"Year's Report of the Station for 1881"

Concerning the personnel of the station, at the time of writing, the station staff included Chr. Burckhardt. Sakyi is still listed as a catechist. There is in this report a list of the 77 places in Akim Abuakwa which lie in the Kibi mission area. Only three places are listed as Juaben villages - Koforidua, Asokore, and Owoko. The map is part of his argument that the area of the Begoro station ought to be extended to take over some of the responsibilities of the Kibi station. In the bulk of the report he says firstly that positive belief in the fetishes is declining - two fetishes were actually brought to him during the course of the year by their owners who had no further use for them. But Christianity demands too much for many of them: For example, the Begoro people have a number of public festivals in which dancing plays an important part, which are led by 'clubs', and it is very difficult for people to break away from them. Another problem is the older people, who do not want to be left with no-one to make custom for them after their deaths (He mentions in this conection specifically many young men). The fetish priests have also been damaged in their authority by a series of deaths occurring in Begoro town which were not matched on the mission station. Many people are now living god-less as a result. Several old people, and several women, are among the roll of the newly baptised, and there are now 6 blessed marriages and the first new Christian marriage is shortly to be .celebrated. There is still difficulty about getting unmarried Christian men wives, however, The Begoro girls want to be wooed in the traditional way, and a search for wives among the Christian communities of Akwapim and Kukurantumi has born no results. Sunday services are very satisfactorily attended, and so are street preachings by the heathen. They have been less successful getting adult Christians to go to a weekly evening school – they are finding it difficult to get any results teaching adults who are not used to this kind of learning. The school for children has still not made much headway. It had 5 pupils, of whom only 1 was Christian boy. Girls they cannot get to come to school at all. The reason is the parents' use of the children - girls to mind the younger ones, and boys especially to help collect snails and gum-copal in the forest. However Mrs Mohr has started a children’s Sunday School, which is going well, after which they play games. There are now enough children on the station for them to go about together, and visit the town less. Reporting on the outstations, the decline in numbers in Fankyeneko is mostly due to people moving away (9 cases), one adult death, and a Christian boy being persuaded away by his mother. In Anyinam, all the Christians are gathered on the station. A school has been practicable in neither place, in the latter because no Christian child of school age exists, in the former because the parents want the children to work for them.

02.01.1882

02.01.1882

Text