UNIVERSITY OF GHANA INSTITUTE OF AFRICAN STUDIES MICHAELMAS TEMM : * * 4 * I* * UNIVERSITY OF GHANA INSTITUTE OF AFRICAN STUDIES RESEARCH REVIEW VOL.4 N O .l MICHAELMAS TERM 1967. RESEARCH REVIEW EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Professor J . H. Nketia Rev. Dr. G. Ansre Mr. K . N. Bame Mrs. C. Oppong * Mr. Kofi Asare Opoku (Editor) Published thrice yearly by the Institute of African Studies. Communications about subscriptions should be sent to the Publications Officer, Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon. Sr * RESEARCH REVIEW CONTENTS INSTITUTE NEWS Staff • • • •«• Introductory Courses In African Studies Ashanti Research Project Summer Training School Obituary LEADING ARTICLE Page 1 1 2 2 by K.Asare Opoku The Context of Socialization in Dagbon . by Mrs.C.Oppong INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH REPORTS The "Royal Gold Coast Gazette" And The Ashanti Arabic Collection by K.A.B.Jones-Quartey by K.O.Odoom J . J. Holden 19 >. JU Kobina Sekyi: A Fragment of Biography by K.A.B. Jones~Q.uartey 74 LIBRARY A ND MUSEUM REPORTS Decorative And Other Useful Art Pottery Plastic Art (Material Culture) RESEARCH IN PROGRESS K. Ameyaw K. Ameyaw Kwasi Myles A Pilot Study of Modem Marriage In West Africa by Mf% Q Q p p o ng Religion In a Dormitory Town . .. by K. Asare Opoku 79 81 84 89 91 * •r * INSTITUTE NEWS Staff New Appointments Dr. F.A. Irele (B.A.(Lond.), Doctorat d'Universite (Paris), formerly lecturer in English at the University of Lagos, has been appointed a Research Fellow in African Literature. Dr. E . O. Aprontl £.A.(Lond.), Ph.D.(Lond) has been appointed a Research Fellow in Linguistics. Dr.Scott Kennedy B.A., M.A..,, Ph.D. (New York University)^formerly Assistant Professor in the Speech and Theatre Department, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, New York, has been appointed a Research Fellow in Music and Drama. Introductory Courses in African Studies: The Institute of African Studies has started introductory courses in African Studies, which are open to the general public as well as to junior and senior members of the university who wish to further their knowledge of the History, Institutions and Cultures of Africa but may not be able to pursue the post-graduate courses in African Studies. Lectures are given every day from 5 to 6 p.m. from Monday to Thursday. Four courses of ten lectures each will be offered each term as indi- cated below: Michaelmas Term (Commencing on 23rd October 1967) 1. 2. Introduction fo African History Introduction to African Music INSTITUTE NEWS 2. 3. 4. Language Proficiency Course in Twi Introduction to African Linguistics Lent I Term (Commencing on 15th January 1968) 1. 2. 3. 4. African Societies and Cultures Introduction to African Literature Language Proficiency Course in Twi Governments and Politics fn Africa Trinity Term (Commencing on 8th April 1968) 1. 2. 3. 4. Introduction to African Art African Religion Proficiency Course tn Twi Introduction to the History of Western Sudan Ashantj Research Project As evidence of his keen interest in the work of the Institute in general I I, the Asantehene, has placed his old Land's Depart- and in the Ashanti Research Project in particular, His Excellency, Nona Sir Osei Agyeman Prempeh ment building at the disposal of the Institute, to be used as the headquarters of the Ashanti Research Project. In addition to the building, Nona has also made available to us records of the Kumasi State Council and the Asantetnan Council. There are also court records and other valuable materials which researchers will no doubt find extremely helpful. At the present time, the Institute is in the process of setting up the headquarters which will be in operation in the not-too-distant future. * •• *• •* Summer Training School: Under the auspices of the Institute of African Studies, a Summer Training School was conducted during the months of July and August this year. INSTITUTE NEWS 3. Participating in the training programme were 9 post-graduate students from Legon and 10 American students from Northwestern University, under the leadership of Professor Jack Berry, Chairman of the Department of Linguistics in the same institution. Training was given in 5 major areas under the leadership of Faculty members from Legon as indicated below:- Anthropology Geography History Linguistics Dr. G.K. Nukunya Department of Sociology Dr. G. Benneh, Department of Geography Dr. K.Y. Daaku, Department of History Dr. L.A. Boadi, Department of Linguistics it * Political Science, Prof. K.A.B. Jones-Quartey, Institute of Adult Education. The Institute also gave a week's orientation course to 25 American teachers, who were travelling through Africa under the leadership of Dr. Gwendolen M. Carter, Director, Programme of African Studies at North- westem'Universityr U.S.A. OBITUARY DR. CLEMENT ANDERSON AKROFI Dr.CiA. Akfofi/ one of the ablesf scholars !ri fhe Twi language, was born in Aplrede, Akuapem, in July 1901. He was the INSTITUTE NEWS 4. third child of his parents, Opanyin Andreas Adu and Rosina Akosua Twowa, both of whom were farmers. As a child Akrofi was a weakling, and his parents' tireless efforts at having him cured of his physicql disabilities did not meet with much success. He began his schooling at the Apirede Presbyterian