Rev. Mensa Otabil, the founder of the International Central Gospel Church in Accra, is considered an influential representative of a new Pentecostal-inspired Pan-Africanist ideology. His book ... Show moreRev. Mensa Otabil, the founder of the International Central Gospel Church in Accra, is considered an influential representative of a new Pentecostal-inspired Pan-Africanist ideology. His book 'Beyond the Rivers of Ethiopia' lays the foundations of a Pentecostal Liberation Theology that proclaims a Christianized sequel to Pan-Africanism. Operating from Ghana, his ideas for Africa and for 'black consciousness' have spread to Ghanaian migrant communities worldwide. While Otabil has been successful in transforming ownership of the intellectualist production of Pan-Africanism by tailoring it to the needs of the ordinary Pentecostal believer, it has not been adopted so extensively among all Ghanaian migrant communities in the West. By exploring Ghanaian migrant communities and their Pentecostal churches in the Netherlands, where the staunch identity politics of the Dutch government leave little room for the assertive proclamation of 'Africanness', this chapter demonstrates that Otabil's ideas do not act as a main source of inspiration everywhere in the Ghanaian diaspora. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Book abstract] Show less
Between 1831 and 1872, the Dutch government recruited 3,000 Africans from the Gold Coast and Ashanti (Ghana) for service in the colonial army in the Netherlands East Indies. The majority of them... Show moreBetween 1831 and 1872, the Dutch government recruited 3,000 Africans from the Gold Coast and Ashanti (Ghana) for service in the colonial army in the Netherlands East Indies. The majority of them were ex-slaves but were promised that their conditions of service would be the same as those of Europeans. With the 'equal treatment' clause, the Dutch government defended itself against British accusations that the recruitment operation amounted to a covert form of slave trading. While this policy made sense in the context of the precolonial relations prevailing in the Gold Coast, its merits were less obvious in the East Indies. The colonial army here was the instrument of empire building but mutinies among African troops stationed on Java and Sumatra caused it to rethink its policy concerning African soldiers. This chapter explores the background to these rebellions. Ref., sum. [Book abstract] Show less
This chapter demonstrates how Ghanaian migrants in the Netherlands look to the Pentecostal Church for the deconstruction of Ghanaian traditions in favour of international mobility. The Pentecostal... Show moreThis chapter demonstrates how Ghanaian migrants in the Netherlands look to the Pentecostal Church for the deconstruction of Ghanaian traditions in favour of international mobility. The Pentecostal Church strongly identifies and propagates notions of individualism and the nuclear family. In this way traditional matrilineal social organization is displaced by more Western-style conjugality mediated by Pentecostalist beliefs. The author argues that the appeal of Pentecostalism is based on the opportunities it provides for bringing kinship obligations under the supervision of its individual members. Pentecostalism reformulates the hierarchical and obligatory gift-giving system upon which kinship relations are based. It subjects reciprocity to moral supervision while making it thoroughly multilocal. his is of particular significance in the diaspora where many migrants see themselves faced with the obligation to send money to relatives living n Ghana and elsewhere. Show less
The contributions to this volume commemorating three hundred years of diplomatic relations between Ghana and the Netherlands are grouped under three headings - merchants and merchandise,... Show moreThe contributions to this volume commemorating three hundred years of diplomatic relations between Ghana and the Netherlands are grouped under three headings - merchants and merchandise, missionaries, and voluntary and involuntary migrants - reflecting the three most important areas of contact between Dutch and Ghanaians over the centuries. The first part opens with a paper on a mission carried out in 1701-1702 by David van Nyendael, envoy of the Dutch West India Company (WIC), to Kumasi, which forms the starting point for the tercentenary celebrations. It also includes papers on the slave trade, the cocoa trade, and the role of Dutch 'schnapps' in Ghanaian ritual. The contributions on missionary activity deal with the tragic life of Jacobus Capitein (1717-1747), the first black minister stationed in Elmina, and the significance of Pentecostal churches for Ghanaians in the present-day Netherlands. The contributions on migration include stories of individual people who migrated back and forth between the Netherlands and Ghana, such as two Euro-African women from Elmina, as well as chapters on the Ghanaian diaspora, covering Suriname, Indonesia and the Netherlands. The contributions are by Ineke van Kessel, Michel R. Doortmont, Akosua Perbi, Henk den Heijer, Emmanuel Akyeampong, Victor K. Nyanteng, Henri van der Zee, David N.A. Kpobi, Rijk van Dijk, Natalie Everts, Jean Jacques Vrij, Andr‚ R.M. Pakosie, Endri Kusruri and Daniel Kojo Arhinful Show less
