Evangelists from avatime (Ghana): the formation of the first Christian community and the introduction to the "German flag" (1868–1895)

Abstract

The article is based on the archival materials that were kindly provided to the author during her work in the State Archives of Bremen and Basel Christian Mission in 2019, as well as field materials collected during expeditions to the small Avatime people, living in the Eastern Ghana. The article is devoted to the consequence of interrelated events that predetermined a new development vector of the Avatime history. First, the war with the Ashanti people that ended in 1871 with a crushing defeat for the Avatime. Secondly, the formation of the first Christian communities that arose in the 1870s due to Joseph Tavuya, Emmanuel Tsikor and Jacob Anku. These communities were settlements isolated from the Avatime Pagans. The Christian Church has become permanently active since 1889. Third, the compulsory annexation to the German colonial system in 1895. The Basel and Bremen missions practiced the ransom of slaves from the Gold Coast and new forms of socialization through school and the Christian faith. After the abolition of the slave trade, the former helots had the opportunity to return to their native lands safely – as did the founders of the first Christian community in their Avatime homeland. The relationship between the German missionaries and the colonial administration was also nontrivial – later, it was the connection with the Bremen mission that became a kind of protective "buffer" between the Avatime and the colonialists. This should be remembered.