Primary School, where his brilliance soon brought him to the attention of his teachers as well as the education officers who visited the school periodically. From Apirede Akrofi entered the Akropong Presbyterian Middle Boys' Boarding School and completed his studies fhere in 1918. After Middle school, Akrofi tried his hands at agriculture and trade respectively, but both ventures fell through because of his poor health. He therefore entered the Presbyterian Teachers' Training College at Akropong to train as a teacher, and was appointed to the staff of the college after the completion of his education. Soon after this Akrofi became completely para- lysed and had to return home for treatment. But afterwards he was recalled to the college to be assigned the responsibility of marking the students' ex- ercises, a task to which Akrofi applied himself with remarkable assiduity. Not long after this, an incident occurred which was to reveal Akrofi's hidden talents to their fullest extent and to catapault him from a position of relative obscurity into prominence as a distinguished scholar. The then colonial education department ruled that all English exercises were thenceforth to be corrected by Europeans only and Akrofi was therefore forced by circumstances to turn to his own language, Twi, and he proved his mettle beyond doubt. Picking up from where the Rev. Christaller left off, Akrofi undertook serious work and study of Twi orthography, and later teamed up with Professor Rapp, the distinguished German linguist, to produce "Twi Spelling Book", thus laying the foundation for standard Twi spelling. A few years after this, Akrofi came out with his "Twi Kasa Mmray Twi Grammar, and thereafter his name became synonymous with Twi Grammar. By this time also, he had been entrusted with the responsibility of marking examinations in Twi, and the reading of all Twi manuscripts of text books intended for reading in schools and colleges. His prodigious efforts in this regard won him the title of Member of the British Empire in 1944. 1r ••I * •• 5s * • •• INSTITUTE NEWS 5. As his fame spread, he began to be consulted from far and near on all matters pertaining to the Twi language, and he also personally taught countless numbers of foreigners, both government and missionary personnel, to speak the Twi language. In 1958, he retired from teaching at the Akro- pong Training College and was invited in the same year by the Christian Council of Ghana to undertake a revision of the Twi Bible with Professor E.Rapp. member of the British and Foreign Bible Society. Furthermore, in recognition of his monumental contribution to Bible translation, Akrofi was awarded the honorary Doctor of Theology degree by the University of Mainz, as the second layman in the University's long history and the first West African to receive the award. It was during the course of this work that he was appointed a Dr. Akrofi was a scholar, author and linguist, a man who overcame his crippling physical disability to achieve international recognition in his work. His monumental work in the Twi language helped to make it one of the most important languages on the African continent, and in this regard, he was a great patriot, for he made a tremendous contribution towards the strengthening and stabilizing of our culture. Dr. Akrofi also taught many of us the richness of our language, and thereby inspired others to dig into the inexhaustible mine of our cultural heritage. But of greatest importance was the keen interest he took in his own language, at a time in our national history when the road to recognition as a scholar lay in the ability with which one was able to handle European languages. By dint of hard work, Dr. Akrofi was able to compel recognition as a scholar in his own field and to demonstrate that the subject of Twi is an area for scholarly endeavours. His death on July 2, 1967, was certainly a great.loss to Ghana and all of Africa; but words, however sublime, will not be able to pay him the tribute, he so nobly deserved. And therefore the best way in which we could pay him tribute would be to make his own labours our own and to further develop the ideas he so ably initiated. K. Asa re Opoku. * .4 * • *» INSTITUTE NEWS 6. DR. C.A. AKROFI ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY Lidia Ne Margaret (Two Women of the Cameroons), translation. A true life story of two Cameroonean women who worked as pathfinders for the spread of the Gospel. Yesu Fi N'adwuma Ase (Jesus Begins His Work), translation. A religious T>ooklet containing the story of how Jesus began His work on earth. Twi Kasa Mmra (Twi Grammar) A standard Twr Grammar Book. Mmodenbo Bu Mmusu Abasaso (Perseverance Overcomes Difficulties) A collection of short stories in Twi. Yesu Kyerekyere Nnipa (Jesus Teaches the People). A religious booklet containing the teaching of Jesus to the multitude. Twi Spelling Book, with Dr. E. Rapp. The first Twi Spelling Book based on the script recommended for African languages and cul- tures. It Incorporates most of the words necessary for the production of literature in Akuapem and Asante dialects. Twi Mmebusem(Twi Proverbs). The book contains 1,000 Twi proverbs with " explanations and English translations. Taken fr«m libliagrophy of Ghana Languages, Bureau of Ghana Languages, 1967. * 1 *