David Asante: Difference between revisions

{{short description|Gold Coast linguist, educator and missionary}}

{{Infobox clergy|honorific_prefix=[[The Reverend]]|name=David Asante|image=File:David Asante.png|caption=David Asante|birth_date={{Birth date|1834|12|23|df=y}}|birth_place=[[Akropong]], [[Gold Coast (British colony)|Gold Coast]]|death_date={{Death date and age|1892|10|13|1834|12|23|df=y}}|death_place=[[Akropong]], [[Gold Coast (British colony)|Gold Coast]]|education={{unbulleted list|[[Presbyterian College of Education, Akropong|Basel Mission Seminary, Akropong]]|[[Basel Mission|Basel Mission Seminary, Basel, Switzerland]]}}|occupation={{hlist|[[Clergy]]man|[[Missionary]]|[[Philologist]]|[[Ethnolinguist]]|[[Translator]]}}|church=[[Basel Mission|Basel Evangelical Missionary Society]]|spouse=Lydia Martha Otuwa (m. 1864)|parents=Nana Owusu Akyem|family= {{unbulleted list |Nana Adum Tokori, Okuapehene (granduncle)|[[Theophilus Opoku]] (cousin)|[[Amoako Atta I]] (cousin)}}|children=11|nationality=[[British subject]]|signature=|ordained=

| module = {{Infobox Christian leader|child=yes

| embed = yes

| consecration =

| ordination = [[Basel Minster]], 1862}}

}}

'''David Asante''' (23 December 1834 – 13 October 1892) was a [[Philology|philologist]], [[Linguistics|linguist]], [[Translation|translator]] and the first [[Akan people|Akan]] native missionary of the [[Basel Mission|Basel Evangelical Missionary Society]].<ref name=":34">{{Cite book|title=Pioneers of the Faith: Biographical Studies from Ghanaian Church History|last1=Knispel |first1=Martin |last2= Kwakye |first2= Nana Opare|publisher=Akuapem Presbytery Press|year=2006|location=Accra}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://dacb.org/stories/ghana/asante-d/|title=David Asante|last1=Ofosu-Appiah|first1=L. H.|website=dacb.org|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180528204228/https://dacb.org/stories/ghana/asante-d/|archive-date=28 May 2018|url-status=live|access-date=2018-05-28|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=The Encyclopaedia Africana Dictionary of African Biography (in 20 Volumes). Volume One Ethiopia-Ghana|editor-last=Ofosu-Appiah |editor-first= L. H. |publisher=Reference Publications Inc.|year=1997|location=New York, NY}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=On October 13, 1892, David Asante, seminal African Basel missionary and author of the Twi Bible, died in Akropong|url=https://www.eaumf.org/ejm-blog/2017/10/14/8f3ngszf4a1izm0bnuw71rcmkud7s2|access-date=2020-08-13|website=Edward A. Ulzen Memorial Foundation|date=14 October 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref> He was the second African to be educated in Europe by the Basel Mission after the Americo-Liberian pastor, [[George Peter Thompson]].<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> Asante worked closely with the German missionary and philologist, [[Johann Gottlieb Christaller]] and fellow native [[Linguistics|linguists]], [[Theophilus Opoku]], Jonathan Palmer Bekoe, and Paul Staudt Keteku in the translation of the [[Bible]] into the [[Twi|Twi language]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://dacb.org/stories/ghana/christaller-johannes/|title=Christaller, Johannes Gottlieb 1827-1895 Basel Mission, Ghana|last1=Bediako|first1=Kwame|website=dacb.org|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180515141005/https://dacb.org/stories/ghana/christaller-johannes/|archive-date=2018-05-15|url-status=live|access-date=2018-05-15}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://dacb.org/stories/ghana/christaller-j/|title=Christaller, Johannes Gottlieb 1827-1895 Basel Mission, Ghana|last1=Ofosu-Appiah|first1=L. H.|website=dacb.org|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180515141005/https://dacb.org/stories/ghana/christaller-j/|archive-date=2018-05-15|url-status=live|access-date=2018-05-15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dacb.org/stories/ghana/opoku/|title=Theophilus Opoku|last1=Ofosu-Appiah|first1=L. H.|website=dacb.org|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518191024/https://dacb.org/stories/ghana/opoku/|archive-date=18 May 2018|url-status=live|access-date=2018-05-28|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|date=1983|title=Guide to Basel Mission Materials on the Gold Coast|jstor=3171704|journal=History in Africa|volume=10|pages=411–413|doi=10.2307/3171704|s2cid=248818368 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=On October 13, 1892, David Asante, seminal African Basel missionary and author of the Twi Bible, died in Akropong|url=https://www.eaumf.org/ejm-blog/2017/10/14/8f3ngszf4a1izm0bnuw71rcmkud7s2|access-date=2020-08-15|website=Edward A. Ulzen Memorial Foundation|date=14 October 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dacb.org/stories/ghana/asante-d/|access-date=2020-08-17|website=dacb.org|title=Asante, David }}</ref>

