learned to weave, work with leather, and create items with the other natural materials like bamboo, clay beads, shells, and cloth that are used in his creations. Mahama operates a small workshop and store in his home village of Ahwia, there he works producing his handicrafts and sells what he can to the local tourists as his primary source of income. By partnering with KWABLA, Mahama has been able to sell a much larger quantity of the items he creates and provide a greater livelihood for himself and his family. Mahama crafts the beads used in his jewelry from naturally occurring materials like clay, stone, glass, leather, bone, shells, and pieces of metal and wire. The purses and bags that Mahama creates are made primarily of either bamboo or leather, and are decorated with colorful kente cloth on the interior and a variety of beads, shells and markings of tribal symbols decorating the exterior of these unique bags. The traditional drums that Mahama create are fashioned from wood, leather, and sinew. These drums are decorated with colorful kente cloth and each come with a traditional hand-carved drumstick. Each of Mahama’s creations incorporate tribal symbolism that is directly linked to the culture of his Ga tribe from the Northern region of Ghana. All of the items made by Mahama Zuruka are hand-made and crafted using rudimentary tools, usually also constructed by Mahama, and with limited resources and materials. Click on the icon below to view a catalogue of hand-made jewelry, traditional drums, bags, wallets and purses and other exotic items created by Mahama Zuruka. Jewelry, Bags, Drums and Other Items Created by Mahama Zuruka