Huppenbauer's Report on the First Mission Festival in Kibi
[Archives catalogue]: Guides / Finding aids: Archives: D - Ghana: D-01 - Incoming correspondence from Ghana up to the outbreak of the First World War: D-01.43 - Ghana 1885: D-01.43.IV. - Begoro
His sermon is repeated in extenso in the manuscript. It is an extension of the text, exhorting he congregation the practical thankfulness in terms of greater financial independence, and less domination attitude to the Mission. Ata had gone to Pameng. Described in the manuscript as a farming village between Kibi and Tumfa. He claimed to have attended church in Lagos. The speaker who took the text about people in clean clothes, in a false identification imagined the congregation saying that one was a goldsmith, one a potter. It appears – since the speaker said he had grew up among the people in the congregation – that he was an Akim himself. This speech too ended in an appeal for unity.
The letter is a pro tem report on relations with Ata. He writes that he has said frequently since Ata returned from Lagos that he had helped the mission so much he should be paid a deacon’s salary. Whole families and whole villages, their normal mode of existence almost impossible through the severe punishments meted out in Kibi, are moving towards Conversion. The missionaries are worried about their likely constancy as converts, but so far all those baptised have stood firm. 19 people from Akim, each fined 1200-1800 Marks for small offences, had taken their case to the Governor, and been ordered not to pay the king in anything. Huppenbauer links this directly with the king’s offer of peace to the mission. The history of Boakye at Asumm Is repeated – the priest of Apenim was one Anane. Boakye had been threatened with death by a young man called Twea.
[Archives catalogue]: Guides / Finding aids: Archives: D - Ghana: D-01 - Incoming correspondence from Ghana up to the outbreak of the First World War: D-01.43 - Ghana 1885: D-01.43.I. - District Conference Akwapim-Akem
The protocol was written by W. Huppenbauer. It concerns with the local agents in Akim. Huppenbauer advises that J. Seth and J. Asumen be fully accepted as local agents. The former at Kwaben has succeeded in getting the Christians to set out and build themselves a chapel, has also worled to start a school, and has carried on his preaching journeys energetically. The latter has a community school numbering 40 in Begoro, has been working to increase the numbers of children involved, and seems to be exerting himself to steer clear of his old inefficiency. Ofori has begged to be transferred from Kibi – his wife’s illness has already kept her in Akwapim for over a year. Boabea is apparently and Asiakwa man. He suggests that Sakyi should be removed from Asiaman to somewhere where he can be closely supervised, and replaced by Teacher Dako who has difficulties in Apedwa because this is in his wife’s home town and he is involved in all sorts of family affairs. Apedwa would then have to be left without a resident agent. The catechist in Tumfa wants assistance – Huppenbauer proposes Obroni of Kwabeng who had previously been in the Teachers’ Seminary. Fankyenenko needs an agent too – there are catechumen in Dwenase, Obompe and Osino. In Fankyenenko there is little interest, but there is a house with two rooms already inhabitable. They propose for the post the Kibi Christian Brako who can read and write, a young upright man who has a good reputation. He also suggests that Anyinasin should have a teacher. For that place he would propose Amoa from Tete, who could be replaced by Okyiri, a young literate from Kibi. The Abomosu community have pleaded not to be entirely ‘thrown away’.
[Archives catalogue]: Guides / Finding aids: Archives: D - Ghana: D-01 - Incoming correspondence from Ghana up to the outbreak of the First World War: D-01.43 - Ghana 1885: D-01.43.II. - Aburi
Reporting a meeting with Okanta, now farming, but with a deep wish to be reaccepted into the Mission at a later date.
[Archives catalogue]: Guides / Finding aids: Archives: D - Ghana: D-01 - Incoming correspondence from Ghana up to the outbreak of the First World War: D-01.44 - Ghana 1886
[Archives catalogue]: Guides / Finding aids: Archives: D - Ghana: D-01 - Incoming correspondence from Ghana up to the outbreak of the First World War: D-01.45 - Ghana 1886
[Archives catalogue]: Guides / Finding aids: Archives: D - Ghana: D-01 - Incoming correspondence from Ghana up to the outbreak of the First World War: D-01.45 - Ghana 1886: D-01.45.V. - Abetifi
A report for the last quarter of 1885 and for the Boy’s Boarding School over the course of the whole year. His big fever followed on a preaching trip to Abene end Akankawaase. At Christmas the Abetifi church was filled with a congregation both of Christians and heathen. In a summary about his feelings over the situation, as a whole he remarks that it is not without its dangers, and specifically cites the general unchastity. Also he lays great stress on the equality of Christ's love, citing not only the black and white dichotomy, but also gifted and ungifted, pleasant and the forlorn.
Report of his first months on the Gold Coast (he first arrived in Abetifi early in December). He had travelled from Akropong to Abetifi with no-one among his attendants able to speak English. And in Abetifi he thinks, apart from the Catechists no-one speaks English. Shortly after his arrival his great friend, with whom he had been for 8 years in the Mission House and as a soldier, died (He does not give the name).