[[File:D Asante.png|thumb|180px|left|David Asante, [[Basel]]]]

David Asante was born on 23 December 1834 at [[Akropong–Akuapem|Akropong-Akuapem]], capital of Akuapem, a state 30 miles (48&nbsp;km) northeast of [[Accra]].<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> His father was Nana Owusu Akyem of the ruling Asona clan and direct cousin of the then Okuapehene, Nana Adum Tokori.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> Asante's father was a personal friend of [[Andreas Riis]], the Danish minister and first Basel missionary-survivor on the Gold Coast.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> David Asante's cousin was his fellow linguist, [[Theophilus Opoku]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://amandlanews.com/rev-theophilus-herman-opoku-1842-1913/|title=REV. THEOPHILUS HERMAN OPOKU (1842-1913) |date=2013-12-18|work=Amandla News|access-date=2018-05-30|language=en-US|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180530151533/http://amandlanews.com/rev-theophilus-herman-opoku-1842-1913/|archive-date=30 May 2018|df=dmy-all}}</ref> As a child, he began his formal education when his father gave him to the Basel missionary, Johann G. Widmann as a houseboy and year later, he was sent to J. C. Dieterle to become a personal assistant in his household. He learnt English during his time with the two missionaries who described him as hardworking and bright.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />

On 25 December 1847, David Asante was baptised by a Basel missionary and became one of the first converts to Christianity in his hometown.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> By his own account, he had his conversion experience during a singing exercise at school when he sang the hymn, ''“Come ye sinners, poor and needy.”'' by the American composer, [[Ira D. Sankey]].<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> A few months earlier, he had witnessed the conversion of two labourers, Anum and Tettey at Osu on [[Pentecost|Pentecost Sunday]]. These two experiences had a profound effect on Asante, leading to his [[Conversion to Christianity|conversion]], which ultimately created a rift between him and his mother who saw the whole episode as sacrilege.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />

In 1848 he was among five students in the pioneer class of the newly opened [[Presbyterian College of Education, Akropong|Basel Mission Seminary]] at [[Akropong]], for a five-year course training as a teacher-catechist and becoming proficient in [[German language|German]], [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Latin]], and [[Hebrew language|Hebrew.]]<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> Other members of the foundation class were John Powell Rochester, Paul Staudt Keteku, William Yirenkyi and Jonathan Palmer Bekoe.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> At the Akropong seminary, he was taught by the Jamaican Moravian missionary, [[Alexander Worthy Clerk]] who was an instructor in Biblical studies.<ref name=":40">{{Cite journal|last1=Kwakye|first1=Abraham Nana Opare|date=2018|title=Returning African Christians in Mission to the Gold Coast|journal=Studies in World Christianity|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|volume=24|issue=1|pages=25–45|doi=10.3366/swc.2018.0203}}</ref>

In August 1857, the church awarded him a bursary for further training as a priest at the [[Basel Mission|Basel Mission Seminary]] in [[Basel|Basel, Switzerland]].<ref name=":20">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dW4mAQAAIAAJ |title=Our Presbyterian heritage|last1=Agyemang|first1=Fred M.|date=2006|publisher=Pedigree Publications|isbn=9789988029210|pages=37, 67, 139, 177}}</ref> For five years, he received instruction in [[theology]], [[philosophy]], [[linguistics]] and [[philology]]. In 1860, while in [[Basel]], his brother Oforikae joined him but died a year later from [[tuberculosis]].<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> He was ordained a pastor in the [[Basel Minster|Basel Minister]] in 1862.<ref name=":20" /> He returned to his homeland in June of that year.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />

After his graduation from the Akropong seminary, he was posted to [[Larteh language|Larteh]] as a missionary, 8&nbsp;km or 5 miles southeast of Akropong.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> Here, he encountered [[fetishism]] and [[Paganism|paganist]] customs of the [[Traditional African religions|old traditional religion.]]<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> He built a chapel, mission house and founded the first Christian congregation there.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> After two years at [[Larteh language|Larteh]], he was transferred to Gyadam then the capital of [[Akyem Kotoku]], on the [[Birim River]], about 15 miles (24&nbsp;km) north of [[Kibi, Ghana|Kyebi]], as an assistant to the Basel missionary, Simon Süss.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> Notable among divinities he found in these towns were Akonedi, Ohyiawu, Konkom and Katawere. He was not able to win converts in Gyadam.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />

On his return home from Basel as an ordained minister, he worked with the [[Basel Mission]] at Akropong under the mentorship of J. G. Widmann. In 1864, he was transferred to Larteh for a second time. This time he encountered hostility and found out that the small group of Christians in the town was being persecuted. The traditional authorities hired the youth in Larteh to destroy the properties of Christian converts. By 1867, there were 200 congregants in the Basel Mission Church at [[Larteh language|Larteh]].

