In this Book
- West African Narratives of Slavery: Texts from Late Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century Ghana
- Book
- 2011
- Published by: Indiana University Press
Slavery in Africa existed for hundreds of years before it was abolished in the late 19th century. Yet, we know little about how enslaved individuals, especially those who never left Africa, talked about their experiences. Collecting never before published or translated narratives of Africans from southeastern Ghana, Sandra E. Greene explores how these writings reveal the thoughts, emotions, and memories of those who experienced slavery and the slave trade. Greene considers how local norms and the circumstances behind the recording of the narratives influenced their content and impact. This unprecedented study affords unique insights into how ordinary West Africans understood and talked about their lives during a time of change and upheaval.
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgements
- pp. ix-x
- A Note on the Translations
- pp. xi-xiv
- Introduction
- pp. 1-17
- Part 1. Aaron Kuku:The Life History of a Former Slave
- 1. Enslavement Remembered
- pp. 21-46
- 2. The Life History of Aaron Kuku
- pp. 47-74
- Part 2. The Biographies of Lydia Yawo and Yosef Famfantor
- 5. Yosef Famfantor: Preface and Text
- pp. 121-135
- Part 3. Paul Sands’s Diary: Living with the Past/Constructing the Present and the Future
- 6. Open Secrets and Sequestered Stories
- pp. 139-157
- 7. The Diary of Paul Sands: Preface and Text
- pp. 158-183
- Part 4. A Kidnapping at Atorkor: The Making of a Community Memory
- 8. Our Citizens, Our Kin Enslaved
- pp. 187-212
- Conclusion
- pp. 222-226
- Bibliography
- pp. 263-275