Although Ghanaians have formed a substantial immigrant community in the Netherlands for decades, the relationship between the Dutch State and the Ghanaian community remains tense. Not only is... Show moreAlthough Ghanaians have formed a substantial immigrant community in the Netherlands for decades, the relationship between the Dutch State and the Ghanaian community remains tense. Not only is Ghanaian life in the Netherlands generally marked by a high level of suspicion with regard to the Dutch State, but the community itself has long taken over certain functions that are otherwise provided by the State. This chapter explores the dimensions of this tense relationship. It pays specific attention to the many Ghanaian churches that have emerged in the Netherlands and the role they play in the creation of a notion of self-reliance and self-esteem. There is some evidence to suggest that religious structures in Ghana have a history of antagonism with regard to State policies. This feature seems to have been carried over into the Netherlands. The Ghanaian churches do not take part in the formal contacts between the government and Ghanaian interest groups, and hardly take part in the formal structures of Dutch religious life. The moral authority they represent within the Ghanaian community is a distinctive one. The chapter first examines aspects of Ghanaian immigration, before focusing on the position of Ghanaian churches in the migrant community. Bibliogr Show less
Between 1831 and 1872 some 3,000 African recruits sailed from Elmina (Gold Coast, now Ghana) to Batavia, the capital of the Netherlands East Indies. They had been recruited to serve in the Dutch... Show moreBetween 1831 and 1872 some 3,000 African recruits sailed from Elmina (Gold Coast, now Ghana) to Batavia, the capital of the Netherlands East Indies. They had been recruited to serve in the Dutch colonial army, which throughout most of the 19th century experienced a chronic shortage of European manpower. The Africans counted as part of the European contingent of the army. After expiry of their contracts, some Africans returned to the Gold Coast, while others opted to settle in the East Indies. They became the founding fathers of the Indo-African communities in the Javanese towns of Purworedjo, Semarang, Salatiga and Solo. On Java, the African soldiers and their descendants became known as 'Belanda Hitam' - black Dutchmen. This chapter outlines the background to the recruitment of Africans for the Dutch colonial army and describes three phases in the recruitment process: a slow start (1831-1836), a massive influx (1837-1841), and smaller-scale recruitment from the late 1850s onwards. After Indonesia's independence in 1949, most Indo-Africans opted for repatriation to the Netherlands. Bibliogr., ref Show less
Bruijn, M.E. de; Dijk, J.W.M. van; Dijk, R.A. van 2001
In the literature on population mobility, mobility has generally been seen as a temporary phenomenon. However, in many instances, mobility rather than sedentarity is the norm. This is illustrated... Show moreIn the literature on population mobility, mobility has generally been seen as a temporary phenomenon. However, in many instances, mobility rather than sedentarity is the norm. This is illustrated in the present chapter by two case studies of so-called 'cultures of travel'. The first case concerns the Fulbe, a nomadic cattle-rearing people, in the Hayre area of central Mali. The Fulbe case demonstrates how mobility has been embedded historically in Sahelian cultures under conditions that are marginal, both from an ecological and an economic perspective. It illustrates how people develop economic and cultural strategies marked by a high degree of opportunism. It shows that Fulbe society is, in fact, organized around mobility. The second case, that of Pentecostalism in Ghana, demonstrates how a specific form of culture acts to bring about a particular form of mobility. In this case, it is not a whole culture that is on the move, but individuals who are mobile for personal reasons. Mobility among Ghanaian Pentecostalists is not yet part and parcel of daily life, but presents an example of how people construct cultural forms and means for dealing with everyday problems of mobility. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum Show less
