Ewe 55 articles
The Ewe Bible’s Hidden Translator: Ludwig Adzaklo and a Mother-Tongue Text
A young teacher arrives in Germany In 1904, a young Ewe teacher named Ludwig Adzaklo traveled to Tübingen to work on a project that would...
Fifteen Clans, One Stool: The Political Bargain Behind the Awoamefia
A throne held within a wider system The title Awoamefia identifies the paramount traditional ruler of Anlo. It is tempting to imagine the office as...
Atorkor’s Memorial: A Local Story of Captivity and the Atlantic Slave Trade
A quiet shore with a difficult past Atorkor is a coastal village in Anlo, between the Atlantic and the lagoon. The shoreline can appear calm,...
Torgbui Sri II: The Awoamefia Who Ruled Between Two Eras
From Keta schoolboy to Awoamefia Before he was known as Torgbui Sri II, he was Cornelius Kofi Kwakume, born in 1862. He studied at the...
A Chief Made on a Battlefield: The Story Dzita Tells About Sabah
The river crossing Near Atorkor, the Nonobe River appears in a story about courage and the origins of a stool. According to the tradition of...
Aflao’s Crocodile and the Stolen Stool: A Borderland Origin Story
A town at the edge of two countries Aflao sits beside Lomé, on a frontier that divides Ghana and Togo but cannot separate the lives...
Ho’s Wall, Ho’s People: How Asogli Remembers the Notsie Escape
The wall remembered from Ho Ho is the capital of Ghana’s Volta Region and of the Asogli State. In Asogli oral history, the community occupies...
The People Who Speak Between Worlds: Ewe Priests and Spiritual Authority
A role shaped by relationship In many Ewe communities, spiritual leadership is not a single office with one uniform title or job description. A priest,...
Before the Colonial Court: How Ewe Communities Remembered Law and Authority
A dispute brought before the community A dispute over land, marriage, debt or an insult did not belong only to the two people involved. It...
At Keta Market, the Lagoon Meets the Road
More than a place to buy and sell A market is a map of relationships. At Keta , people come together to exchange food, fish,...