AFRIC AN COASTAL ELITE ARCHITECTURE: CULTURAL AUTHENTIFICATION DURING THE COLONIAL PERIOD IN ANOMABO, GHANA By COURTNAY MICOTS A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2010 1 © 2010 Courtnay Micots 2 To the gracious people of Anomabo – the leaders, families and individuals without whom this work would not have been poss ib le History books begin and end, but the events they describe do not. —R. G. Collingwood 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Ghanaians are a welcoming people. It was my good luck on my first trip to Ghana in the summer of 2007 to meet Adwoa Grace Kyeremeh, member of the royal family and dairy farmer, who welcomed me and made me feel at home in Anomabo. This study of Anomabo's rock residences results from the collective efforts of many people, including Grace, to whom I owe gratitude. Contacts made in the summer of 2007 with local leaders and individuals such as Nana Kwa Nyanfoeku Akwa (Nana Kwa), the town historian, revealed the potential for dissertation study of the visual culture. I returned in the summer of 2008 to further my pre-dissertation research with scholars at the University of Ghana in Legon, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology in Kumasi (KNUST), and the University of Cape Coast as well as several of the leaders and townspeople of Anomabo. I stayed in Ghana for six mo nths in 2009 to complete my dissertation fieldwork. To prepare for my interviews, I studied the Akan culture and Twi language at the University of Florida. I had the good fortune of being awarded a Foreign Language & Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship through the campus Center for African Studies for the summer of 2009. It allowed me to study the Fante language and customs of this coastal Akan subgroup in greater depth and on-site. I must thank my patient teacher Peter A. Hope, lecturer at the University of Cape Coast. Due to the nature of my research, I spent the greatest amount of my time in Ghana with the people of Anomabo – leaders, elders and families associated with the homes in this study. I also spoke with elders and families in the Akuapem Hills area north of Accra and in Fante towns all along the coast. They were gracious, understanding and willing participants. I am grateful to each person who shared his or her time and history with me. Any exclusion is deeply regretted. 4 From my first visit to Anomabo, Omanhen Nana Kantomanto Amonoo XI has been a supporter of my interest in Anomabo history and arts. It was the Tuafohen Nana Obuesiwua VII, a. k. a. J. Ebow Quashie, who introduced me to the aforementioned Nana Kwa, the man who would become my main colleague in the field. I sincerely thank Nana Kwa who introduced me to many of the people interviewed for this study and often served as an interpreter. Other elders who imparted important historical information for this study include Kwame Esuon, a. k. a. James Mensah, a. k. a. Ɔsebo, and Safohen Kofi Dickson of Anomabo, Victor Aggrey of Saltpond, and Ishmael Parry of Larteh. The abusuapanyin (family heads), descendants and friends shared their home and family histories with me, as well as any documents and pictures. Among the many people to whom thanks are due in Anomabo are the following: at the Dutch Lodge, now the O manhen's Palace, I am grateful to Omanhen Amonoo XI, his wife Omankrado Nana Gyanwa (queen mother of Ajumako Besease), and the omanhen's personal secretary Daniel Kofi Gdlonyah. For information regarding the Tuafohen's Palace I am indebted to Tuafohen Obuesiwua VII and his brother Kobina Atta, a. k. a. Emmanuel Okyem. At the Twidan Clan House, I must thank Ekua Bentuma, Kobena Kum, Kobena Essilfie and Joseph Kwesi Thompson. For lively discussions regarding the George Kuntu Blankson Addition, I thank Edward Kofi Abaidoo and Ebenezer Austin Sagoe. I am grateful to Kofi Tietu, a. k. a. Paul Amo, and Charles Otu at the Kodwo K untu House. At the Kwesi Amo House, I thank Eric Amonoo, a. k. a. Kwesi Obuakwan, and Samuel Bonney, a. k. a. Kobina Gyebi. I extend my thanks to Elizabeth Anderson and Araba Dansowa Bentum Annan at the Charles Bentum Annan Family Residence. I am sincerely grateful to Stephen Kwame Ackon for his memories of the Kodwo Baffoe Family Residence. 