f r RESEARCH REPORTS 53. A RE-APPRAISAL OF MRS. EVA MEYEROWITZ'S WORK ON THE BRONG by Dennis M. Warren* I. Aim, Scope and Methods While science master of Techiman Secondary School (1964-1966), I became highly interested in indigenous Brong concepts and systems of science. To further this interest I decided to complement my training in biology and chemistry and did three years coursework in anthropology, linguistics (including Twi) and African Studies at Indiana University and returned to Techiman in July 1969 for a second stay. While working on the Techiman (Brong) abstract classifrcatory system of diseases for my doctoral thesis ("Disease, Religion and Art among the Techiman Brong: A Study in Culture Change"), I realized that for this system to have any meaning, especially in terms of culture change, historical and sociological analyses of the people of Techiman Traditional State would have to be conducted. To build this foundation for my thesis the following (in addition to the disease and medicine data, which is irrelevant to this paper) have been done over the past fifteen months: (1) A census has now been completed in three of the six main wards of Techiman town (covering, so far, approximately 3,000 persons).' (2) The histories of twenty chiefs in the Techiman Traditional State Council and of the nine Techiman Zongo chiefs have been completed.^ (3) Histories of forty-nine towns in Techiman Tradition- al State have been completed.' (4) Extensive general Brong histories have been taken from fourteen chiefs and elders who are generally regarded as being the most knowledgeable in this area.^ * Mr. Mike Warren is doing research for his Ph.D. at Techfman. RESEARCH REPORTS (5) The hIttor Its of 185 gods (abosom) and 2 war medlelnes (ko •luman) for Itch!man Triditlonal State have been obtained,5 This research is not yet completed and It Is hoped to finish 2 more chiefs of the Traditional State Council, 20 more towns In this area, and 13 more gods.6 The data from the Initial interviews with the chiefs, priests and elders, all kept on tapes, are then translated by my assistant, Owusu Brempong (a former student of mine who is also the son of D.K. Owusu, one of Mrs. Meyerowltz's Interpreters); having gone through the translated data to find any lacunae and discrepancies, we then return to the speaker and try to fill in the gaps and unravel the discrepancies. Copies of the primary data will be made when the study is completed and these tapes will be deposited both at the Institute of African Studies, Legon, and in the Centre for African Oral Data, Indiana University. It is hoped that the data will be made available as supplements to the Institute's Research Review in early 1971. Several months ago Dr. Kwame Arhin informed me about a proposed seminar on the Brong and asked me, in view of the data I had collected, to present a re-appraisal of Meyerowitz's work on the Brong. I had first read her books while I was teaching in Techiman and had met her in London prior to my second trip to Techiman. After re-reading her five books I realized that our purposes, methodologies, and Indeed many of our ''facts11 differed greatly. Many of these facts had been collected by both of us from the same person. Our purposes differ radically; mine i have briefly outlined earlier In this paper;;hers, the search for origins, has a long tradition in historical works on the Akan and i have included a brief recapitulation of this tradition as an appendix to this paper. Our methodologies also differ; hers I have outlined in the appendix. My training in science has carried through into linguistics and anthropology where I utilize a similar research method,termed ethnosciencc.by many anthropologists. This approach stresses the necessity to avoid fitting non-western cultural data Into western academic patterns, typologies, definitions and classifications which, although often assumed toibe, have not been proved universally valid. 1 RESEARCH REPORTS 55. It stresses the necessity for the Investigator to become as versed in the vernacular as possible and the use of the indigenous language as a vehicle to delineate the abstract systems of know* ledge for that culture. The ethnoscientific approach assumes that the questions asked are just as important as the answers. One's procedure must be carefully explicated and It must prove repl(cable by other investigators; the primary data must be made available to others for re-translation and verification. The data should speak for itself, be carefully documented, and all inter- pretations by the investigator himself must be carefully stated as such. This approach has worked very well for me In delineating the abstract system of diseases which has now been worked out to eleven hierarchical levels. II. Meyerowitz's Accounts of the Techlman Bronq It is, in some ways, a bit difficult for an investigator, who has the advantages of hindsight, newly developed research techniques and a tape recorder, to discuss the work of someone who has worked without these, but the building upon and reformu- lation of work started by others is, in fact, what scholarship is about, I will, in this paper, limit myself to a discussion of points which, in view of the data I have collected, either contra- dict information written by Mrs. Meyerowitz or are unverifiable by me. A. The Sahara - An "Oral Tradition"? "According to oral tradition, the people who founded the great Akan States in Ghana (the Gold Coast), such as Bono, Asante formerly lived along the Niger Bend in the region lying roughly between Ojenne and Timbuktu". "The Bono-Takyiman...further recall that their ancestors, before they settled along the Niger, lived farther north in the 'White Desert1 or Sarem, 'the country of the sand' which we call the Sahara" (1958: |7). Of all the