Sacred sites and the colonial encounter : a history of meaning and memory in Ghana

''Greene gives the reader a vivid sense of the Anlo encounter with western thought and Christian beliefs... and the resulting erasures, transferences, adaptations, and alterations in their perceptions of place, space, and the body.'' -- Emmanuel Akyeampong Sandra E. Greene reconstructs a vivid and convincing portrait of the human and physical environment of the 19th-century Anlo-Ewe people of Ghana and brings history and memory into contemporary context. Drawing on her extensive fieldwork, early European accounts, and missionary archives and publications, Greene shows how ideas from outside forced sacred and spiritual meanings associated with particular bodies of water, burial sites, sacred towns, and the human body itself to change in favor of more scientific and regulatory views. Anlo responses to these colonial ideas involved considerable resistance, and, over time, the Anlo began to attribute selective, varied, and often contradictory meanings to the body and the spaces they inhabited. Despite these multiple meanings, Greene shows that the Anlo were successful in forging a consensus on how to manage their identity, environment, and community.

greene Gives The Reader A Vivid Sense Of The Anlo Encounter With
Western Thought And Christian Beliefs... And The Resulting Erasures, Transferences,
Adaptations, And Alterations In Their Perceptions Of Place, Space, And The
Body.
-- Emmanuel Akyeampong

sandra E. Greene
Reconstructs A Vivid And Convincing Portrait Of The Human And Physical Environment
Of The 19th-century Anlo-ewe People Of Ghana And Brings History And Memory Into
Contemporary Context. Drawing On Her Extensive Fieldwork, Early European Accounts,
And Missionary Archives And Publications, Greene Shows How Ideas From Outside Forced
Sacred And Spiritual Meanings Associated With Particular Bodies Of Water, Burial
Sites, Sacred Towns, And The Human Body Itself To Change In Favor Of More Scientific
And Regulatory Views. Anlo Responses To These Colonial Ideas Involved Considerable
Resistance, And, Over Time, The Anlo Began To Attribute Selective, Varied, And Often
Contradictory Meanings To The Body And The Spaces They Inhabited. Despite These
Multiple Meanings, Greene Shows That The Anlo Were Successful In Forging A Consensus
On How To Manage Their Identity, Environment, And Community.