Akweesi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- farmer
- clergyman
Akweesi | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1780 Esiwahyia, Gold Coast |
| Died | 1896 (aged 115–116) Gold Coast |
| Occupations |
|
| Spouse | Andowa |
| Church | Wesleyan Methodist Church |
| Ordained | 1851 |
Akweesi (known late in life as "the Grand Old Man", whose lifespan is given by his biographer as 1780–1896)[1]: 23 was a Fante who lived in Ekumfi State.[1]: 23 His life is known from oral traditions, and to a lesser extent documentary sources, collected around 1952, primarily from his descendants, by the Ghanaian teacher John Brandford Crayner,[1]: 1–4 though Crayner's view of events associated with Akweesi has been criticised as Christian and colonialist.[2]: 23–27
Akweesi is noted as an early Methodist minister in what is now Ghana, and for his role in destroying the traditional Fante sacred grove Nananom Pɔw, characterised by J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu as "one of the best known clashes" between Christianity and traditional religion in the history of the region that would become Ghana.[3]: 164
Akweesi's mother was Asikan and his father was Kyia. He was born in the village of Esiwahyia, where he farmed gourds, gaining wealth through this practice[1]: 23 and becoming a prominent money-lender.[1]: 24 He married Andowa, a Fante from the town of Asokwa and from the Adwenadze clan.[1]: 24 His children included Nana Asikan and, lastborn, Mary Akweesi (also known as Adwoa Asekan).[1]: 23
Alleged witchcraft and foundation of Obidan
According to his biographer, Akweesi's high yields, and the discontent of his debtors, led him to be accused of witchcraft.[1]: 24 He moved to nearby Nanaben to live with his uncle Egyir, but in November 1834 Akweesi was accused of causing the death of Egyir's daughter Kwakoma[1]: 24–25 (allegedly because Egyir hoped that Akweesi would be killed and that Egyir would gain his wealth).[1]: 27 Akweesi was attacked at Kwakoma's funeral and left for dead, but rescued by his nephew Abedu Kuma.[1]: 24–25 Akweesi moved to relatives in Asaafa, around five miles south of Mankessim.[1]: 23
Seeking to clear Akweesi's name, Abedu Kuma and Akweesi consulted with traditional priests first at Akorodo and then, in December 1839, at Nananom Pɔw, but Akweesi continued to be identified as a witch. Following his identification as a witch at Nananom Pɔw, Akweesi was attacked, imprisoned, robbed of his possessions, and his home in Asaafa was burned down. Akweesi's wife Andowa escaped to Eminsano, home of one Asari Kofi. Asari rescued Akweesi and gave him shelter.[1]: 25 Akweesi was also blamed for misfortunes befalling Asari's family, and Asari received abuse for harbouring Akweesi.[1]: 25–26
Seeking to free Asari of opprobrium, on the third week of February 1840, Akweesi petitioned the chief (ɔdekuro) of Suprudu for land where he could settle alone. The chief sold him land half a mile north of Nananom Pɔw called Nsebɔ Buw Mu ("the den of tigers"), which was noted as a haunt of tigers and wolves and generally viewed as too dangerous to settle.[1]: 26 Akweesi and his family settled there on the third Monday of March and prospered,[1]: 26 partly due to ready access to fishing in the Eminsa Ɔkye river and the agricultural opportunities of the surrounding swampland.[1]: 26, 29 Akweesi accrued greater wealth here than he had had before and came to be joined by many of his extended family, including his uncle Egyir, with whom he reconciled. Akweesi renamed the settlement Obi Dan Obi ("a man is dependant") or Obidan in recognition of his former enemies' reliance on him, a name that persisted at least into the 1970s.[1]: 26–27