histories I have taken only two persons have ever voluntarily mentioned the words Timbuktu and Sahara (Nana Akumfi Ameyaw III, ex-Techimanhene and Nana Kwame Gyamfi, chief of Offuman No.2); of the other twelve outstanding local historians specifically questioned (see footnote k), all denied that the Bono came from the sarem (which cannot be translated 'white desert', 'the country of the sand' or 'the Sahara'), i. RESEARCH REPORTS 56. none of them (including Akumfi Ameyaw III and Kwame Gyamfi) had ever heard that the ancestors of the Bono were of a White race, and Akumfi Ameyaw III is the only one who claims to have heard of the states of Diala, Diadorn and Kumbu, and he has promised to give me their histories, although he has postponed it six times now. B. The Four Bono Cults My data can never substantiate a chronological ordering of four cults as one finds in the 1958 text, nor do i believe that her data warrants such an ordering. (1) Moon Cult and Venus Cult The moon cult is nowhere evident in Tech Iman State; none of the fourteen outstanding historians nor the queen-mother, Afua Abrafi, nor a large number of priests has ever heard of a time when women in general ruled. Nor does anyone realize that the queen-mother's soul (kra) comes from or ever came from the moon, nor that Nyame (God) has ever been connected with the moon. The idea that "the queen-mother was once the supreme war-leader" (I958: 31) has met with a complete blank. Moreover, I have not yet found anyone in TechIman State, even in "remoter villages" who has heard of people avoiding to look at the moon passing behind a cloud for fear of the moon devouring that person's kra (1958: 2*0; it is, of course, possible that such an idea exists in other Akan (even other Brong) areas. Meyerowitz's king list begins in 1295 with Ohene Asaman, a male; hence her first two cults (Moon and Venus) which had women as rulers, had to exist prior to that date. It is true that a woman can act as regent of a town and can even found a town. At this time the queen-mother of New Jama is regent until a new chief is picked. Also, about half a mile from Techiman, there is a small village called Pomaa, named after the priestess, Nana Pomaa, who founded the village and keeps her god (bosom) there; this village has now grown into about six houses and will probably continue to grow until some time in the future it may be large enough to have a head-man or odekro. Likewise, Tanoboase, according to the chief Kwabena Owomo, was first run by the first four women priestesses of Taa Kora (Afua Ankoma, Yaa Takyiwa, Nsoa Agyeku, Nyankoroago Abenaa), prior to the first male chief, RESEARCH REPORTS 57. 1. but this was due to the fact that Afua Ankoma was the first to be possessed by Taa Kora and she stayed at a tiny village near the rocks to tend the god. Takyi Firi later appointed his brother, Nana Fosu Dianwoma, to take care of the bosom and the members of the family staying at the village Tanoboase. None of these three examples could substantiate Moon Cult (Cult I) as defined by Meyerowitz. Moreover, the main oral history which Meyerowitz uses to substantiate Cult f is Incorrect. She says this tradition is a "faithful translation of the narrative by Okyeame Pong, a direct descendant of Ameyaa Ampromfi" (1958: 32); in a paper, written in 1962 she stated that "In months and months of collecting oral material it happened exactly twice that I was able to take down, verbatim, a historical tradition..." "The second, the foundation of Tanosu by Ameyaa, a daughter of the last king of Bono and a mother of the Beretu clan, was told me by the chief of the Beretu clan at Tekyiman in the presence of the Tanosuhene, the successor of Ameyaa on the Tanosu stool..." "I found nowhere else anything that equalled them" (1962: kk). Okyeame Pong (Oppong), now dead, was a former Adaatihene (a post combining the duties of an assistant akyeamehene and a Kronti war leader) for Techiman; the Tanosohene she mentions (who is Afutuhene for Techiman) is still ruling. When I collected the history of Tanoso and the history of the Afutu stool from Nana Yaw Mensa (his stool name is Yaw Kwaten) it differed considerably from what I read later in Meyerowitz's 1958 text; I returned for three more long sessions to confirm my original translation. The main error Meyerowitz made was making "Kwatin Ankoma" (1958: 33), the son of Ameyaa Ampromfi, different from "Koratin Ankoma" (1958: 35) whom she says was the son of Ampromfi II. They are, in fact, the same person. Her list of Tanoso rulers follows: 1. Ameyaa Ampromfi (female) 2. Nana Tasie (Ameyaa's daughter) 3. Adwoa To (female) k. Adwoa Akyempona (female) 5. Yaa Benewaa (female) * 4 RESEARCH REPORTS 58. 6. Ampromfi II Akuaa (female), "after whose death, chieftainship was Introduced, and one of her sons by name Koratin Ankoma successed as chief of Tanosu" (1958: 35). 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. Koratin Ankoma Akyea Wea Yaw Brafi Kodjo Dakrubo Yaw Baafi Kwasi Kwaaten Kofi Kra Kwame Brafi Kwaame Kwaten Yaw Mensa. (Note that Kwatin, Koratin, Kwaaten, and Kwaten are all spelling variations of the same name; likewise Kwame and Kwaame). Both our histories agree on the starting point: Ohene Kwakye Ameyaw, the last Bonohene, married a woman called Afua Owusuaa and she had a daughter by him called Ameyaa Ampromfi; Ameyaa in turn had a son called Kwaten Ankoma (whom Meyerowitz says was left as hostage In Techimantia). From that point on, however, my story differs from hers. Firstly, the chiefs of Tanoso have always been the Techiman State Afutuhene, chief advisor to the Dmanhene, and it was Ohene Ameyaw who created the Afutu stool for his son. Ameyaa being female, the stool was turned over to her son, Ohene Ameyaw1s grandson, Kwaten Ankoma. If one asks for a stool list for the Afutu (i.e. the Tanoso) stool and lines up the occupants of it with Amanhene, one gets the following list: Tanoso/Afutuhene 1. Kwaten Ankoma 2. Atea Nwea 3. Dakrobo k. Yaw Brafi Amanhene 1. Ohene Ameyaw 2. Not known to Tanosohene 3. Not known to Tanosohene k. Kwabena Fofie RESEARCH REPORTS 59. Tanoso/Afutuhene Amanhene 5. Kwasi Kwaten 6. 