st. ignatius of antioch and afua kuma of kwahu

144 Pages·2011·6.68 MB·English

ST. IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH AND AFUA KUMA
OF KWAHU: A STUDY IN SOME IMAGES OF
JESUS IN SECOND CENTURY CHRISTIANITY
AND MODERN AFRICAN CHRISTIANITY
BY
REV. PHILIP TETTEH LARYEA
A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY,
UNIVERSITY OF NATAL, IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF THE MASTER
OF THEOLOGY DEGREE IN AFRICAN CHRISTIANITY
JUNE, 2000
NATAL, PIETERMARITZBURG
DECLARATION
Ihereby declare that this thesis is an original research worl~ composed by me, and is no way a
reproduction either in part or in whole. I wish to state also that this work has not been
accepted in any previous application for adegree.
LaryC~
Philip
June, 2000
II
DEDICATION
This thesis is dedicated to my dear wife Kotso, my children Afoley, AwoIJJJ and Nii Afotey
who created a congenial home situation oflove and support to enable me complete this work.
III
ABSTRACT
Christian religious experience whether it occurs in the second century or in modem
Africa is one and the same, and although the experiences may differ it is possible to draw
correlations to suggestthat such experiences bearwitness to a common reality. St. Ignatius of
Antioch who lived in the second century and Afua Kuma who hails from Kwahu in the
EasternRegion ofGhana, are used to demonstrate this reality.
My sources for Ignatius' are the seven letters he wrote, six to churches he visited and one
to his friend Polycarp ofSmyrna, whilst he was on his way to martyrdom in Rome. As bishop
ofAntioch he is concerned about the unity ofthe church and consequently focuses attention
on false doctrines and the development of what was becoming "orthodox" tradition. A
number ofpeculiar images referring to Christ emerge in his work, such"as apXEta (archive),
8upa (door), xapaK1"rlp (stamp) and 8t)(:nacr'trlpwv (altar). This picturesque and vivid
imagery is traced to his propensity for rhetoric, which, though Asian, bears resemblance to
the Greek and Roman folkloric traditions.
The Apae or the courthouse praise poetry ofthe Akan folkloric tradition is the vehicle that
Afua Kuma employs to express her faith in Jesus. A crisis in Madam Kuma's life must have
led her to fathom the depths ofher traditional background and upbringing and this she feeds
into her understanding ofJesus. In her poetry Jesus is imaged as Adontehene, Benkumhene,
:Jkatakyie, :Jkokodurufo, Okuruakwaban, and Adubasap::m and is made to perform all the
functions associated with regal authority. She also shows awareness ofmodem political and
social structures in these images.
This thesis shows that it is the fruit of the Christian imagination born in the context of
praise and worship, which ought to feed and nourish academic theology so as to keep it in
touch with the spiritual vitality experienced in the community offaith.
IV
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I wish to place on record my gratitude to those who in diverse ways assisted me to write
this thesis. I owe a debt of gratitude to my supervisors Profs. Andrew Walls and Kwam~
Bediako. When it became difficult to obtain in substantial quantities materials on St. Ignatius,
it was Prof. Walls who came to my rescue. Prof. Bediako also put at my disposal his personal
library and took time offhis busy scheduleto supervise my work.
I acknowledge the assistance that was offered me at the University of Ghana, Legon. I
mention in particular the Balme Library and the library at the Institute of African Studies. I
wish to express my profound gratitude to Dr. Akosua Anyidoho of the Department of
Linguistics whose work furnished me with the background and life ofAfua Kuma. It was Dr.
Anyidoho who first introduced me to literature on the Akan folkloric tradition and further
directed me to sources that have been of immense benefit to my work. I thank those who
helped me to trace the etymology and function ofsome words used in the Akan text ofAfua
Kuma's book; Nana Addo Birinkorang, the Apesemakahene of the Akuapem Traditional
Area, Rev. S.K. Aboa of the Bible Society of Ghana, and Mr. Kofi Agyekum of the
Department ofLinguistics, University ofGhana. I greatly appreciate the comments made by
Prof. lH. Nketia of the International Institute for African Music on the chapters on Afua
Kuma, and Rev. Dr. D.N.A Kpobi ofthe Trinity Theological Seminary, Legon who read the
entire work. I am also grateful to Mr. John K. Asmah of the Photographic Unit of the
Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana for making available to me pictures that
were used as illustrations in this work. I should also mention the help ofMs. Korklu Laryea,
the Assistant Librarian at Akrofi-Christaller Memorial Centre, through whose services I was
enabled to derive the fullest benefit from Prof. Bediako's library.
