West African Narratives of Slavery: Texts from Late Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century Ghana

by Sandra E. Greene

Overview

Slavery in Africa existed for hundreds of years before it was abolished in the late 19th century. Yet, we know little about how enslaved individuals, especially those who never left Africa, talked about their experiences. Collecting never before published or translated narratives of Africans from southeastern Ghana, Sandra E. Greene explores how these writings reveal the thoughts, emotions, and memories of those who experienced slavery and the slave trade. Greene considers how local norms and the circumstances behind the recording of the narratives influenced their content and impact. This unprecedented study affords unique insights into how ordinary West Africans understood and talked about their lives during a time of change and upheaval.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780253222947
Publisher:	Indiana University Press
Publication date:	02/16/2011
Pages:	300
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Sandra E. Greene is Professor of History at Cornell University. She is author of Sacred Sites and the Colonial Encounter (IUP, 2002).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

A Note on the Translations xi

A Note on Ewe Orthography xv

Introduction 1

Part 1 Aaron Kuku: The Life History of a Former Slave

1 Enslavement Remembered 21

2 The Life History of Aaron Kuku 47

Part 2 The Biographies of Lydia Yawo and Yosef Famfantor: Life in Slavery/Life after Abolition

3 To Stay or Go: Exploring the Decisions of the Formerly Enslaved 77

4 Come Over and Help Us! The Life Journey of Lydia Yawo, a Freed Slave: Preface and Text 103

5 Yosef Famfantor: Preface and Text 121

Part 3 Paul Sands's Diary: Living with the Past/Constructing the Present and the Future

6 Open Secrets and Sequestered Stories: A Diary about Family, Slavery, and Self in Southeastern Ghana 139

7 The Diary of Paul Sands: Preface and Text 158

Part 4 A Kidnapping at Atorkor: The Making of a Community Memory

8 Our Citizens, Our Kin Enslaved 187

9 Oral Traditions about Individuals Enslaved: Preface and Texts 213

Conclusion 222

Notes 227

Bibliography 263

Index 277

What People are Saying About This

"Greene (Cornell) presents and analyzes five previously unpublished or untranslated narratives of slavery to make a substantial contribution to historical scholarship on slavery in West Africa. These narratives take a variety of forms—a life history, two biographical accounts, a diary, and an oral history—and describe the experiences of individuals and communities with the institution of slavery. What makes this book tremendously valuable, particularly for undergraduates, is how Greene examines the historical, literary, and cultural contexts in which each narrative was produced. In particular, the author pays careful attention to how the narratives were recorded and by whom. Each narrative is preceded by a map with locations of the places discussed in the text as well as a chronology of important events, providing readers with the appropriate tools to engage in an informed reading of the narratives. A must have for academic libraries supporting an undergraduate curriculum in Africana studies. Summing Up: Essential. General and undergraduate collections. —Choice"

S. T. Durrant]]>

Greene (Cornell) presents and analyzes five previously unpublished or untranslated narratives of slavery to make a substantial contribution to historical scholarship on slavery in West Africa. These narratives take a variety of forms—a life history, two biographical accounts, a diary, and an oral history—and describe the experiences of individuals and communities with the institution of slavery. What makes this book tremendously valuable, particularly for undergraduates, is how Greene examines the historical, literary, and cultural contexts in which each narrative was produced. In particular, the author pays careful attention to how the narratives were recorded and by whom. Each narrative is preceded by a map with locations of the places discussed in the text as well as a chronology of important events, providing readers with the appropriate tools to engage in an informed reading of the narratives. A must have for academic libraries supporting an undergraduate curriculum in Africana studies. Summing Up: Essential. General and undergraduate collections. —Choice

Universityof Toronto - Martin Klein

Greene's analysis is as valuable as the documents themselves.