7. 8. Yaw Kwaten AbabFo (Yaw Kofi Kra (1st enstooi.) Kwame BrafJ Mensa) (1st enstool. 1936-1940) 5. Kwadwo Konkroma (1st enstool.) 6. Yaw Kramo 7. Yaw Ameyaw (1st enstool.) 8. Yaw Ameyaw (2nd ens too1.) 9. Kofi Kra (2nd enstool.) 10. Kwame Oonkor (also called Kwame Kwaten) 11. Yaw Kwaten Ababio III (Yaw Mensa) )2nd en- stool . 19^6 to present) 9. Kwaku Gyako (still living) 10. Akumfi Ameyaw III 11. Akumf i Ameyaw III (It is difficult to see how Meyerowitz mfssed«8, 9 and 10, especially if Yaw Mensa (Kwaten) helped give her the stool history). When one asks for the list of Tanoso queen-mothers (who are also the head of the female priestesses for the god Atiokosaa) one finds: Tanoso queen-mothers 1. 2. 3. Ameyaa Ampromfi Amoaa Adwoa Teh k. Yaa Benewaa k. Amanhene 1. 2. 3- Ohene Ameyaw Kwabena Fofie Not known to Tanosohene Tanoso queen-mother. Gyako (who brought the back from Gyaman) or Brong 5. Akua Ampromfi 6. Abenaa Tutu 5. Yaw Kramo 6. Akumfi Ameyaw The Tanosohene says Tana Tasie (Meyerowitz's second Tanosohene, a female) was called Tana Posie; she was the female servant for Nana Ameyaa Ampromfi and not her daughter. Moreover, he says ft is not true that "the present Tanosohene [ is the ] reigning priest chief and high priest of Ati Kosie at Tanosu" (1958: 55, 56); the Tanosohene "*- F*> * .d RESEARCH REPORTS 60. has never been the high priest of Atiokosaa according to Yaw Mensa and Abenaa Tutu. (2) Sun Cult and Ntoro Cult Obunumankoma, the third Omanhene in her list,is supposed to have introduced the sun-god cult (Cult 3)5 since cults 1 and 2 must have existed prior to 1295 and the sun-cult came in by 1363, it is amazing that she can state that "the Akan had, until recently, altered little down the ages" (1958: 15). Neither the current Omanhene nor 3 ex-Amanhene, nor Kwame Nyame has ever heard that the kra (soul) of the Dmanhene came from the sun. Asked what Ohene ye awia (I960: 85) means, the ex-Techimanhene Nana Akumfi Ameyaw III said it means that the chief shines or radiates his authority. The ntoro cult (Cult k) was supposedly introduced from the Sudan by Takyi Akwamo, the fourth Bonohene in 1431 (1958: 108), but Kwame Nyame and Akumfi Ameyaw III say the ntoro has been with the Brong from the time of Ohene Asaman. C. Spelling Variations (1) The type of spelling variation as seen in the spellings of Kwatin, Koratin, Kwaaten, and Kwaten for the Tanoso history Is a common thing in her books. (2) In the 1958 book; Meyerowitz talks about a village two miles from Techiman called Berneri, a village where Ameyaa of Tanoso took a husband (around 1750) (1958: 35). In her 1962 book she talks of Bamiri and "Odikro Kwasi Asare the founder and chief of Bamiri" (1962: 208); Kwasi Asare is still the odekro, but Bemerl/Bamiri is, indeed, a very old village and was never founded by Asare. (3) One likewise finds the name Kwame spelled both Kwame and Kwaame on the very same page (e.g. 1958: 35; I960: 194, note 1). (4) In a list of chiefs some have their name spelled Yao, others Yaw on the same page (1958: 1*0 . (5) One finds the former Nifahene's name spelled Yaw Nwinim (1962: 43), Yao Nwim (1962: 110) and Yao Inwim (1958: 14 and 153). (6) The former Adontenhene Kwaku Fah (1962: 36) has his name spelled Kwaku Fan (1962: 43) RESEARCH REPORTS 61. (7) The former Gyaasehene Yaw Atoa (1958: \k) has his name spelled in the I960 text both Yaw Atoa (I960: I9*t, note I) and Yao Atoa (I960: photo 21); in 1962 his name is spelled Yaw Aboah (1962:43). (8) The Akwamuhene of Techiman is Kwasi Tabiri, not Kwafi Tabri (1962: k) * (9) The Techimanhene during the second Asante-Bono war was Kwabena Fofie (1958: 128) but In 1962 he is called "Tekyimanhene Nana Kwabena Kofi" (1962: 211). (10) The queen-mother Nana Afua Abrafi (1962: 29) is called Nana Afua Abreft (1962: photo 5) and Nana Afua Abrafo (I960: photo 2). (11) The Ra.Lacjs where the Bono queen-mother used to live still exists, it is called Amoma (1952: 43) and is near the Yaya River, in 1960 she writes both that "the queen-mother's palace was at Amona, beyond the river Yaa" (I960: 89-90) and that it was "at Amona, beyond the Yaya river" (I960: 227) (12) One finds the Bonohene Takyi Kwame (1951: 28) with his name spelled Takyi Akwame (1951: 45), Takyi Akwamo (1951: 115; 1958: 108) and Takyia Kwame (1952: 32). (13) Bonohene number six, Dwambera Kwame (1952: 32) is also called Dwamena Kwaame (1958: 111). (14) Bonohene number seventeen Gyamfo Kumahin (1952: 32) is also called Gyamfi Kumanini (1958: 122). (15) Bonohene number nineteen Kyereme Bampo (1952: 32) is also called Kyererne Pambuo (1958: 124). (16) The Bono kingdom is also called the "Booh Kingdom" (1952: 33). (17) The Ankobeahene she calls Yao Doako (1952: 36) must be Yaw Donkor, ;(1.8) The "Forokuromhene Kwesi Basahya" (1952: 37) should be the Forikromhene Kese Basahyia. (19) The first male chief of Tanoboase, "Fosuda Adua Hwoma" (1951: 130) should be Fosu Oianwoma. X. RESEARCH REPORTS 62. (20) "The.villages of Korokurom, Kuntumusu, Tempomu, Akoroforum11 (1951' 153) are probably Forikrom, Kuntunso, Temponem, and Akrofrom. (21) "Thie god At! Akosua" (1951: 15*0 is the spelling Rattray mis- takenly gave to Atiokosaa (called ateakosewa in Christaller's dictionary) which she spells Atia Kosfe (1958: 34) In other places. D. Minor Errors (1) These spelling variations are petty and perhaps it is pedantic to pick them out, but they are indicative of careless scholarship as are the following errors. The