The paradigm of the enchanted global economy and the moral perils of involvement with foreign commodities suggests that anxieties about the generally immoral powers believed to exist within... Show moreThe paradigm of the enchanted global economy and the moral perils of involvement with foreign commodities suggests that anxieties about the generally immoral powers believed to exist within foreign objects result from an imperfect understanding of the global marketplace. However, urban Pentecostalists in Accra, Ghana, who are deeply engaged in the global economy, do not fear the moral dangers of commodities as such and do not lack an understanding of modern global capitalism. Ambiguities do arise when commodities are turned into gifts. Gifts carry sentiments, messages and intentions, and the obligation to give or to receive them may contain dangers. In dealing with this dilemma, Pentecostalism creates a space where free gifts can be given without material reciprocity, where commodities can be personalized without invoking evil powers, where its members can be delivered from the powers that emanate from the 'fie', the "house" or "shrine" of an ancestral deity, conveyed by gifts that cannot be refused, and where gifts may signal the purity of the giver's heart and soul. This multilayered gift-ideology and gift-economy enables Ghanaian Pentecostalism to occupy a pivotal position between the global economy and its own transational and transcultural relations, on the one hand, and local cultural structures dominated by gifts and reciprocal relations, on the other. Show less
The chapters in this collection record a workshop held at the School of Oriental and African Studies, in April 1991, on African languages, development and the State. The book is divided into an... Show moreThe chapters in this collection record a workshop held at the School of Oriental and African Studies, in April 1991, on African languages, development and the State. The book is divided into an introductory chapter, by Richard Fardon and Graham Furniss, and three parts. Part 1, West Africa, contains papers by Ayo Bamgbose (multilingualism), C. Magbaily Fyle (policy toward Krio in Sierra Leone), Mamoud Akanni Igu‚ and Raphael Windali N'ou‚ni (the politics of language in B‚nin), Ben Ohi Elugbe (minority language development in Rivers and Bendel States, Nigeria), Gillian F. Hansford (mother tongue literacy among the Chumburung speakers in Ghana). Part 2, Central and Southern Africa, contains papers by J.M.M. Katupha (language use in Mozambique), Jean Benjamin (language and the struggle for racial equality in the development of a non-racial southern African nation), Nhlanhla P. Maake (a new language policy for post-apartheid South Africa), James Fairhead (linguistic pluralism in a Bwisha community, eastern Zaire), Wim van Binsbergen (minority languages in Zambia (Nkoya) and Botswana (Kalanga)). Part 3, East Africa, contains papers by Gnter Schlee (loanwords in Oromo and Rendille), Jan Blommaert (the metaphors of modernization in Tanzanian language policy), David Parkin (Arabic, Swahili and the vernaculars in Kenya). Show less
In an attempt to overcome some of the shortcomings of the theory of the postcolonial state, this study analyses the relationship between the 'revolutionary' leadership in Ghana and the ... Show moreIn an attempt to overcome some of the shortcomings of the theory of the postcolonial state, this study analyses the relationship between the 'revolutionary' leadership in Ghana and the 'revolutionary' mass organizations established by the new regime, the Defence Committees. The contradictions between the leadership and the Defence Committees gave rise to serious conflicts, also within the leadership. One faction of the ruling petty bourgeoisie' attempted to 'commit suicide' and mobilize the Defence Committees for the ultimate establishment of a workers' hegemony within Ghanaian society. Its attempts were frustrated and finally obstructed by another faction that sought to control the Defence Committees for the sake of 'national development', and to preserve its hold over the state and its own class interests. Show less
Schets van de twee achtereenvolgende staatsgrepen uitgevoerd door kapitein Jerry Rawlings op 4 juni 1979 en op oudejaarsdag 1981, waarbij wordt gekeken naar welke resultaten er zijn bereikt, hoe... Show moreSchets van de twee achtereenvolgende staatsgrepen uitgevoerd door kapitein Jerry Rawlings op 4 juni 1979 en op oudejaarsdag 1981, waarbij wordt gekeken naar welke resultaten er zijn bereikt, hoe de bevolking tegenover het "revolutionair" proces van bijna twee jaar staat, en in hoeverre er verschillen zijn aan te wijzen tussen de eerste en de tweede coup. Show less
