Amlade Clan History – From the Anlo Ewe Community of Facebook.
cont…….Amlade Clan History
Late nineteenth and early twentieth century accounts of the Amlade clan describe its members as primarily fishermen and business men, with whom almost every one attempted to avoid annoying because of the power of their god, Togbui Egbe, as one account noted.
If a dispute arose between you and the worshippers of Togbui Egbe, they then go to curse your name in the presence of their tro. If you are on your way somewhere and grazed by a sharp blade of grass, then a snake has bitten you. Thus everybody avoids becoming involved in a dispute with these people.
Some members of this clan are said to be matrilineal descendants of the Lafe clan ancestor, Wenya, who was the first person to explore and settle the Anlo littoral, and because of this close genealogical connection the Amlade and Lafe clans shared responsibilty of enstooling the awoamefia, as the following early accounts indicate.
“The awoamefia comes from two tribes, Bati (Bate) and Adjovia (adzovia). The Amlade and Lape (Lafe) put him on the stool and the two persons carry him home. These are healthy young men of the tribe, not elders. There is no sword for the Awoamefia , they simply pray to god and put him on the stool. They simply put up two arms to heaven and say “Long life to Fia, may he have plenty of children, let rain fall so he has plenty to chop and let peace be among us” The brother of a decease awoamefia looks after the stool when it is vacant until another person is chosen, then the brother gives it to the Amlade amd lafe elders to take it to the new Fia.
Early recorded accounts about the Amlade note, that among the powers attributed to Togbui Egbe was the ability to enter snakes and use them to punish those who offended the god and its followers. Seventeenth-century European accounts about the middle Slave Coast indicate that Whydah and Dohomey were the first polities to use the snake as a symbol of god’s power. From there, use of this symbol spread west to Anexo, a community with which the Anlo had extensive economic, social, political and cultural relations. The name Amlade is thought by some to be more characteristic of the names found in Anexo, where the Ge-dialect of Ewe is spoken.
The Amlade as one of the “first five” clans to have settled in the Anlo area who had no claim to land any where in the Anlo area. Amlost every other clan owns land in the same area or on the northern side of the Keta Lagoon…… to be cont.
Late nineteenth and early twentieth century accounts of the Amlade clan describe its members as primarily fishermen and business men, with whom almost every one attempted to avoid annoying because of the power of their god, Togbui Egbe, as one account noted.
If a dispute arose between you and the worshippers of Togbui Egbe, they then go to curse your name in the presence of their tro. If you are on your way somewhere and grazed by a sharp blade of grass, then a snake has bitten you. Thus everybody avoids becoming involved in a dispute with these people.
Some members of this clan are said to be matrilineal descendants of the Lafe clan ancestor, Wenya, who was the first person to explore and settle the Anlo littoral, and because of this close genealogical connection the Amlade and Lafe clans shared responsibilty of enstooling the awoamefia, as the following early accounts indicate.
“The awoamefia comes from two tribes, Bati (Bate) and Adjovia (adzovia). The Amlade and Lape (Lafe) put him on the stool and the two persons carry him home. These are healthy young men of the tribe, not elders. There is no sword for the Awoamefia , they simply pray to god and put him on the stool. They simply put up two arms to heaven and say “Long life to Fia, may he have plenty of children, let rain fall so he has plenty to chop and let peace be among us” The brother of a decease awoamefia looks after the stool when it is vacant until another person is chosen, then the brother gives it to the Amlade amd lafe elders to take it to the new Fia.
Early recorded accounts about the Amlade note, that among the powers attributed to Togbui Egbe was the ability to enter snakes and use them to punish those who offended the god and its followers. Seventeenth-century European accounts about the middle Slave Coast indicate that Whydah and Dohomey were the first polities to use the snake as a symbol of god’s power. From there, use of this symbol spread west to Anexo, a community with which the Anlo had extensive economic, social, political and cultural relations. The name Amlade is thought by some to be more characteristic of the names found in Anexo, where the Ge-dialect of Ewe is spoken.
The Amlade as one of the “first five” clans to have settled in the Anlo area who had no claim to land any where in the Anlo area. Amlost every other clan owns land in the same area or on the northern side of the Keta Lagoon…… to be cont.
This post has already been read 2716 times!
1 comment