battle at "Goodmorning rock" (eboo makyi) at Asueyi took place not In 17^0, but during the second Asante-Bono war (1962: 15); I first questioned the 17^0 date because my history of Asueyi indicated that the town did not exist that early. Meyerowltz takes this "fact" and repeats It on p.16 (1962) and p.83 (1962) as part of the first Asante-Bono war history. My "fact" has been confirmed by both Akumfi Ameyaw III and Kwame Nyame. (2) One does not turn left (196ii 15) to go to Asueyi when travelling from Techlman to Wenchi, but right; (3) The unnamed cave she was taken to, described in the 1962 text (p.16-18) is, In fact, Boten (from oboo, rock and tenten, tall) which is near Forikrom. She says later in the same book (1962: 181) that behind the Techiman rest-house Is a hill which Is the abode "of the guardian god Botene" and In 1958 (p.29) 1ikewise described "a small hill nearby, the abode of Botene —— an objasom of the earliest settlers, and now the guardian of the town". There Is a large rock behind the rest-house which Is called boobene (red rock) but It has no known bosom; no one has ever heard of any other Boten (or Botene) besides the one she was taken to (without realizing the name) near Forikrom. (4) The signpost at the Techiman round-about never said 32 miles to Nkoranza and 22 miles to Wenchi (1962: 23); Kkoranza has always been 18, Wenchi 19. (5) It was not the Zongohene Gariba Adjaji (1962: 59) who converted Akumfi Ameyaw 111 to Islam; the ex-Techimanhene was converted to the Ahmadiyyan sect of Islam in 1930, twelve years prior to his enstoolment; the Zongohene Adjaji, like the present Zongohene, adhered to another Islamic sect. s * bt £**' RESEARCH REPORTS 63. (6) When Mrs. Meyerowitz went to Forikrom Apoo festival to witness the "rebirth of the god Baako, the patron god of his lands" (1962: 93-6) she did not see a bosom (god) but rather a war medicine (kg suman). The "patron god" or stool bosom of Forikrom is Taa Atoa Yaw (now stolen). (7) It is not correct to say that "Twimea was the royal village inhabited only by members of the royal family" (1962: 195); the chief and queen-mother are of the Oyoko clan, but the land belongs to the nifa (Aduana clan) stool and many of the inhabitants are of the Aduana clan (nifa) such as Nana Kwabena Esi (Asi) (1962: 196) who lives at Twimia but is the odekro of the next village, Koase (a town under the nifa stool) and who is also the Akwamu- hene for the Techiman nifa stool. (8) To my knowledge there has never been a Krontihene named Kofi Badu; the current Krontihene, Omanhene and Konahene all agree that Kofi Badu was a Konahene (head of the Kronti clan) and hence a former chief of Tanoboase (and also high priest of Taa Kora) (1958: 14). (9) Taa Kuntun does not mean "Tano the Hyena" (1958: 58) but Tano at the place where the river bends or curves (konton); this explanation comes from the same odekro/bosomfoo,Nana Kwaku Addae, who was chief when Meyerowitz visited Kuntunso (the name of the town meaning on top of the bend - i.e. in the Tano river). (10) In the 1958 text, photo 12 does not show Kofi Wusu standing by the shrine of his god Afera Kofi, but rather by a pot of dudoo or medicine. Photo \k is not a priest serving Taa Kofi; the priest is from Afrancho and his god is called Boo; the photo was taken while he was attending a Tanokofiano festival. Photo 16 is not a komfoo for Taa Kesee; now dead, she was priestess for a god at a village near Kurrtasi; she had been trained by the bosomfoo for Taa Kesee, Kofi Mosi. (11) Her concept of cross-cousins is not clear. Instead of saying "her cousin, the son of either her mother's or her father's brother" (1958: 109) she should have said "son of either her mother's brother or her father's sister". (12) The "sacred river Adare" is the river Adaa which cuts through Techiman separating the town from the Zongo (I960: 172). •0 • * • -• 4 RESEARCH REPORTS 6k. (13) The statement that the "chief of the commoners Is Asonkohene" (I960: 201, note 1) is incorrect. In the 1951 text (p.213) she says the Nkwankwaahene Is "elected chief of the commoners". The Nkwankwaahene is not a chief of "commoners" but rather the chief (in Techiman without a stool) of the young men or warriors. More- over the Asonkohene is the leader of a local popular band. Also it is not true that the Asonkohene is a synonym for the Werempehene, who is, in fact, the Konkontiwahene (whose stool Is derived from the Krontlhene). (1*0 In the 1951 text photo .13 shows Akumfi Ameyaw III carrying "the ancient gold Bosommuru Ntoro Sword of the kings of Bono with which he swears the oath of allegiance to his people". In the 1958 text she declares that Bosummuru (1958: 100) was the first ntoro god of the state. In the I960 text she discusses "the Sumankwahenet the priest in charge of Bosummuru" (I960: 220), The Sumankwahene is, of course, not a priest, nor is he in charge of this sword (which is not a god or bosom)', Akumfi Ameyaw III says the Sannaahene and Afenasoafooherie are in charge of this sword. E. Twi Errors One also wonders if anyone ever proof-read the Twi and who made some of the translations. A few obvious errors are the following: 0) sarem (savanna; sare, grass; mu, in) cannot be translated "white desert", "country of sand", or "the Sahara" (e.g. 1962: 68-9; 1958: 17). (2) ""kwae, kwae' (remember, remember)" (1962: 204) should be kag, kae. (3) "A l*s the Akan prefix for living things" (1958: 20)^ is incorrect. (4) "brothers and sisters, nuonom" (1958: 26) should be nuanom. (5) Clay wells (kylrem) (1958: 67); white clay is hylre. (6) Ahwyia, mye (1958: 67) and ngo (1958: 37) are not Twi. (7) recoda (1958: 69) should be rekoda, going to sleep (and can't be re-translated "to die"). I fe- ns -* •3 L-.eS- RESEARCH REPORTS 65. (8) Kwagynamoa uon (1958: 7 0; "cat" can be