"Martin to Basel"

On crossing the Abo he talks about reaching the 'German fatherland” and the “German soil”. Martin's box carrier was from one of the Sohai villages, a converted fetish priest aged 32 years, who since his conversion had been in Anum attending the school to learn to read. He was welcomed - in his absence the people had begun to believe that the fetish had killed him. Martin has tried to converse with him about his previous religion, and question him as to how he could live with his conscience when he practiced so much deception, but his reply is always that he believed that he was serving God. Martin thinks that he had been consciously trying for some time to do everything to find a favourable God, and had got into a lot of debt because of this (The conversion occurred in connection with the work of Teacher Tenkorang). When they preached in Sohai Martin told the people they were all sinners, with one way out, but at the end of his preaching all the people but one woman and two men commenced to play and dance and create a terrible noise (The ex-fetish priest was called Immanuel Obofoo, and he owned three houses). He speaks of coming onto the Salaga road just before reaching the village of Vakpo, from Botoku. In the last Vakpo village and the first Kpando village he speaks about being asked to bind up wounds. In Kpando itself they preached in the face of interruptions and arguments. They had to speak sternly to the king who was trying to prevent a woman from becoming a Christian – they threatened to report him to the German Regime - in the end the woman was allowed to go to Nkonya with them. Martin was disappointed with Kpando market - it was concerned with foodstuffs - the Mohammedans playing the leading role. They also had a sharp altercation with Mohammedans about the relative status of Mahomet and Christ - the Mohammedan quarter he places north of the market. In Ntwumuru the chief asked Martin if he had done right in accepting the German flag (which in another moment in the conversation he said had been forced upon him), and also wanted to know what the difference was between the Germans and the English. Martin writes that he explained the latter, but felt the former was not his problem and so did not comment. They preached on the Sunday in the three different sections of Ntwumuru town – the largest crowd being 200, though Martin feels they were mostly inspired by curiosity. At the Abo on the route to Peki there was a tree, used as a bridge which Martin ascribes tout court to the Mohammedans. He actually saw loads of merchandise being carried across. He was using Obofo as his interpreter in Krepe.

31.07.1891

31.07.1891

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