He faced one of his greatest tests as a missionary in 1871 when he was sent to [[Begoro]], north of [[Kibi, Ghana|Kyebi]], one of the divisions of the [[Akyem Abuakwa]] state, on a fact-finding mission to gather details of two Basel missionaries, FrIedrich A. Ramseyer and J. Kühne, were being held in captivity by the [[Ashanti Empire|Ashanti stool.]]<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> That mission was fruitless.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> However, Ramseyer and Kühne were later freed during the British invasion of Kumasi in the heat of the Sagrenti war between 1873 and 1874.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />

David Asante established a mission station in 1872, at [[Kukurantumi]], a division of [[Akyem Abuakwa]].<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> There a school for converts was opened and new congregation was started comprising mainly individuals who were formerly indentured labourers.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />

In 1874, the [[Akyem Abuakwa]] capital, [[Kibi, Ghana|Kyebi]] assumed district status which meant the town could host both a minster and a catechist.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> In 1875, he replaced a European missionary at [[Kibi, Ghana|Kyebi]], where he faced intimidation and litigation from his own relatives.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> His cousin, the paramount chieftain of Akyem Abuakwa, the Okyehene, [[Amoako Atta I]], his sister, Kyerewaa and, the Okyehene's mother, Ampofoaa, and other state functionaries were opposed to conversion of domestic slaves to Christianity and the abolition of local slavery as they viewed the practice as a source of income and political power.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> Protestant missionaries preached the ideals of egalitarianism which diluted the social hierarchy of African traditional authority. Furthermore, Asante as a mission agent adhered to the Slave Emancipation Ordinance passed by the colonial government.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> He encouraged slaves to defy their slave masters and by June 1875, as many as a 100 to 200 slaves had severed ties with their masters.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DvHYAAAAMAAJ|title=Survivors on the Gold Coast: The Basel Missionaries in Colonial Ghana|last1=Schweizer|first1=Peter Alexander|date=2000|publisher=Smartline Pub.|isbn=9789988600013}}</ref> Several royal courtiers including his relatives lost slaves as a result of his campaign.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />

By December 1876, Asante had baptized many former slaves of the stool including Johannes Bosomtwe, the sword bearer; Noah Duodu, the horn blower; Thomas Amoadeefo, the chief executioner and Yaw Boakye, the Okyehene's brother-in-law who doubled as the state treasurer or Sanaahene.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> This situation led to the persecution of Christian converts. The monarchy instigated the burning and destruction of the Christian quarters or Salem which hosted farms, chapels and homes of converts.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> This tyranny has been referred to as the “''Akyem Abuakwa Persecutions''” by historians.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> Eventually, the British authorities got wind of the political tensions and sensing a possible disturbance of the erstwhile colonial power structure requested that the Basel mission transfer Asante to different town.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> Many mission workers and coverts fled to the [[Kwahu]] mountain ranges or hid in forests, others escaped to the coast while a few returned to the old traditional religion to protect their families.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />

His next mission station was a small, unevangelised small town, Nsakye near [[Aburi]], about 20 miles (32&nbsp;km) north of Accra. He observed an unusual practice in this town: Euro-Africans from the coast came to the town to consult a local seer named “''Onyaawonsu''”.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> Culturally, the natives viewed these Euro-African creoles as foreigners as their lifestyle was similar to that of the Europeans settlers.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />

Asante then went to Anum on the eastern bank of the [[Volta River]], 50 miles (80&nbsp;km) inland, to reopen a mission station there which was closed as a result of the Asante-[[Togoland]] conflict of this period. The people there were more receptive to the Christian revival. His ministry took him to Nsakye, [[Akwamufie]], Boso, [[Kpalimé|Kpalime]], [[Peki]], [[Buem]] and [[Worawora]]. These new developments encouraged him to venture into farther towns such as Palimé, Togo, Salaga in northern Ghana and Kete-Krachi where the people rejected Christian proselytizing in favour of the village idol, ''“Odente”''.