akwagyinamoa or agyinamoa but uon is not Twi. (9) "saman-tenten. or wait-about-spfrfts" (1960: 123) should be saman-twentwen (as she spelled it in 1951, p.214). (10) "A staff (adiaka-pomum)" (I960: I89); staff is poma. (11) diatwo. "receive guns" (1952: k\) might better be diatuo. (12) "a mile (konsine)" (1951: I87) is kwansin. (13) "mo^afere or sacrilegious Intermarriage" (1951: 29) is mogyafra. (1*0 Some of the etymologies deal ing...with the moon (1958: 23) and the sun (1958: 83) are also highly suspect. F. Obosog and Bosomi From no priest, chief or elder, including Akumfi Ameyaw III, can I find agreement that obosom is a "word which would seem to be derived from bosom, the moon" [1958: 2k). In Techiman Brong language, the word for moon is not pronounced bosom, but bosomi. Akumfi Ameyaw III explains the word obosom by reversing the syllables to ssqm bo which he says means something heavy, expensive or valuable. 6* Nyanku Sal or Nyankonsae An exceptional error was made in the I960 text where Meyero- witz describes the "Nyanku Sal festival" (I960: 142-3). Nyanku Sai has never been the name of any Atumfohene (Adontenhene); it is the rtame of the Adonten (Atumfohene) stool god, Nyankonsae, and the name fs an abbreviation of Nyankopon asae (God's hammer); this information comes from the history of the Adonten stool by Kwame Opoku and history Of the bosom by Akumfi Ameyaw 111. Moreover the Atumfohene has never been a son of the king as stated on p.160 (I960). H. Death and Resurrection From all the priests and priestesses of the I85 abosom now documented and all the chiefs (ahene) and heads of villages (adekrofoo) we have interviewed we have collected festival (afahye) RESEARCH REPORTS 66. data. From none have we been able to find that any festival (yam, addae or apoo) symbolizes the death and rebirth of a bosom (e.g. "annually dying god 1958: 55; "dying and resurrected god" 1958: 59, note 1) or the ritual death and rebirth of any chief's soul (kra). Meyerowitz's example of the Taa Kuntun festival in which "the death and rebirth of this bi-sexual deity is enacted by a priestess (okomfo) in male dress (pi.21)" (1958: 58) is highly unconvincing; in the dozens of such festivals I've attended, in addition to the weekly healing sessions, every priest and priestess has a repertoireof personalities which she or he portrays while in a state of possession; every priest can impersonate a female, young or old; every priestess can impersonate a male, young and old. I do not believe, there- fore, that the priestess at the Taa Kuntunu festival "acted the old, dying god" (1958: 72). Moreover whenever a possessed priest or priestess is tired he must let all those attending know by saying the bosom is "going to sleep"; this cannot be legitimately re-translated "to die" as Meyerowitz did in the 1958 text (p.69). Any priest will say this prior to retiring and withdrawing from any state of possession — even during weekly working sessions, and this cannot be interpreted as a weekly death and resurrection of the bosom. I. Bi-Sexual Gods Meyerowitz stated that "the abosom were no longer envisaged as goddesses, but as bi-sexual beings" 11958: **8), but this concept of bi-sexuality is, to my knowledge, non-existent in TechIman State, at least for the 185 gods I have data for. Taa Kesee, whom she often terms bi-sexual (along with numerous other abosom), t s also called Taa Mensa and sometimes Kwabena Mensa, since it came into existence on a Tuesday, 4s male, and is the third Bono bosom (coming after Taa Kora, the first, and Twumpuduo, the second). Mensa is the name for any third-born which happens to be a male. There are male abosom and female abosom, but no one, including Kofi Mosl (former high priest for Taa Kesee) ?nd Kwabena Dwomo (high priest for Taa Kora), has ever heard of any bI-sexual abosom either now or In the past. J. God Nor among the Tech I man Brong can Meyerowitz's progression of high gods hold up: Nyame being a female moon mother-goddess{ RESEARCH REPORTS 67. Ddomankoma being her Krontihene In Cult 2; Nyankopon being a sun-god in Cult 3 (e.g. 1958: 46, 82). AH of them are consi- dered as one and equal and have nothing to do with either the moon or the sun. They are all God. She states that "Ddomankoma's title Nna-mmere-nson refers to the most important of his cultural introductions, the seven- day week; of which each day was, and still is, ruled by a planet — Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn" (1958: 46). This Is embellished further In the I960 text (from fresh data?): "Ddomankoma"s title Nna-mmere-son. literally 'seven-days-times1, refers on the one hand to the seven circumpolar stars (nsoroma-son) the Bear (Arcturus) which indicate the hours of the night and the seasons. On the other it signifies the seven planets of the ancients: Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn, 9w& thus the seven-day week, each day of which was, and still is, ruled by a planet" (I960: 59-60). I have tried in vain to find anyone who has heard this title, or anyone who knows anything about planets being related to the days; I have so far been unable to even get Twi names for Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and Saturn, although Venus may be Kyekye*ps-aware, the evening star. K, Ntoa I also find no evidence that Ntoa was "the earliest state goddess of Bono" (1958: 49) and later had Its position usurped by Taa Kora (1958: 54). Ntoa is in an entirely different class of abosom than the Tano pods and there would never be any question of hierarchy between them since they have quite different, but complementary, functions. Likewise, Twumpuduo never reigned from 1600-1740 (e.g. 1958: 72) but has always been number two after Taa Kora. Ntoa at Asueyi Is listed as an example of Cult Type II, although it is a