S. T. Durrant

Greene (Cornell) presents and analyzes five previously unpublished or untranslated narratives of slavery to make a substantial contribution to historical scholarship on slavery in West Africa. These narratives take a variety of forms—a life history, two biographical accounts, a diary, and an oral history—and describe the experiences of individuals and communities with the institution of slavery. What makes this book tremendously valuable, particularly for undergraduates, is how Greene examines the historical, literary, and cultural contexts in which each narrative was produced. In particular, the author pays careful attention to how the narratives were recorded and by whom. Each narrative is preceded by a map with locations of the places discussed in the text as well as a chronology of important events, providing readers with the appropriate tools to engage in an informed reading of the narratives. A must have for academic libraries supporting an undergraduate curriculum in Africana studies. Summing Up: Essential. General and undergraduate collections. —Choice

Universityof Virginia - Joseph C. Miller

These rare examples . . . compellingly reveal the chaos left behind. Greene sensitively reveals the human experiences of warfare, scattering of communities, and capture of the survivors that wracked the Gold Coast region.

Editorial Reviews

"Greene (Cornell) presents and analyzes five previously unpublished or untranslated narratives of slavery to make a substantial contribution to historical scholarship on slavery in West Africa. These narratives take a variety of forms—a life history, two biographical accounts, a diary, and an oral history—and describe the experiences of individuals and communities with the institution of slavery. What makes this book tremendously valuable, particularly for undergraduates, is how Greene examines the historical, literary, and cultural contexts in which each narrative was produced. In particular, the author pays careful attention to how the narratives were recorded and by whom. Each narrative is preceded by a map with locations of the places discussed in the text as well as a chronology of important events, providing readers with the appropriate tools to engage in an informed reading of the narratives. A must have for academic libraries supporting an undergraduate curriculum in Africana studies. Summing Up: Essential. General and undergraduate collections. —Choice"—S. T. Durrant, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis

"It is an important contribution to the expanding literature on African enslavement during the decline of trans-Atlantic transportation and its displacement by 'legitimate' commerce, and essential reading for those seeking to understand the lived experience of African slaves."—Biography

"The book not only sheds light on a little understood but pervasive aspect of Ghanaian history and culture, it also invites and makes possible the comparative study of North American slave narratives with those that represent the experience of slavery for Africans who remained in Africa."—African Studies Review

"What makes this book tremendously valuable, particularly for undergraduates, is how Greene examines the historical, literary, and cultural contexts in which each narrative was produced. ... A must have for academic libraries supporting an undergraduate curriculum in Africana studies. ...Essential.October 2011"—Choice

"These rare examples . . . compellingly reveal the chaos left behind. Greene sensitively reveals the human experiences of warfare, scattering of communities, and capture of the survivors that wracked the Gold Coast region."—Joseph C. Miller, University of Virginia

"Greene's analysis is as valuable as the documents themselves."—Martin Klein, University of Toronto

From the Publisher

The book not only sheds light on a little understood but pervasive aspect of Ghanaian history and culture, it also invites and makes possible the comparative study of North American slave narratives with those that represent the experience of slavery for Africans who remained in Africa.

African Studies Review

What makes this book tremendously valuable, particularly for undergraduates, is how Greene examines the historical, literary, and cultural contexts in which each narrative was produced. ... A must have for academic libraries supporting an undergraduate curriculum in Africana studies. ...Essential.October 2011

Choice

It is an important contribution to the expanding literature on African enslavement during the decline of trans-Atlantic transportation and its displacement by 'legitimate' commerce, and essential reading for those seeking to understand the lived experience of African slaves.

Biography

Greene (Cornell) presents and analyzes five previously unpublished or untranslated narratives of slavery to make a substantial contribution to historical scholarship on slavery in West Africa. These narratives take a variety of forms—a life history, two biographical accounts, a diary, and an oral history—and describe the experiences of individuals and communities with the institution of slavery. What makes this book tremendously valuable, particularly for undergraduates, is how Greene examines the historical, literary, and cultural contexts in which each narrative was produced. In particular, the author pays careful attention to how the narratives were recorded and by whom. Each narrative is preceded by a map with locations of the places discussed in the text as well as a chronology of important events, providing readers with the appropriate tools to engage in an informed reading of the narratives. A must have for academic libraries supporting an undergraduate curriculum in Africana studies. Summing Up: Essential. General and undergraduate collections. —Choice

S. T. Durrant

"Greene's analysis is as valuable as the documents themselves." —Martin Klein, University of Toronto

Martin Klein

"These rare examples... compellingly reveal the chaos left behind. Greene sensitively reveals the human experiences of warfare, scattering of communities, and capture of the survivors that wracked the Gold Coast region." —Joseph C. Miller, University of Virginia

Joseph C. Miller