Institute of African Studies
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://197.255.125.131:4000/handle/123456789/23024
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Item The J.H. Kwabena Nketia archive at the University of Ghana- Legon(History in Africa, 2020-02-14) Opoku-Boateng, J.; Cann, E.; Ntewusu, S.A.; Owusu, S.This report is on the J.H. Kwabena Nketia Archive at the University of Ghana, Legon, Accra. In the light of growing destruction of public archives in Ghana, mainly due to chieftaincy and land litigation but also because of the lack of a proper maintenance culture, this report will suggest that other, non-conventional archives, such as the J.H. Kwabena Nketia Archive should be explored by historians and researchers. This report highlights the contribution of J.H. Kwabena Nketia who sought to preserve information that is crucial at a time when the world seems to be abandoning most of the most important and significant aspects of Africa’s cultural and artistic historyItem 10,000 miners, 10,000 votes: Politics and mining in Ghana(Africa, 2018-11) Ntewusu, S.A.In their article‘Governing access to gold in Ghana: in-depth geopolitics onmining concessions’, Luning and Pijpers (2017) discuss important politicalissues around mining in Ghana. Using the companies Keegan and Newmont asunits of analysis, and drawing on insights from geography and anthropology,the authors call for an alternative approach to geopolitical issues in mining.They point out that mining concessions are sites of governance that involve eco-nomic players–that is, mining companies and artisanal miners/galamsey–andpolitical authorities positioned at national as well as local scales (ibid.: 761). Ofgreater interest, the authors argue, is the kind of relationship that has developedbetween established exploration or mining companies andgalamseyoperators.The authors point out that the maintenance of such a relationship, thoughuneasy, is necessary in ensuring continuous mining in the areas where thesemining companies are located.This commentary focuses on an aspect of the article that deals with the issue ofgalamsey. Drawing on historical events, I discuss some key characteristics of arti-sanal mining and miners and the issue of hybrid governance, involving traditionaland modern authorities in mining in Ghana.Item Rum, Gin and Maize: Deities and Ritual Change in the Gold Coast during the Atlantic Era (16th century to 1850)(2014) Ntewusu, S.A.; Akyeampong, E.This paper examines the incorporation of rum and gin as powerful spiritual drinks in pre-colonial Gold Coast, particularly in the context of state formation and warfare, and the growing importance of maize, side by side with the indigenous yam, as the food of gods. Through food and drink, we analyze changing notions of spiritual efficacy and the ascendancy of war deities, and we interrogate how shifts in socio-political contexts aligned with those in the spiritual realm. Why were European liquors like gin, rum, and schnapps incorporated into ritual on the Gold Coast and not others? We juxtapose geographically dispersed ritual landscapes, contrasting the Atlantic coast and its immediate hinterland with a case study from the northern Guan in our endeavor to understand how far-reaching were Atlantic processes, as well as the “logic” of ritual transformation.Item Religion, Gender and Environment: the case of the Okule Cult in Ghana(2016-05) Ntewusu, S.A.; Brindle, J.; Awubomu, R.Using archival sources, participant observations and oral interviews, we present the female cult of Okule and the role it played and plays in the conservation of the environment, through the regulation of hunting, fishing, felling of trees and farming activities in the Nawuri traditional area in North-Eastern Ghana.Item The Banana and Peanut Archive of Ghana(2017) Ntewusu, S.A.This paper discusses an emerging problem in Ghana and its implications for Ghana’s archives and historical writing. It explains why some important documents intended for state and institutional archives eventually find their way back into public circulation – some have even been used to wrap roasted food! The paper provides methodological insights to historians and researchers and perhaps warnings too that they should consider alternative sources to archives in their quest for information on Ghana; for after all some researchers on Ghana have come across some amazing documents and historical evidence among the food vendors on Ghana’s streets.Item Biography of Ibn Chambers, In', E.K. Akyeampong and H. Louis Gates, Dictionary of African Biography(Oxford University Press, 2011) Ntewusu, S.A.Item Serendipity: Conducting Research on Social History in Ghana’s Archives(2014) Ntewusu, S.A.This report provides practical ideas and methodological warnings regarding the use of Ghanaian archives for the writing of social history.Item In search of ethnic and political identity in an urban setting, the case of the Kotokoli of Accra, Ghana.(2005) Ntewusu, S.A.This short write up discusses the violence in Accra’s urban setting. Using the Kotokoli Cutlass festival as an example the paper discussed how northerners use violence to gain political recognition and power in Accra.Item Hundred Years of Muslim Community in Accra: A Historical Study of Tudu from 1900-2000.(Scarecrow Press, 2013) Ntewusu, S.A.This is a chapter in a book entitled Islam in Africa South of the Sahara: Essays in Gender Relations and Political Reform. The book draws together contributions from scholars that focus on changes taking place in the practice of the religion and their effects on the political terrain and civil society. The chapter on a hundred years of Muslims in Accra, discussed the contribution of Muslims to Accra’s urban and economic development.Item Kete Krachi under German Rule: 1894-1920, In; Wazi Apoh, Bea Lundt (Eds), Germany and Its West African Colonies, 'Excavations' of German Colonialism in Post-Colonial Times.(2013) Ntewusu, S.A.This article deals with the convoluted history of Kete and Krachi, two Guan towns that have fused and are now a single metropolis in the eastern region. In particular Aniegye detailed and sketched the origin and legacy of German presence in the area, as well as the existence of the Dente shrine. Central to this was the sacking of Salaga and the introduction of a German banking system in Kete-Krachi. A development that suited Hausa traders who transferred themselves and their households to German territory. At the same time the Dente shrine remained, and remains to this day, central to Kete-Krachi.