recent addition to the Techiman State pantheon, the bosomfoo Kofi Apoo being the second priest of the god. L. Nyame "Nyame no longer possessed a temple and people are little concerned with her" and Nyame is "too grand to be bothered with human prayers" (1958: 136-7) is not borne out by the daily references one hears to Nyame in libations and even everyday RESEARCH REPORTS 68. conversations such as the following: Eye Onyame asem; Onyame n1adorn, me ho ye; the proper name Nyamekye; yeda Nyame ase; Onyame nhyira wo; Onyame ne wo nko; Onyame ne hene; Onyame bskyere; Nso Nyame ye. M. The Fanti at Techiman Meyerowitz says "the present high priest of Taa Kese (Tano the Great) at Takyiman, a successor of Ameyaw who established the worshfp of this deity, is descended from the Fante Queenmother Takyiwaa, who gave life to Tano in the Bono kingdom" (1958: 55), but the present high priest vehemently denies it. I can find among my informants no one who has heard of a Fante people coming as refugees from the savanna (sarem) to found Techiman. Such a statement completely contradicts the information given me by the Krontihene (the descendant of the founder of Techiman), the head priest of Taa Kesee, the ex-Techimanhene Akumfi Ameyaw ill, Kwame Nyame, the current Techimanhene, the chiefs of Forikrom, Tanoso and Buoyem, along with numerous other chiefs and priests. Also Taa Kora was never a Fante god brought from the sarem and "re- discovered in this area" (e.g. 1958: 116). Where this information came from is a mystery to me, and to everyone I have specifically questioned about it. N. Tanoboase In the 1962 text we are told that the Tanoboase people left their town after the reign of the fourth Taa Kora priestess in 1660 and went to some unknown place; they returned to Tano- boase in 18.10 and rebuilt the town, at which time Taa Kora killed its own priestess Afua Aman Nyame (1962: 129). This trip, and even this priestess are entirely unknown to Kwabena Dwomo, Tanoboasehene and high priest of Taa Kora. Moreover he has never heard that "Tano originally was a rice-god; Ntoa a yam god" (1958: li*7). Also, It was Kwabena dwomo himself, and not his predecessor, who was regent of Techiman after Yaw Ameyaw was destooled (1962: 129-130). 0. Chief's Nomenclature Meyerowitz writes that it was Bonohene Boakye Tenten in )t>Bk who Introduced military reforms and started the current nomenclature for chiefs (e.g. adonten, nifa, benkum, kytdom, . -m I v #• RESEARCH REPORTS 69. twafo, etc.). Kwabena Dwomo, Akumf! Ameyaw M l, Kwakye Ameyaw II, and Kwame Nyame all explain that these names were introduced recently during the reign of Yaw Ameyaw to satisfy a D.C. called Fulah (Fuller?) who was not familiar with the original Techiman Brong names of these chiefs: e.g. Dwamtihene (Benkumhene), Atumfohene (Adontenhene)y Aboosohene (Nifahene), Atomaasehene (Twafohene), Dwomohene (Krontihene), Nyinasehene (Akyeamehene), and Werempehene (Konkontiwahene). P. Amanhene and Ahemmaa Stool Lists and Dates Another difficult point is the list of thirty-one queen- mothers and thirty-seven (including re-enstoolments) Amanhene. In the footnote on p.103 (1958) she claims Kofi Antubam collected most of this material and she "checked up on the information that had been given to him by Nana Akumff Ameyaw III, the late Nana Kofi Biantwo and Nana Kwaame Nyame". Kofi Biantwo is Kofi Boandwo, a former Krontihene, now dead. Afua Abrafi, the queenmother, when asked to give a list of queenmothers and Amanhene named fourteen and seventeen, but asked us to return at a later date as some had slipped her mind. Kwame Nyame claims he never gave Meyerowitz or Antubam a list of queenmothers, nor did Antubam ever see him in any role other than as interpreter for Meyerowitz. Moreover he says that he, Boandwo and Ameyaw never met together to give any such list to either Antubam or Meyerowitz. Kwame Nyame gave me a list of twenty-three Amanhene (as did the current Dmanhene); when I read the names of Amanhene listed in Meyerowitz to Kwame Nyame he claimed no knowledge of numbers 4-6, 10-11, 13-19, 2J or 24. Akumfi Ameyaw III has promised to give me a list, with dates, but I haven't managed to collect It as yet. According to Meyerowitz the dates of the reigns of the Bono- hene are recorded by annually adding a gold nugget to a brass container (kuduo); if the chief dies on the stool this kuduo is placed in front of his blackened stool in the stool room. She says that Akumfi Ameyaw ordered the Akondwasoafohene, Gyaasehene and Akyeamehene to count the gold nuggets and "the results were noted down by my interpreter, Mr. Kofi Anttibam, owing to my absence from the Gold Coast" (1952- 30). Both Kwame Nyame and Akumfi Ameyaw have given me information on the gold nuggets, although Kwame Nyame says the Bamuhene kept them and Akumff Ameyaw says the Sannaahene kept them In the sannaa. Therje are no such nuggets in the sannaa inherited by the current lOmanhene; moreover there are no kuduo with RESEARCH REPORTS 70. gold nuggets in the stool room. I have been there personally and know there are only eight ancestral stools; most elders agree that blackened stools came about only after the first Asante-Bono War, as before that time all the Bonohene sat on the same Bono golden stool. Despite the above points, the dates within this last century can be shown to be incorrect. My histories claim that the first Techimanhene after the defeat of Ohene Ameyaw in the first Asante-Bono conflict was a man called Takyia Kwame (he is Meyerowitz's Takyi Akwamo, the fourth Bonohene (see p.108, 1958); she also calls him Takyi Kwame, Takyi Akwame, and Takyia Kwame). Nana Kwadwo Konkroma (dated 1899-1907, p.128, 1958) was destooled, but later re-enstooled after his brother Kwame Boakye had been destooled; this second time he died on the