What is known as banku stick?

Some people might think about the name banku stick and be wondering what kind of stick it is to hold such a name but well, you are at the right place where you will get insight into everything you must know about the banku stick. 

What is a banku stick?

From the time I was very young that I could even realize this thing called banku stick but known in the Ewe language as "akpledatsi", it is a special stick made by carpenters using some kind of stick with wood-like nature of which I cannot tell of the kind of tree from which it is made from. There are so many places in the local markets where anyone who wants to buy a banku stick can get one easily for him or herself.

What is the use of the banku stick?

This stick is specially made for cooking banku or akple hence the popular name banku stick.  Learn how to prepare banku or akple

Despite it s first and foremost use which is it s use for cooking banku, there are other peculiar uses. When it is said that this stick is used for cooking banku, it covers all kinds of akple which include eworkple, amorkple, agbelimorkple, dedzenkple, ayikple, galadzenkple etc. The banku stick can also be used in stirring stew and maybe shito because it is not a conductor so it cannot receive heat. As it is not a conductor, using it to stir stew that is being prepared in large quantities is very safe and when roasting grains too it is very useful in stirring the grains. 

There is some very important thing about the banku stick which is very serious that even though it is used for cooking it is also a sacred thing. This is it, it is a taboo to beat someone with a banku stick. Parents especially mothers are the ones found in the act of beating their children with anything they lay hands on like this when maybe they are enraged by some behaviours of the children. The reason why the use of banku stick to beat a child is considered a taboo is that it is a tool for preparing food and hence its use for such act is unmoral and unlawful according to the beliefs of the people. 

Immediately after the use of the banku stick in cooking, our mothers will strictly enforce that it is washed in addition to the other cooking utensils neatly and packed in a plate basket or rack. Cleanliness is a habit and a value not played with at all as everyone is aware that a slight carelessness can result in a disease outbreak as taught by health professionals and traditional leaders. 

Where can you get a banku stick?

Banku stick can be accessed possibly in any Ghanaian market at a very moderate price and it exists in various sizes as well. The differing sizes are due to the fact there are degrees of use of it like it being used by restaurant operators which will obviously require a bigger size for cooking but a medium size will be okay for some families and a single individual will need just a small sized one for cooking. As said earlier, it can be stored in a plate basket or after washing it can be put against a wall or something with the edge used for the cooking pointing upward.