Tschopp to Basel: Report for the First Quarter of 1886
Since Dilger's leaving he has been especially busy with people coming to the station - some bring gifts of yams, rice, maize, pepper, groundnuts, onions, hens and eggs - others come with problems. The two most persistent of the latter are the request to be employed as a carrier – often 4 or 5 will come in a short time, one after the other with this request. There are to the requests for loans - in one day he was troubled by 5 people who together wanted £10 in loans. It is difficult to send such people away, especially when they have a child living with the missionaries as servants. Of the 7 ex-students who did not return to the Boarding School at the beginning of the year 3 or 4 have said clearly that they want to be Christians but do not want to attend the school (they are attending services regularly on the station). There is the addional information that two of the non-returned schoolboys had indeed been sold, while one was withheld since his relatives could not raise a loan of £4 from the missionaries. There is a subscript by Paul Steiner that Tschopp must use the Word ‘Knaben’ and not 'Buben’ when talking about boys in the school and in his services.
Tschopp to Basel: Report fon the School in the First Half Year
Offers as the main explanations for the non-return of the 7 boys after the Christmas holidays as people not understanding the worth of the school, and not wanting their sons to become Christians. He is especially sad about 2 of the non-returned – they had endeared themselves to him by their quiet ways, and had both bought Twi bibles. The two pupils from Abetifi newly transferred to the Middle School in Begoro were Jakob Muni and Imm. Adakwa. He mentions a preaching journey to Nkwatia, Bepong, Mpraeso, Obomeng, Obo, Odumase, Aduammoa - large congregations gathered on the whole.
Sitzler to Basel: Report on the Second Quarter of the Year
He reports extensive repairs needed by the Mission house at ground level, especially substitution of stone fundaments for the heavily damaged wooden balks used by the first builders.
Mostly a letter concerned with his personal situation and the history of illnesses suffered by him and his wife since their return to the Coast. However, he makes two points about the way their having servants in fact exacerbated their difficulties - their duty is to teach them regular work, and the Asantes and Kwahus are the worst lyers of all. He has heard a proverb ‘When a man stops lying, he must be ill'. The Abetifi station is giving him much trouble, partly because the problems there are such that he has never before met Also Dilger left the accounts in a dreadful mess, and Schmid is grateful that Eisenschmid took so much loving care over teaching him about the running of a mission station in his early years on the Gold Coast. There is a 70 year old man who had been driven out of house and home by the priests of his village, although he was the village headman. He arrived naked in Bepong, where a Christian has taken him in and fed and clothed him. Schmid made a contribution of 5/- to the costs.
This letter is partly printed in Heidenbote 1887 p2f. Schmid mentions rice as especially the crop of Mpraeso, Nkwatia and Bepong. There are weather statistics - temperature and rainfall for the months June-September 1886. They have experienced great difficulty getting any of the few carpenters to come and work on the repairing of roofs. They are having to pay Fr.12.30 for the carriage of a 55-60lb load from the coast. In 6 1/2 years residence in Akwapim Schmid saw not a single weaver. You see little printed calico in Kwahu – more Grey Bast. The Ga pots with which he compares Mpraeso were from Shai. In their dealings with the Abetifi chief one of the points which he wanted the missionaries to concede was that for 6 month no-one but his own people should be sent to the coast to fetch loads for the missinaries. He stresses the contrast with Akwapim rather more strongly in the manuscript than appears in the printed version. He has been helping in cases of genuine need – he has handed out a total of 175 Francs in return for promises of future work on the station or in carrying loads from the coast. Reporting on the Abetifi community Schmid says that in most cases their spiritual life is not above zero yet. They have joined the Christian community to be free of the fetish priests rather than because of the appeal of the new religion - their disinterest in worship etc. showw this. Even the elder, Johannes Ata, only came back in August from a trading journey to Krakye and Salaga which had lasted 6 months. On his return he found two of his children dead. The first had actually had the mark of its baptism wiped off by a fetish priest in a public ceremony - the mother was a divorced wife - and when she wanted the missionaries to bury the child they would not. The other child - whose mother is the current wife but a heathen and perhaps an excluded Christian - was taken off to a fetish at Mpraeao apparently so that the missionaries would not know about this. On his return Ata said that he would never travel again. No minutes of the sittings of the Presbyters were to be found on his arrival. Subjects discussed in these meetings since his arrival were (inter al) (1) The revival of Sunday School in view of the fact that the majority of the adults on the station were illiterate – including the elders themselves. (2) The resting of mission land for farming (3) The keeping proper records of the Christian community. By no means all of the Christians were living on the station. About Bepong he reports on the fining of a man by the Fetish priest of Nkwatia. It looks as if this was the leader of the Bepong Christians.