5 Regarding the missions and churches in town, I thank Headmistress Elizabeth Anderson and Bishop Atto Brown at the Methodist Mission. For information on the three Kow Otu Houses, I thank Ekow Entsuah Mensah, Safohen Kofi Dickson, Nana Kwa and Kofi Etsiwa. I also thank Ekow Entsuah Mensah and Beatrice Harrison Mends for their assistance with S wanzy. I appreciated those chilled lemon Fantas Beatrice kept for me. At the Kobena Mefful House, I am grateful to Kobina George Kongsley Otoo, Efua Grace Mensah and Ekua Ntsefuwa. At the Catholic Mission, originally the United Africa Company storage facility, I convey my gratitude to Atta Hawkson and Ɔsebo. I am grateful to Samuel Kodwo Annobil, Esther Mensah and Grace Afukaah at the Calvert Claude Hagan Family Residence. I thank Edukuma Hagan for sharing family information and documents on The Russell House a. k. a. Abɔdan. At the Justice Akwa Family Residence, I am grateful to Dora Ferguson and Nana Kwa. I am indebted to Samuel Bonso-Abban, Harriet Dadzie, Suzy Butler and Comfort Aggrey at Abrɔsan. I am sincerely grateful to Grace Ntsiful for her memories of the Jacob Wilson Sey Family Residence. For their histories regarding these ruins of Anomabo, I thank Joseph Kofi Acko m and Nana Kwa for the Samuel Collins Brew’s Family Residence, the Adontehen’s palaces and Enchia's Family Residence; Aba Mansa, a. k. a. Aba Ed Monson, at the Ed Monson Family Residence, and John Kweku Aikins at the Yard House. I thank Kwa Twento Mensah, regent until a new Krontihen is installed, at the Krontihen's Palace. At the Lawyer Atta Amonoo's Family Residence I am grateful to Inspector Harrison and caretaker Paul Norty. I thank Kodwo Ampiah, a.k.a Atta Papa, for information on W. E. D. A. Lodge. At Kweku Abaka's Family Residence, I thank the current tenants. In Cape Coast, I thank the residents and especially Crement Thomason, Samuel Ankrah and Ramses Ankrah for sharing the Allen Quansah Family Residences with me. In Elmina, at the 6 J. H. E. Conduah Family Residence, I am grateful to Stephen Ackon, Catherine Agyemang, Elizabeth Condua, Christina Annan, Mary Kofi and Alexander Blavo. I am also grateful to Kwame Asante for his knowledge concerning the Moses Adu Family Residence in Larteh. I must also thank the many other families who graciously opened their doors to let me wander around their homes. All these interviews were granted to me without charge. I am forever grateful to a ll these families for their kindness and generosity. Scholars who informed my work with lively discussions include the following. At the University of Cape Coast: Dr. Gilbert Kuupole Domwin, previously The Dean of the Faculty of Arts Department, Dr. Nicholas Kofie, Head, African Studies; Sir Dr. Anthony Annan-Prah, Senior Lecturer, School of Agriculture; Dr. Benjamin Kofi Nyarko, Physical Geographer; and Dr. Prempeh Fiscian, Hall Master of Casel Hayford Hall. At KNUST: Dr. G. W. K. Intsiful, Head, Department of Architecture, and Professors Dr. George Felix Olympio and Dr. Kodwo Edusei. I must thank Mercy Vanessa D. Appiah at the International Programmes Office at KNUST for all her assistance with scheduling meetings with these professors as well as arranging my campus accommodations and travel around Kumasi. At the University of Ghana, Institute of African Studies, I am grateful to Brigid Sackey, Director, and Rev. Dr. Abraham Akrong, Senior Research Fellow. I am grateful to Mark Henry Freeman, Master’s graduate from the University of Ghana, who shared his master’s thesis, experiences and finds while conducting archaeological fieldwork in Anomabo. I hope he will continue his diligent work uncovering Anomabo's past. Currently Freeman is Vice President for the NGO Heritage & Site Save Africa (HASSA) and is attempting to establish a historical museum in Anomabo. 7 I owe the locating of my most important archival findings in Ghana to the following people. William J. Otoo, Records Assistant, at the National Archives in Cape Coast assisted me with the 1931 Gold Coast Survey Map of Anomabo along with some biographical data. His continuing efforts to uncover Anomabo’s property records from the 1860s to 1930s give me hope for future data to further support my theories. My appreciation also to Joseph Prempeh Maisie, Acting Director of the Ghana Museums & Monuments Board, for sharing the Little Fort, a. k. a. Castle Brew, files with me. I am grateful to Phillip Atta-Yawson, caretaker of Fort William and Castle Brew; Nicholas Ivor, Director, Cape Coast Castle; and Kwesi Essel Blankson, Museum Educator and Tour Guide, Cape Coast Castle, for assisting with historical knowledge, sources, contacts and discussions. Initial tours around town were given by Nkum and Mensah, a. k. a. John Kofi. Other valuable contacts and insights were lent by Grace Kyeremeh, Chief Kodwo Addae II of Abura, Abaka Quansah, masons Kwame Amanbu and Joseph Kofi Ackom, and artists Joseph Benjamin Arcct Bunyan a. k. a. Kofi Benya, a.k.a Dollar; Mark E. Aidoo a.k.a Kɔbena Edu; and Kweku Rhule. Encouragement and support was additionally provided by my dear friend and Ghanaian sister Grace (K yeremeh). She opened her door to me for a six-month homestay and cooked the most delicious Ghanaian foods.