GHANA: Report from educator William Asamoah
Parbi and students (ages 15-18) at Accra High School
in Accra, Ghana.
This is a photograph of a cultural display
of my countrymen -- a man dressed in female costume standing on
a Stilt. Stilt
walking is a traditional display as a form
of entertainment in Ghana by the people of Winneba.
Research on the mathematics involved in stilt
walking
Responses from an interview we conducted
during the holidays have shown that experience is an important
factor in maintaining balance on the stilt. As such all those who
used to walk on the stilt gained their experience from childhood.
It started as a recreation and as they practiced they gained
their experience. It was also revealed that certain factors
needed to be considered before selecting a stilt to walk on. Such
factors include the weight of the stilt walker, the length, diameter
and weight of the stilt. Also, for one to walk with the stilt he needs
to raise the legs a few times in order to transmit the load of
the stilt onto his thigh muscle. It does not only consume much energy
but it also requires concentration to be able to stand on it.
Actually one needs to concentrate and meditate a few days ahead
of time.
The research has also shown that "Dantai"
is the wood used (because it can bend like that of the cane) however
any other wood can be used. The male "Dantai" is stronger than
the female so the male is mostly preferred. What is interesting about "Dantai"
is that it can bend like cane without breaking. It's only when
it is too dry that it breaks or when it is stretched beyond its
elastic limit. The wood after it has been cut need to be seasoned
to make it a bit light so that it can be used but care must be taking
not to make it too dry. A special Carpenter is employed to work
on the foot lap. Foot lap is the base on which stilt walkers place
their foot before it is tied with a rope.
On the average, the length of the wood should
be 280cm, diameter 6cm and 5cm respectively.
This is so because the wood has top face and bottom
face; the top face is tapered to the base hence the difference
in the diameter. The height of the person who stands on the stilt is very important such that when
the person is tall he needs to use a shorter stilt.
However, on
the average one needs to be about 1.66m tall.
Again, on the average the weight of the stilt walker
should be 66kg and that of the stilt 75kg.
The tensile strength of the stilt using the
averages should be 233.5 N/M2. This will however depend on the weight of the person and cross sectional
area of the stilt chosen. The tensile strength is inversely proportional to the cross sectional area
so that the smaller the cross sectional area the greater
the tensile strength. Again, the force that is expected to exert on the stilt should be 66.0 N on
the average. It
is also observed that at the point of equilibrium the gravitational potential energy is a constant.
However, the kinetic energy is not constant
for as soon it becomes constant the person will
fall. In spite of these, the sum of the kinetic energy
and the gravitational force acting at a point in
time should be a constant.
There are various costumes used; what is
in this project is a male dressed like a woman.
When the stilt is too long, its centre of gravity
reduces and as such, care must be taken to avoid falling
by cutting the stilt to the required dimension.
It is
alleged that some of them fall on slippery
grounds as such some of the stilt walkers are learning
to balance
on slippery grounds. The following specifications can be of use as others think of using plastic
instead of
wood. In
that case, the volume should be about 0.79m3 and weight about 75kg.
| NAME |
HEIGHT OF STILT WALKER |
LENGTH OF STILT |
WGT OF STILT |
WGT. OF STILT WALKER |
DIAMETER TOP FACE/ BOTTOM FACE |
| AKWETE |
162CM |
280.4CM |
74KG |
65.5KG |
6CM/5CM |
| MIKRONG |
170CM |
336.0CM |
75KG |
66.5KG |
7CM/6CM |
| KOW ATTAH |
165CM |
270.0CM |
74.5KG |
65.4KG |
6CM/5CM |
| KWESI TUNTUM |
164CM |
250.0CM |
75.0KG |
64.5KG |
6CM/5CM |
| KOFI POH |
150CM |
264.0CM |
74.6KG |
65.5KG |
5CM/4CM |
| AVERAGE |
162.2CM |
280.08CM |
74.6KG |
65.48KG |
6CM/5CM |
If there is any further information as to
how we came by the specification do not hesitate to get me informed.
William Parbi.
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