The case of the Krachi Dente Worship (1999)

 SLAVERY AND SPIRITUAL REPARATION

The case of the Krachi Dente Worship (1999)

PREFACE

The focus of this study, the KRACHI DENTE religion, historically, is synonymous with Kete Krachi. It is also synonymous with the Krachi, the ethnic group inhabiting the district which lies in the north of what is geographically eastern Ghana, the Volta Region. A brief background history of the Krachi, therefore, is our starting point in our attempt to explain the circumstances in which the beliefs of these people find renditions among other ethnic groups. Firstly, where exactly is Kete Krachi?

Kete Krachi, the name of the district and its capital, lies between latitudes 7.5 degrees and 8 degrees on the map. The meridian of Greenwich passes through this district which falls within the deciduous forest zone of central Ghana. Kete Krachi is virtually waterlogged, washed by the artificial Volta lake and its streams. The Krachi, therefore, are fishermen and farmers.

The Krachi share traditional boundaries with the Asante in the south and west, the Nghumuru and the Gonja in the north, and the Adele, the Ntrubu and the Buem in the east. In 1931, for example, the population of the Kete Krachi District was 20,521.1 Kete Krachi then covered an area of 3,949 square miles. Compared to the then Ada-Keta District of 243,671 people in an area of 2,146 square miles, Kete Krachi could be described as thinly populated.2 There was less than 5 persons to the square mile.

Before the advent of European colonialism in Africa, the Krachi fell prey to Asante conquests. They reasserted their independence only after 1874, when the Asante state was weakened by wars. However, Krachi culture is greatly influenced by that of the Asante. After 1874, the Krachi shuffled in the hands of the British and the Germans until the 1890s, when they were brought under the German colonial administration of Togoland. But, in 1914, this administration was sacked by the British and French at the outset of World War I. Kete Krachi thus became part of the British Mandated Togoland under the League of Nations. After 1945, however, the British Mandated Togoland became a trusteeship under the United Nations. In May 1956, the territory was incorporated into the Gold Coast (Ghana) as a result of the UN-sponsored plesbicite of that month. Indeed the KeteKrachi-Buem District cast 28,178 votes in favour of incorporation as against 18,775 votes for separation.

Like in other traditional African societies, the political authority of Kete Krachi was, for centuries, wielded by a religious head - the priest of the KRACHI DENTE shrine. This authority was later devolved to the KRACHIWURA, who becomes the secular ruler of the Kete Krachi state. But in a society of overwhelming religious presence, the role of the KRACHI DENTE priest influences both cultural and political issues. The KRACHI DENTE shrine is still an important instrument for dispensing social justice.

No doubt, the KRACHI DENTE shrine is one of the oldest religious institutions in Africa. A powerful ancestral worship, the religion promotes good neighbourliness and peace. It prohibits bloodshed of all forms and violence of all forms. In the recent past, murders, stealing and other felonies were unknown in Kete Krachi. The Krachi then slept with their doors open. The oracle of KRACHI DENTE, located in a cave in the forest, was famous all over West Africa. People came from Togo, Benin, Nigeria, La Còte d"Ivoire, Burkina Faso and many other countries to consult the oracle or supplicate. The shrine was also a place where the aggrieved sought redress.*

The KRACHI DENTE worship, therefore, has thousands of followers. It has also, in one form or the other, spread to many parts of West Africa, especially to Togo, Benin and La Còte d'Ivoire. How it came to be firmly established in the coastal districts of Togo and eastern Ghana is an interesting historical and religious phenomenon which this study attempts to explain.

DALE MASSIASTA

1ST JANUARY 1999

REFERENCE AND NOTES

1. T. D. ADAMS, An Elementary Geography of the Gold Coast, University Press Ltd, London, 1940, p. 186.

2. Ibidem, p. 185.

* The KRACHI DENTE shrine in Kete Krachi, because of its historical and religious importance, is a tourist destination on the Tourist Map of Ghana.