Reports of Theophilus Opoku - A 19th-Century Gold Coast Pastor

Theophilus Opoku, a 19th-century pastor in the Gold Coast, wrote 37 reports to the Basel Mission between 1868 and 1908. In this volume, Gilbert and Jenkins introduce and annotate his detailed and vivid reports, which provide rare insight into conversion, rites, everyday life, and conflict in the kingdom of Akuapem.

List of contents

• List of Figures


• Abbreviations


• Symbols


• Acknowledgements


• Preface by Michelle Gilbert


• Preface by Paul Jenkins


• General Introduction


• 1: Mamfe 1868


• 2: Larteh 1872-1877 [1882]


• 3: The Journey to Salaga 1877


• 4: Kukurantumi 1882-1884


• 5: Adukrom 1884-1889


• 6: Mamfe 1890-1898


• 7: Akropong 1899-1908


• 8: Autobiographical Statement (Lebenslauf) 1872


• Appendices


• Bibliography


• Index to References

About the author

Michelle Gilbert received an MA in art history from Northwestern University, an MA in anthropology from NYU, and a PhD in anthropology from SOAS. She did fieldwork in the Ghanaian kingdom of Akuapem continually from 1976 to 2015 and has widely published about the annual Odwira rite, Akuapem history, divine kingship, ethnic conflict, and the relationship between traditional religion and Christianity. She has also written about Ghanaian royal regalia, textiles, and popular art. She was Associate Professor at Sarah Lawrence College, New York, and Trinity College, Hartford.

Paul Jenkins has an MA in Modern History and received his doctorate from the Faculty of Theology at the University of Basel. He was a lecturer in the Department of History at the University of Ghana between 1965 and 1972 and archivist of the Basel Mission from 1972 to 2003. Jenkins also served as lecturer in African History in the University of Basel from 1989 to 2003. He has published widely on mission and indigenous church history, and on photography as a source in historical investigation, and has translated extensively from the Basel Mission archive for scholars interested in Ghana and North Karnataka/South India.

Summary

Theophilus Opoku, a 19th-century pastor in the Gold Coast, wrote 37 reports to the Basel Mission between 1868 and 1908. In this volume, Gilbert and Jenkins introduce and annotate his detailed and vivid reports, which provide rare insight into conversion, rites, everyday life, and conflict in the kingdom of Akuapem.

Product details

• Authors: Michelle (Professor Emeritus Gilbert
• Assisted by: Michelle Gilbert (Editor), Gilbert Michelle (Editor), Paul Jenkins (Editor)
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 28.03.2024
• EAN: 9780197267615
• ISBN: 978-0-19-726761-5
• No. of pages: 560
• Series: Fontes Historiae Africanae
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Religion/theology > Christianity; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Biographies, autobiographies; Ghana, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Religious, Togo, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Colonialism & Post-Colonialism, HISTORY / Africa / General, c 1800 to c 1900, 19th century, c 1800 to c 1899, Colonialism & imperialism, Biography: religious & spiritual, Colonialism and imperialism, African History, Biography: religious and spiritual, C 1900 - C 1914, c 1900 to c 1909, Protestantism & Protestant Churches, Protestantism and Protestant Churches