Last night we received a call from the local pastor Reuel
Dima. He asked what we have planned for Wednesday and we told him that if there
were no needs at the feast site, we were planning to go to visit the Ashanti
king’s former residence, now museum. Mr. Dima said he would love to accompany
us there, so we made plans to meet here at the hotel at 10:00 am. We were up
early, but lounging when there was a knock on the door at 7:30 am. (There is a
phone in the room, but the phone system is not working. The hotel hopes to find
someone who might be able to repair it at some undisclosed time in the future.)
I went to the door and there was Reuel Dima with a broad smile welcoming us to
Ghana! While we were certainly not ready for company (not showered or shaved
and wearing ‘scrubs’) one could not help but return that joyful smile.
Mr. Dima apologized for coming so early, but he hoped to be
able to get the money we told him we would be bringing for the meal on the Holy
Day. Brethren in Akron-Canton & Youngstown, Ohio, Roanoke, Virginia, and
several mail-ins from other areas (who heard about this collection on the
Akron-Canton webcast or by word of mouth) donated very generously to provide a
Holy Day meal for the brethren we would visit in Ghana and later, Nigeria.
We
had requested that Mr. Dima make all the arrangements for this meal in advance
and we would bring the donation when we arrived. Since it was a very large
order of food – to feed 550 to 600 people – he needed to pay for it today to
have it ready for tomorrow. I gladly gave him the money – our US brethren’s
gift of love – and off he went to the company who would make and deliver the
meal. He told us he would be back at ten for the trip to the museum.
Pam and I got ready, had a bit of breakfast – a very salty
omelet with two slices for dry bread. We asked for butter, but it was obvious
our server had no idea what butter was and her understanding of English was not
enough to grasp our explanation. Somehow making a mooing sound while swishing
your hand back and forth over the bread didn’t convey butter. So dry bread it
was. A portion of sliced fruit came as well, but from what we have been
coached, it is not a good idea to eat any fruit that you do not personally peel
yourself as there is too much chance of picking up unwanted passengers.
At 9:15 we headed up to the lobby where we are supposed to be able to connect to the hotel’s wifi, but they have been having difficulties with it. At 9:30 Mr. Dima arrived in
a taxi and said due to traffic we should leave now – so off we went to the
Ashanti king’s former palace, about a 30-minute drive away. On the way we again
marveled at the array of goods sold in between the cars at many, if not most
corners. Fried foods, bread, candy, gum, electronics, clothing, cloth, water,
soda, cell phone recharge cards, etc., etc. All these things balanced on the
heads of the vendors. Since there has been no air conditioning in the cars, all
windows are open. If you want something a vendor is selling just look at them
and they’ll assume you want to buy. In spite of being fascinated, we had to
deliberately look uninterested or we would be flocked. Mr. Dima wanted a pack
of gum. He showed the bill (a 20) he had for the two cedi pack of gum – the
equivalent of about US 50 cents. Pam and I were amazed that the vendor was able
to get change together, jog alongside the taxi for a block to make this 50 cent
sale.
Talk about diligence and hard work!
About two blocks from the museum police motorcycles with
lights flashing and sirens blaring zoomed in and stopped traffic. They were
followed by two very large black Rolls Royce’s and two black Cadillac Escalades
– all with flags flapping from the hoods. We later learned that this was the
Ashanti king himself – and his entourage – traveling to some tribal ceremony he
was to participate in to honor some of their ancestors.
We arrived at the Ashanti museum and found many older men in
traditional Ashanti garb – their body loosely wrapped with traditional Kinte
cloth and sandals. Mr. Dima explained that only the ‘grown-ups’ wear this
wrap. We later learned that ‘grown-up’
here means someone over 70 year of age! The young all seem to have adopted
western style dress.
The king’s former home, now museum, was built by the British
after they took control of this part of Africa. They exiled the Ashanti king to
the Seychelles Islands for some years. In 1925 they allowed him to return to
this home.
Our tour guide made it a point to tell us that the people refused
this ‘gift’ and raised money for eight years to pay the cost of the home before
the king would live in it. The king left Africa practicing tribal religion and
came back from exile a Christian – Anglican (Church of England) to be more
exact. So religion in this part of African has become a strange mix of
mainstream Christian beliefs and tribal superstitions. We were not surprised to
see the amount of Spiritism permeating their belief system. Everything has
‘power’ of some sort – from amulets to stools to jewelry. It emphasized the
need for God’s Kingdom to be set up so that truth can replace demonism. No
pictures were allowed in the museum, so we have none to show here.
The Ashanti rose to great heights in this part of Africa due
to two things – gold and slavery. The Ashanti (they prefer Asanti saying the
British put in the ‘h’) also controlled the trade routes out of the Sahara
Desert. Some of the richest gold mines in the world were here.
To this day the
king wears many, many pieces of jewelry that are solid gold. Of course, like
all human cultures, it is a sad story of the strong oppressing the weak. Since
the west wanted slaves, the Ashanti sold them to the colonists such as
Portuguese, Dutch, and British as I recall. Ironically, before he was exiled to
the Seychelles, the Ashanti king was send to the same castle in Elmina that
formerly held slaves.
We arrived back at the hotel, prepared for the Sabbath and
had some dinner. While the brethren are to arrive at the Feast site during the
day today, with transportation being unreliable, they do not have an ‘opening
night service’ but two services on the holy day. So Pam and I had our own
service here listening to Jim Franks’ sermon that will be played later in the
week on the day we are traveling between sites.
The Feast is off to a great start!
PS. I would have posted these earlier, but the hotel wifi is
out. We were told, that they ‘ran out’ and were going to buy some more. Not
sure what this means, but will try again later.
Zach Smith
2017-10-10
Enjoying the updates and praying you have a rich and meaningful FOT with the brethren in Ghana and Nigeria!