Background information Geographical Position in Ghana (West Africa) Anomabu is situated 12 kilometres east of Cape Coast on the main road to Accra, the capital of Ghana. On the south it borders onto the Atlantic Ocean and it stretches northwards to about 1.5 kilometres. Anomabu Traditional Area: about 200 square kilometres. Population: It has a population of about 20,000 The population can be specified as follows Age range: 0 - 5 is approx. 10% 6 -15 is approx.20% 17-30 is approx. 30% 31-45is approx. 20% 46-over is approx. 20% Social Facilities -Communication: there are a post office as well as privately operated communication centres, two Hotels and a Beach Resort. -Education: Anomabu has a Secondary/Technical School, 3 Junior Secondary and Primary Schools, 6 Kindergarten and Nursery Schools. -A mission-operated centre for the disabled. -Electricity is available, however, requires some renovation & maintenance work. -Pipe-borne water is available though limited. -The four public toilets available are inadequate as compared to the population size of the town. -The drainage system of the town as well as the road network is bad. Historical Background The people in this geographical area are believed to have come from a group of the ancient West Sudanese migrants of “Borbor Fantse” ethnicity. According to history, they first settled at Techiman, situated in the middle of Ghana, thereafter, they moved on, to Mankessim, 15 kilometres from Anomabo then to Egyaa. They finally settled in the present place of Anomabu. The town derived its name from a big rock in the sea which used to be flocked with white birds. It was discovered by a hunter on an expedition. Originally, the name of the town was “Obonoma”, which means ‘Rock of Birds' when translated into the English language. However, the name has been changed/corrupted to Anomabu, due to frequent changes in pronunciation. It is believed that the Fantis met some aborigines, on the land, the Etsi whom they outnumbered and over-powered; even so, they have striven to maintain some of the characteristics of the Etsis. This, as a result gave the town its appellation; “Nsu ano Etsii”. In 1602, a Dutch merchant, Pieter de Marees, already mentioned Anomabu but called it Fantijn or Infantijn. “ Description and a historic story from the Gold Kingdom of Guinea ”. About 1646 Anomabu became a lodge, built by the Dutch. Director General of the W.I.C. (‘West Indische Compagnie' with its Elmina headquarters), Jacob Ruychaver ( 1640-1645), and D.G. Jacob van de Wel (1645-1649) mentioned Anomabu in “Five Daily Register of the Castle Sao Jorge Da Mina (Elmina) at the Gold coast”. Willem Bosman, chief merchant of the W.I.C. in Elmina, mentioned Anomabu in his book “Description of the Guinea Gold- Teeth- and Slave coast” (1700). A historical map of the coast Tradition Anomabu is the headquarters of a traditional area of about 60 towns and villages. The town is ruled by Omanhen, the first was Nana Eno and the current is Omanhen Katamanto Amonoo XI. Paramount Chief Kantamanto Amonoo XI Biography: Name: Samuel Kwesi Essumang Born: 2 nd December 1934 At: Anomabu- Parents- Father: Kojo Essumang, Mother: Esi Essuon Education: Educated Employment: Timber Merchant at Takoradi Enstoolment: 6 th September, 1994 with the stool of Katamanto Amonoo XI Vision: Developing all the 64 towns and villages within the area including youth education, having good drinking water facilities, better education, better facilities and also gainful employment for the youth. Regional House of Chiefs: Research, Committee of the Central Regional House of Chiefs. Married, with 4 children: Three daughters and one son. Religion: Catholic. The Omanhen is assisted by 15 Divisional Chiefs. There are other sub-chiefs and Odikros who are all members of the Anomabu Traditional Council, the highest governing body of the tradition. There are two Apofohenfo, Chief Fisherman, Awoane/Fare and Etsiwa respectively, charged with the well-being of the fishermen. The Akomfo (the fetish priest and priestess) -although from various homes and clans- come together to play their parts when attending to the Deities (Abosom). There are 7 Asafo Groups No. 1- Tuafo- its shrine has a key and a padlock- their colours are green and pink No. 2- Etsiwa- its shrine has a barrel on top, with 2 spotted tigers- their colours are black and white No. 3- Dontsin- its shrine has a whale between 2 lions, with a palm tree and an elephant at the top- their colours are blue and white No. 4- Ebron- its shrine has a tortoise on top- its colour is purple No. 5- Ebirem Wassa- its shrine is a round oven- its colour is red-wine No. 6- Kyirom- its shrine is a steam ship- its colour is red No. 7- Akomfodze- its shrine has a three-headed dragon- its colour is white for its uniform All the seven Asafo Companies are under the command of either an Obaatan or Safohenpanyin and the seven companies are under the General command of Tufuhen. Tuafo and Akomfodze Kyirem and Eberem Wassa Ebron and Dontsin Etsiwa and a detail of Etsiwa A visit to the shrines by guide is possible. Address can be obtained from the Paramount Chief's Palace. The entrance to the Palace and the cover of the Asafo Company book “Asafo Companies and their shrines alive” -click here- to download the complete book. The launching of the book “Asafo Companies and their shrines alive” and other