The Smart Art of Carrying Things On Your Head

Another source of constant wonder and amusement for me in Ghana was people carrying things on their heads.  Everything.  I hadn’t given it much thought before the trip, but I guess I assumed it was a relic of the past, or of a National Geographic-inspired picture of Africa, that people would carry things on their heads as much as they would wear loin cloths and tribal outfits. 

The vendors in the streets in Accra sold their wares off the tops of their heads. 

Street vendor in Accra - I can't remember what all he/she was selling, it could've been anything from food to shoeshine brushes

 

The women that brought water to our work sites in Bolgatanga carried water in large pails gracefully balanced atop their figures. 

Aren't they beautiful?

 

I saw everything from laundry to garbage bags to firewood to six-foot picnic benches (wish I had a picture of that one) carried cranium-style. 

Beautiful photo taken by a fellow traveller of the iconic Ghanaian woman - with a load on her head and a baby on her back

 

Even the porter that helped me haul my bags to my home away from home at our work site carried my duffel bag on his head. 

I don't think anything said "Welcome to Ghana" to me quite as much as this image

It makes sense.  You get optimal balance and weight distribution across your body by positioning the weight directly over your center of gravity.  The weight is then supported primarily by your major muscle groups, like your core and quadriceps, rather than using the smaller muscles in your upper appendages to carry the load and your major muscles to stabilize your now off-center system.  

A few of us tried it with our cement blocks and head pans of mortar.  It’s remarkable how much lighter a load feels once it’s directly overhead, like ¾ of the weight just suddenly evaporated.  Getting the load raised and balanced to this position requires some help, but once it’s in place you’re good to go with I’d guess 2-4 times the weight you would normally be able to carry.

Feels a little silly, but it does work!

I just don’t understand why the practice hasn’t caught on the world over.  It’s not new, it’s not difficult, it doesn’t require any capital or other resources.  Why isn’t everyone from Europe to Australia carrying things on their heads?  Why is this practice so common amongst everyone here, and so completely unseen in any other rural or urban environment I’ve visited* in the United States, Europe, South America or Australia?  I know Africa has yet to become a major player in the global scene, but it’s not like they’re completely insulated – evolution should have picked up on and spread this strategy for carrying things by now.  What am I missing here, folks?  In spite of all the modern convenience of cars and conveyor belts and utility carts and whatnot, we all have to carry things manually at one time or another – so why aren’t we all doing it atop our noggins?

Maybe I’ll start a trend.  Next time I’m traveling through a crowded airport, I’ll try putting my duffel bag on my head.  Think it would catch on?  Or would I look just crazy enough for airport security to deem me a flight risk?   

*I’m not saying it doesn’t exist elsewhere in the world; I’m just saying, of the places I’ve been, this is the first time I’ve seen it.