stool and according to Akurofi Ameyaw III reigned about three years; In Meyerowitz's list this second enstoolment is not listed. After Konkroma died there was a stool dispute and a local O.C. made Kwasi Wuo regent for around a year until Yaw Kramo was chosen. After Yaw Ameyaw1s second destoolment, Kwabena Dwomo (Tanoboase- hene) was regent for nineteen months. Akumfi Ameyaw III tells me he was enstooled in 1942, not 19Mt. When time allows I shall check on these In the Traditional Council records, but for the meantime the veracity of the dates, even for this century, can be questioned. Q,. Aduanafoo from Kumbu? In the appendix in the 1958 text, p.151-3, there is a partial history of the Aduana (Nifahene's) clan, the information attributed to the former Nifahene "Yao Inwim"; included is the, claim that the Aduana people came from the Kumbu Kingdom, The present Nifahene Kwame Ampomah and his Akwamuhene, Kwabena Ase, odekro of Koase, have no knowledge of the Kumbu Kingdom, although they have given me a detailed history of their family which bring* them from the south of present-day Ghana near Senkye. I have not yet been able to consult Yaw Nwinim himself. R. Gyaasehene and Asueyl My Gyaase history differs from that found in the 1958 text; the current Gyaasehene Kwadwo Kyereme says the first Gyaasehene was the son of the first Techimanhene Takyia Kwame, by a woman called Fa Minsi; this son was called Kwame Kosakore •» » ** RESEARCH REPORTS 71. Topea (To/pea being an appellation meaning to throw/a spear). He was not a refugee as stated on p.105 (1958) nor was Fa Mansi his sister. One of the Gyaase villages is Asueyi; Meyerowitz says "Fa Kosakori" founded it (1958: 63). I should assume that "Kosa Kwaretoapie who bore the royal title Fa" (1958: 105), and who was, according to Meyerowitz, the first Gyaasehene (around 1328) is the same as "Fa Kosakori". According to the Asueyi odekro and^elders, their village was founded by a hunter, a member of the Gyaase family, and the first chief, who happened also to be the Techiman Gyaasehene, was Kwasi Kramo, who died at Gyaman after the inhabitants fled during the second Asante-Bono War (after the battle of £boo Makyi). On returning from Gyaman the Gyaase and Asueyi stool were separated and the second Asueyi chief, Akah Kwadwo, was no " longer the Techiman Gyaasehene; the Gyaasehene to follow Kwasi Kramo was At! Kwadwo. S. Symbol ism Another difficult thing to verify are some of the symbolisms which she mentions: e.g. "the dog symbolizes death", "scorpion and serpent are the symbols of Nyame" {1958: 13**). "the gourd, pot or jug is a female symbol for the womb" (1958: 135), or "the number two symbolizes birth" while three symbolizes "the rule of the mother-goddess over Sky, Earth and Underworld" . (1958: 28). III. Conclusions A "re-appraisal" should, I suppose, include a final evaluation of a work. I have dealt only with negative points in this paper, and have not ennumerated the many points Meyerowltz relates which concur with my findings. These should be evident when all my data is written up and published. Moreover, my work has not been done with the intention of reappraising Meyerowltz — something which cannot be done until more such in-depth studies are recorded for other Akan traditional states (such as those done by Dr. K.Y. Daaku for the Denkylra and Sehwi, and the recent work RESEARCH REPORTS 72. on the Atebubu area published as the second supplement to the Research Review). However, unless someone can prove to me otherwise, I would conclude that the Bono history taken from the Techiman Traditional State contains as much Meyerowftz as it does Brong Oral Tradition. FOOTNOTES 1. In the census, each adult is asked his name, age, hometown, tribe, clan (abusua), patrilineal group (ntoro), occupation, languages spoken, religion, schooling, spouses, divorces, children with names, ages, and whether they were born at a hospital or at home', number of children who have died, herbal ists(adunsinfoo), priests (abosomfoo), and hospitals consulted and for what. 2. The Techiman Traditional Council chiefs are Krontihene, Ohemmaa, Gyaasehene, Adontenhene, Ankobeahene, Akyeamehene, Twafohene, Akwamuhene, Nifahene, Adaatihene, Kyidomhene, Benkumhene, Oyokohene, Afutuhene, Konahene, Ahyiayenthene, Bamuhene, Akonkontiwahene, Nkwankwahene and Abusahene. The Techiman Zongo chiefs are the Zongohene, Sisalahene, Dagombahene, Dagartihene, Gonjahene, Wangarahene, Zabramahene, Mossihene, and Bandahene. Each of these chiefs is asked how, why, by whom and when his stool or position was founded and its history to the present day; a stool list beginning with the first occupant to the present Incumbent (correlating as many of the occupants of the stool or office in time with occupants of the paramount stool; e.g. when the 5th Krontihene was enstooled, at that time, who was the Omanhene) is obtained, along with the functions of the stool or office in regard to the state, towns which are under the stool, details on regalia, ancestral stools and stool gods (abosom) and stool festivals; a short biography (following in part the data asked in the census) of the incumbent is then taken, followed by photos of the incumbent in regalia, his ancestral stools and stool abosom if there are any. X. i 4C RESEARCH REPORTS 73- * 3- The towns in Techiman Traditional State are Aboabo, Abodekro, Agosa, Asueyi, Akrofrom, Aworowa, Atrensu, Atrensu-Atifi, Ayaasu, Anyinabrem, Bamiri, Boankron, Bianhyewo, Bonkwae, Buoyem, Faaman, Forikrom, Hansua, Jebiri, Kenten, Koase, Kofoso, Krobo, Kuntunso, Mangoase, Mampong, Besedan, Maampehia, New Techiman, New Jama, Nkwaeso, Nsuta, Nkrankrom, Sansama, Srapukrom, Tadieso, Tanoso, Tanokofiano, Tanoboase, Tanonaafuor, Timponem, Traa, Twimia, Twimia-Nkwanta, Bredi, Koforidua, Fiaso, Offuman(No, 