information on Anomabu -click here- to download. Free CD of the book “Asafo Companies and their shrines alive” for readers in Africa. For readers in Africa send us an email with your address – click here - and we will send you this book on a CD. The initiative of this book is from Mrs. Inge Coesel, The Netherlands. Writer: Nyanfueku Akwa, Anomabu, Ghana. Realisation: www.lunamedia.nl Paramount Chief Kantamanto Amonoo XI Okyir Festival The Okyir Festival is often held in the second week of October. This marks the main festival of Anomabu. It is believed to purify/cleanse the community from evil, hunger and disease. It serves as the time for courtship and contracting of marriages. During this festival in 2005 the presentation of the book “Asafo Companies and their shrines alive” took place. The Dutch Ambassador in Ghana, at that time, Mr. Dr. Arie van der Wiel, was the guest of honour. The shrines are important historic sites, since they are monuments as well as an integral part of the Cultural Heritage of these particular people, and they have progressed throughout history. Beliefs and worships There are traditional worshippers who believe in the deities. Africans, in general, believe in one God, the Supreme Being. He was known among the people as “Nyame”, “Onyame” etc. The Indivisible One with and, at the same time, superior to all other deities, spirits and numerous gods, the Abosom. There are gods of the days of the week, those of the rivers and the sea, those of the trees, mountains, the rain and so on. Ancestor worship The ancestors, the souls of the unborn and the souls of the living people belong to the category of the spiritual universe. Birth and death is seen as moving from and to the place of the dead and the spirits; that is the underworld. Apart from the Supreme Being the people paid, and still pay , much attention to household deities, state gods and Asafo gods. This household god could be represented as a triple-forked branch, set up in the ground with on the top a black pot for offerings. The Summan (household god) was kept in a basket which was full of pieces of clay, raffia, chicken bones, egg shells and dried blood. Religious Communities Methodist, Catholic, Anglican, Pentecost, Apostolic, 12 Apostles, African Faith, United Faith, Assemblies of God etc. and the Muslims are the main religious bodies in the area. History of the mission at the: “Gold Coast” 1471-1880 The Portuguese Period 1471-1637 The Capuchin Monks 1637-1684 French Dominicans monks 1687-1704 Protestant Missionary works 1737-1880 The Catholic Missionary works 1870-1880 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF ANOMABU HEROES GEORGE BLANKSON OF ANOMABU (1809-1898) George Blankson was the son of chief Kuntu of Egya. He was born in 1809 in the village of Sodofu which until recent times was a flourishing village on the Brimso river and which disappeared on the construction of Cape Coast water works (1928). He was educated partly at the colonial school, Cape Coast, where he completed his elementary education. After leaving school, George Blankson followed a calling which was typical of the times and which very much contributed to his rise to fame. He was responsible of settling some of the awkward differences then existing between the Ashantis and the colonial Government in 1853. He was greatly admired and acknowledged by the Duke of Newcastle, Government Brodie Cruickshank, of the judicious manner in which he performed the service entrusted to him. In 1862, he made a remarkable mission in Kumasi from October to December by establishing peaceful relations with the Ashantis after the first Ashanti war in 1863. He was appointed an Official Administrator on 8 th October, 1856 after the promulgation of the Gold Coast Administrator Ordinance, 1856. A few months later –i.e. on May 27 th , 1867 –he was appointed Justice of the Peace, which office he held till about 1865. But the highlight of his public career came on 26 th April, 1861, when he was appointed a member of the legislative council of her majesty's forts and settlements on the gold coast. This appointment was not only a fitting tribute to his valuable and remarkable public service, it also made him the first full-blooded African to win such a coveted office in the Gold Coast constitutional history. Yet at the height of his popularity he became the victim of a tragedy in April 1873, which led to his suspension from the council as a nominated member, an office which he had continuously held since April 1861: a tragedy which deprived him of the reputation he had steadily built up over the years. It is not surprising, therefore that he devoted his declining years to the work of God, to which he had dedicated his early life, and proved to be a devout and sincere Christian of whom Anomabu could be proud. He was most liberal in his contribution to the church in its formative years, his contribution towards the erection of Ebenezer chapel at Anomabu was noteworthy. Besides, he financed the establishment of a mission school at Mankwadzi, one of his trading posts where his profits were considerable, by electing to pay the schoolmaster and all expenses incurred on the school. Furthermore, he kept many preaching appointments at Anomabu, one of the mission stations, which he managed successfully soon after its opening. These achievements reflect his deep Christian