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
II
DECLARATION
III
DEDICATION
IV
ABSTRACT
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT V
CHAPTER
ONE INTRODUCTION 1
TWO ST. IGNATIUS: THE MAKING OF A CHRISTIAN RHETORICIAN 14
THREE IMAGES OF JESUS THROUGHTHE EYES OF ST. IGNATIUS OF 24
ANTIOCH
FOUR MADAM AFUA KUMA AS ILLUSTRATION OF CHRISTIAN 51
INTERPRETATION AND APPROPRIATION OF THE AKAN
FOLKLORIC TRADITION
FIVE SOME IMAGES OF JESUS IN AFUA KUMA'S JESUS OFTHE DEEP 60
FOREST
SIX CONCLUSION- IGNATIUS AND AFUA KUMA: REFLECTIONS ON 108
SOME COMMON THEOLOGICAL STRANDS IN SECOND CENTURY
CHRISTIANITY AND MODERN AFRICAN CHRISTIANITY
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FIG.la JBAATANPA: A HEN BROODING OVER HER CHICKS 126
FIG.lb JBAATANPA: AKOKJ BAATANSYMBOL 126
FIG.2a AKAN WAR FORMATION 127
FIG.2b ASANTEMAN COUNCIL-SEATING PLAN 127
VI
FIG.3 THE BATAKARIK£SIE 128
FIGA CHIEF IN PALANQUIN DRAPED IN KENTE 129
FIG.S 'JKYEAME (SPOKESMAN) WITH 'JKYEAMEPOMA (STAFF) 130
FIG.6 PERFORMING RITUALS FORA DEAD BONSU 131
FIG.? DIVINE DRUMMER 132
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 133
VII
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
PREAMBLE
Atthesametime Ilearnthatcertainfalse teachers from adistance have been passingthrough yourcity;
but yestopped yourears and didnotsufferthem to sow the seeds ofevil in you. Forye are stones ofa
temple, prepared for the building ofGod, hoisted up by the Cross ofChrist, the Spirit being the rope
and your faith the engine, while love is the way leading to God. Ye all take your part in the holy
procession, bearingeach his Godand his Christ, his shrine and his sacred things, dressed in the festive
robes ofChrist's precepts, while I by letter am permitted to share your rejoicing and to congratulate
you onyourunalloyed loveofGod.I
The foregoing is part ofa letter from the second century written to the Church at Ephesus
by Ignatius, bishop of Antioch. The text pictures a vivid scenario in which is portrayed
members of the Ephesian church as if in a pagan religious procession carrying with them
their "God", Jesus Christ and the votive offerings to the temple. Twenty centuries on, a
saintly woman, Afua Kuma, captures in Christian worship the annual Odwira procession of
the Akan with Jesus Christ being paraded in a palanquin as achief(Fig. 4). For Afua Kuma it
is Jesus that brings together the nations, and in his entourage can be found children, young
men and women, strongmen and chiefs:
Amansanhene: Jesus the Arbitrator,
hewho brings nationstogether.
Milkandhoneyflow inhis veins.
Children rushto meet him;
crowdsofyoungpeople
rush aboutto make him welcome.
Chiefofyoungwomen:
theyhavestrunganecklaceofgoldnuggetsand beads,
and hung itaroundyourneck.
Sowe gobeforeyou, shoutingourpraises, "Ose, Ose!"
Chiefofyoung men:
they are coveredwith precious beads
andgold pendantswornby princes.
Theyfollow you, playingmusical instruments.
Chiefofallstrongmen: Jwesekramofohene,
you have placedyourroyalsword
inourrighthand,
andtheflagofvictoryinourlefthand,
whilewe lead youfiring cannons.
Chiefofall chiefs,
hesaysthe chiefs arethe
wisemenofthe land.
So letus bringourtroublesthere,
and let hisjudgementstand.
Theonewho lays his worriesthere
andsays,"Lord,judgeforme!"
isthe onlyonethatGodcanhelp;
God's wisdomsetshimfree?
Christian history is replete with the celebrations ofJesus ofNazareth as these texts from
the second century and modem Africa show. His life and work has influenced perhaps a large
number ofpeople not only within his own time, but also across the centuries. The entry of
Jesus into the world especially beyond the Judeo-Palestinian borders and the sequel to this
entry is acknowledged as anovelty unequalled in human history. Wherever he appeared his
followers broke with the religious norms and traditions that hitherto had regulated their life
and conduct. The new wave ofspiritual fervour and vitality that was unleashed as a result of
the preaching ofthe Gospel can only be described as phenomenal. T. R. Glover asserts that
the impetus of the new movement can be traced not so much to an institution or the
observance ofreligious rites and ceremonies as to the "mystic deeps ofman's soul; ... spread
by the preaching ofthe word, by simple, altogether natural and individual efforts; and flew,
2
like hallowed fire, from heart to heart, till all were purified and illuminated by it.,,3
Conversion to a new faith as a concept, with the probable exception of the Greek
philosophical schools, was alien to the existing religious traditions, and one can therefore
appreciate the zeal with which the Empire clamped down on Christians to force them to
conformto the status quo.
Nor is this experience limited only to second century Christianity. From the nineteenth
century onwards Africa has been experiencing something similar as people turn to Jesus
Christ as the result of the preaching of the Gospel. At the centre of this new religious
turbulence and upheaval, as we have noted, is Jesus ofNazareth. It is only natural, therefore,
that in attempting to unravel this phenomenon we should call upon those who were witnesses
to Christ and who in diverse ways sought to relate their experience in their own contexts. It is
pertinentto ascertain, therefore, how he was perceived and portrayed during these periods.
Second century Antioch and modem Africa4 are selected as the contexts within which we
situate our discussion because they share certain common features so far as the transmission
of the Gospel is concerned. Perhaps, apart from the second century, no other epoch of
Christian history has witnessed a massive spread ofthe Christian faith as Africa. It is fair and
prudent, therefore, that in our attempt to understand how people conceive and articulate their
faith in Christ, we should focus on those Andrew Walls has described as "representative
Christians."s Both St. Ignatius and Afua Kuma have been selected as representatives ofthese
epochs of Christian history because they bear witness to what happens when Jesus is
experienced for the first time in a new religious context.
The book ofActs gives an account ofwhat happened when the Gospel crossed the Jewish
frontier into Hellenistic territory; in Antioch ofPisidia and at !conium Paul and his entourage
engage not only Jews in the Synagogue but also Gentiles;6 in Lystra and in Athens the
transition becomes even more pronounced with messages from the Apostles that give
3