2), Bowohomoden. For each of these towns, whether the head of the town is a chief (ohene) occupying one of the stools of the Techiman Traditional State Council, or whether he is a head-man (odekro) of a town or village under one of these chiefs, he is asked when, by whom and why the town was founded, the meaning of the town's name, and a list of the chiefs from the first one (usually the founder) to the incumbent, lined up with concurrent Amanhene, is obtained. Information on the functions of the town in regard to the State is collected, along with information on gods (abosom) in the town, festivals, the population and number of houses, schools and churches, and any other relevant data. A biography of the incumbent town leader is taken, followed by his photo and any ancestral stools. k. The fourteen chiefs and elders are Nana Kwame Nyame, ex- Akyeamehene; Nana Akumfi Ameyaw III, ex-Techimanhene; Nana Kwabena Dwomo, Konahene, Tanoboasehene and high priest for Taa Kora; Nana Kofi Mosi, ex-Bosomfohene; Nana Kwaku Agyepong> Benkumhene, Forikromhene; Nana Yao Kwaten Ababio 111 (Yaw Mensa), Afutuhene, Tanosohene; Nana Kwame Twi, Bamuhene, Hansuahene; Nana Kwaku Gyako, ex-Techimanhene; Nana Kwame Gyamfi, chief of Offuman No. 2; Nana Owusu Kwakuru, Oyokohene, Buoyemhene; Nana Abena Pokuwa, elder of Buoyem; Nana Kwakye Ameyaw, Techimanhene; Nana Kwame Kyereme, elder of Krobo; Nana Afua Sama, Akwamuhene's queenmother. From each of them information is asked relating to early Bono history and the relationship between the Bono kingdom and other states. The relation of Techiman State to other Brong States such as Nkoranza, Wenchi, Sunyani, Berekum, Atebubu, and Dormaa is asked, along with general Brong culture. Information on the nine disputed villages, some of which continue to give allegiance to Ashanti or claim to be independent states, is also asked. RESEARCH REPORTS 5. The 185 gods (abosotn) and 2 war medfcines (ko asuman) for which Information has been collected are listed by towns or by stools. Tanoboase: Taa Kora, Taa Kwasi, Taa Kofi, Atiokosaa, Taa Fofie, Taa Kofi Pan in, Taa Yaw, Amenano, Akonnuaboa, Aworoben. Kuntunso: Taa Kuntunu, Taa Kwabena, Kwasi Boo, Bomaa, Taa Kofi, Amoa, Banie, Taa Kwaku. Krobo: Afra, Kwasi Mensah, Asubonten 1 and 2, Taa Fofie, Taa Kwabena Panin, Taa Kwabena Kuma, Boaboduro, Abungyaa, Taa Kwadwo (Kyidom stool bosom), Bronsam. §'• •A Boomuhene, Ntoa KoflY Gyamblbi. Taa Yaw, Asubonten, 2 sons of Taa Yaw. New Jama: Timponem: Techjman ahemfie (palace): Atiokosaa, Yentim. Tanokofiano: Adampa Kwaku, Apimasu, Boo Gyata, Boo Nyamedwa, Buoyem: Boo Yaw. Taa Kwabena, Kwabena Bena, Nlmo, Aboaboduro, Kwasi Amenano, Kwasi Yentim, Kwabena Kuma, Taa Kwaku, Amoa Kwame. Techiman Bosomfohene' s palace: Taa Kesee (Taa Mensa), AUokosaa, Taa Kwabena, Atiokosaa Punpuni, Taa Kwasi, Taa, Kwadwo, Taa Brempong, Taa Kwabena Kuma, YenturnI, Amoa, Batadua, Tere Kofi, Afram, Taa Kwasi II, Atiokosaa II, Pamhwetee. . Kronti stool bosom: Forlkrom: Taa Koko. Boten, Taa Atoa Yaw, Taa Kwabena, Aku, Kuruye, Akumsa, Kwabena Tenten, Aku Gyamiri, Kwadwo Flrl, Donkor Kofi; Baako, a war sruman. Akyeame stool bosom: Mframa. Akwamu stool bosom: Konkontiwa stool bosom: TefI Aworo Yaw. Kwaku Aworo. RESEARCH REPORTS 75. Adonten stool bosom: Nyankonsae. Adaatf stool abosom: Taa Kwadwo, Asubonten, Taa Kwasi. New Techfman: Atlokosaa Panln (Kwabena), Atiokosaa Kuma (Kwaku), Amoa, Amano, Kuntun, Yentim; Taa Kofi - stool bosom; Amane, a war suman. Tanoso: Atiokosaa, Taa Kwasi, Taa Kwasi II, Atiokosaa Kuma, Taa Kwabena, Taapim, Amoa Kwame, Amoa Kwasi, Yentimi, Nantee, Banie, Asubonten I and 2, Ntamu, Sraman, Taa Kwadwo, Taa Kofi, Bosie. Offuman: Ntoa, Nyankyere (stool bosom for Offuman No,2), Tantem, Nyansu, Kodua-Asare. Techiman: Tunsuase: Asubonten, Akumsa, Pro, Tahoo, Kwasi Kramo; Tigare. Asueyi: Ntoa, Amfamfiri, Mfntimfnini, Boo, 2 of Boo's sons, Adampa, Twumpuduo, Afre. Abodekro: Dente. Aboabo: Tigare. Besedan: Sansama: Traa: Atrensu: Aworowa: Akrofrom: Maatwa (Taa Kwasi), Asubonten. Tantamu. Botwerewa (in town; at riverside), Afere. Yentim. Ntoa Firi, Kofi Abiri, Taa Ntem, Ntemu Kwadwo. Boabae, Kramo, Dehyee, Mpra I and 2, Boabeduro 1,;2, and 3, Taa Yaw, Dsmeyo, Anyinamuhene, Buakuro, Apurukusu. Twimfa: Taa Kofi and its son. Nifa stool bosom: Abooso Taa Kora. Techiman Abanimu: Kwasi Yoyo. Bonkwae: Buruma, Kumanfni (Boame), Aberewa Agyenna, To Agyan, To Akyiria Fa. Nkwaeso: Kofi Ycnom, Sanyakopo and k others. Anyinabrem: Bronsam. s. i * •* •Sr RESEARCH REPORTS 76. 4 i Kyerekyinye. Kwaku Firl, Kyihaman and 3 others. Taa Kofi, 8boo Kofi, Kwaku Tewuram. Hansua: Bredi: Boankron: Buoyem-Besedan bush: Abotim (source of R. Takyia). Twimia-Nkwanta: Anhwere. Srapukrom: Kwasi Tare Krom: Kwasi Miniminl. Tanonafuor: Tikya (brought from Fante area). Anwoma Komfo Krom: Kalasi (Twi name is Boame). Agosa: Kenten: Yaagua. Gomie. Taa Yaw and its son. The histories of the abosom and war asutnan include where, when and by whom the bosom or suman was obtained, a list of the priests or priestesses from the first to the present one, lined up with a list of Amanhene, the functions of the bosom, its festivals and their significance, a biography of the incumbent and photo of the Incumbent and photos of each bosom. 6. The following histories remain outstanding: (a) chiefs - Mponoahene and Dmanhene (nearly finished); (b) towns - Wiawso, Adiesu, Akisimasu, Asantanso, Ayaasu-Sreso, Aworopotaa, Bomirl, Fetere, Konkrompe, Kokwago, Kokroko, Nsuta-Sreso, Nsonkonee, Subinso No.2, Nsunya, Tuobodom, Nchiraa, Branam, and Nwoase; (c) gods - Taa Kwabena (Kwadwo?) at Nchiraa, Ntoa, Mprisi and Buor Dwaa at Buoyem, Taa Koko at Besedan, Anikoko, Amoa Kromansa and Taa Kwesi Kuma at Krobo, Twumpuduo at Tuobodom, Akwasi Adango and Anhwere at Tanoso, Mframa at Pomaa, and Taa Kofi at Tanokof iano.1