feeling and his fine spirit of practical Christianity, which influenced all those who were connected with the establishment of the Methodist church in its early years. George Blankson died at Anomabu on 23 rd August 1898, at the age of 89. Despite the vicissitudes of George Blankson's career one thing can be said of him, and it is this: his ambition and high sense of duty were the key to his success: he demonstrated what the African is capable of doing when given the opportunity. He was a perfect model of the age which produced him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GEORGE EKEM FERGUSON 1864-1897 George Ekem Ferguson was one of the outstanding West Africans of his generation. A Fanti born in the Central Gold Coast town of Anomabu in1864. George Ekem Ferguson was a Ghanaian colonial agent who was instrumental in convincing local chiefs to sign treaties of friendship with the British. Ferguson curved out a career for himself in government service by his ambition and intelligence, he was educated at the Methodist schools in Cape Coast and also in Sierra Leone He was seconded to England in 1889 for technical training in geography and mineralogy and was the first West African to receive a certificate from the Royal School of Mines. In 1892, he carried out the first of his major expeditions to the North, concluding treaties with the Gonja rulers in Tuluwe, Bole, and Daboya as well as the Dagomba. He demonstrated his diplomatic skills in settling disputes between the local chiefs. He was an important surveyor who did valuable field work in the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast in the late nineteenth century. Moreover, he was the most important commentator on the ethnography and history of Asante and the Northern Territories. Ferguson's fame and accomplishments was the more remarkable when we recall his tragically brief life career. Ferguson was much more than the dedicated map maker and treaty negotiator of early twentieth century. He was later (1897) killed by slave raiders at the age of 33, but his tomb is preserved in Wa . Ferguson was also the only African leader from Anomabu who led a team to halt the slave trade in the northern part of Ghana led by the Samori and Babatu. He was buried in Wa, now Upper West Regional capital. Alongside the main road next to the Ebenezer Hotel at Anomabu, you may notice a small memorial, erected in 1937 to commemorate this most famous son of Anomabu. On the 27 th of September 2006, a program of activities to kick-start Ghana's 50 th independence anniversary (2007 ) celebration at Anomabu took place in Accra. Nana Egyir Aggrey, Development Chief of Anomabu, said the chiefs have requested the government for the return of the mortal remains of Ferguson from Wa to Anomabu for a befitting burial. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DR JAMES EMMANUEL KWEGYIR AGGREY (1875 - 1927) One of the leading figures in the history of education in Africa was undoubtedly Dr. James Emmanuel Kwegyir Aggrey, more popularly known as "Aggrey of Africa". Born on Monday, 18th October, 1875, at Anomabu in the Central Region of the Gold Coast, of Princess Abena Annuah of Ajumaku, and Prince Kodwo Kwegyir, Chief Linguist in the court of King Amonoo V of Anomabu, Aggrey was the fourth of eight children. He entered the Wesleyan School in Cape Coast, some years later, when Aggrey had completed his course at the college, he accepted the post of temporary pupil teacher at Abura-Dunkwa (20 miles east of Cape Coast). From 1895 - 1898, we hear of Aggrey not only as an educational giant, but also as a politician and a soldier. Aggrey became a recording Secretary of the Aborigines Rights Protection Society, and for a short time acted as Chief Secretary of the Society. He carried out a petition for signatures against the notorious Public Lands Bill (1897). On one occasion, he perfomed the splendid task of walking, in the course of a single day, 36 miles to Manso to send an important cablegram to London on behalf of the Society. Aggrey contributed many articles to the Gold Coast Methodist Times. As a soldier in the Fanti-Ashanti war, Aggrey served with the expedition under Colonel Sir Francis Cunningham Scott. Aggrey was an interpreter and was paid 7/6d. per day. He became Registrar and Professor of Livingstone College in 1902, he was ordained an Elder of the Zion Methodist Church in 1903, obtained his Doctorate Degrees in Hood Theological Seminary in 1912, became Pastor at Miller's Chapel and Sandy Ridge in 1914, and obtained his Doctorate in Philosophy Degree in Columbia University in 1923. Aggrey, a co-founder of Achimota College, was first in many of the examinations he took; holder of the degrees of Master of Arts (Livingstone College), Doctor of Divinity (Hood Theological Seminary), Master of Arts (Columbia), Doctor of Philosophy (Columbia), and holder of many diplomas, joined the staff of Achimota in July, 1924. He left for America in July, 1926, returning in November that year. Achimota (Gold Coast) his dream, was formally opened on 28th January, 1927, and in May that year, he left for England and America once more, only to die on 30 th July of pneumococcal meningitis. His death was a sad but great affair; he was mourned in all the continents. Two thousand mourners, white and black, attended the service in the auditorium of Livingstone College.