He sold copies of the Twi Bible in 1885 in the [[Central Region (Ghana)|Central Province]] coastal towns of [[Cape Coast]], [[Saltpond]], [[Winneba]], [[Kwanyako]] and [[Nsaba]]. Earlier in the 1870s, Asante had translated the Bible in collaboration with Christaller.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> He went to Kumasi where he met the Basel missionary, Ramseyer who was a political prisoner in Ashanti from 1869 to 1874. While in Kumasi in 1888, he preached the Gospel to the [[List of rulers of Asante|Asantehene]], Nana Karikari.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> Shortly thereafter, he returned to his hometown, Akropong but faced hostility as he was a staunch defender of the rights of Christian converts when they were brought before the tribunal of the Omanhene of [[Akropong]] who was the paramount chief of the town.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />

After mission work in Gyadam, Asante was transferred to the seminary at [[Akropong]] as a tutor and partnered with [[Johann Gottlieb Christaller]] to prepare school pamphlets for teaching in the [[Twi|Twi language]].<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":0" /> He also helped Christaller in translating the [[Bible]] into Twi. David Asante was instrumental in developing literature in the Twi language. These literary works included translations of a book on the history of [[Germany]], known as the ''Kapa History'', and [[John Bunyan]]’s ''Pilgrim’s Progress'', which discussed and ancient [[Paganism|heathenism]].<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> Other translations of works into the Twi language include ''Man’s Heart'', ''Satan’s Abode'' and ''Ancient Heathenism of Germany'', an exposé of Germanic pagan rituals.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> He composed the Twi hymn, ''“{{lang|tw|Wiase yi nya hyew a, nnipa nyinaa}}”'' which is often sung at Presbyterian funerals in Ghana.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> The hymn alludes to “end of the world” events, pertaining to the [[Last Judgment|Judgement Day]] in [[Christian eschatology]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://hopepresby.org/ob/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Final_Funeral_Brochure_19.08.14.pdf|title=Final Funeral Brochure|year=2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180528204228/http://hopepresby.org/ob/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Final_Funeral_Brochure_19.08.14.pdf|archive-date=28 May 2018|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

David Asante's published works include:<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />

* Christaller, J. G., '''Asante, David''', Opoku, Theophilus (1871) ''“{{lang|tw|Anyamesem anase Kyerew Kronkron Apam-dedaw ne Apam-foforo nsem wo Twi kasa mu}}” (“The Holy Bible translated from the original tongues into the Twi language”)'', Basel

* '''Asante, David''', Christaller, J. G. (1872), “''{{lang|tw|Kristofo Nyamesam ho Kyere}}”'' ''(“The Doctrine of the Christian Religion”''), Basel, (Twi translation)

* '''Asante, David''' (1873) “''{{lang|tw|Abofra Ayisaa Nhoma Bi}}”'' (“The Orphan’s Letter”) by Oguyomi of Ibadan, booklet, Basel (Twi translation)

* '''Asante, David''' (1874) “''{{lang|tw|Onipa Koma}}” (“Man’s Heart”)'', Basel

* '''Asante, David''' (1874) “''{{lang|tw|Wiase abasem mu nsemma-nsemma wo Twi kasa mu}}”'' ''(“Stories from General History”)'', Basel, translated from German into Twi, 2nd revised and augmented edition edited by J. G. Christaller, Basel, 1893

* '''Asante, David''' (1875) “''{{lang|tw|Germane Asase So Krisosto}}”'' ''(“Christianity in Germany”)'', Basel (Twi translation)

* '''Asante, David''' (1912) “''{{lang|tw|Twi Kenkan Nhoma}}”'' ''(“Twi Reading Book”)'', Books I-IV, 5th ed., Basel

* '''Asante, David''' “''{{lang|tw|Okristoni Akwantu}}”'' ''(“Pilgrim’s Progress”)'' by John Bunyan, Basel, (Twi translation)

* '''Asante, David''',''“{{lang|tw|Wiase yi nya hyew a, nnipa nyinaa}}”'' PHB Twi Hymn 832

On July 28, 1864, David Asante married Lydia Martha Otuwa, a Ga woman from [[Osu, Accra]] who was a teacher at the girls’ boarding school at [[Abokobi]].<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> The couple had eleven children.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.eaumf.org/ejm-blog/2017/10/14/8f3ngszf4a1izm0bnuw71rcmkud7s2#|title=On October 13, 1892, David Asante, seminal African Basel missionary and author of the Twi Bible, died in Akropong|work=Edward A. Ulzen Memorial Foundation|access-date=2018-06-12|language=en-US|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612212532/https://www.eaumf.org/ejm-blog/2017/10/14/8f3ngszf4a1izm0bnuw71rcmkud7s2|archive-date=12 June 2018|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In early October 1892, he suffered a [[stroke]] during a church service at the [[Christ Presbyterian Church, Akropong|Christ Presbyterian Church]] in his hometown, [[Akropong]].<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />Hedied on 13 October 1892.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> His words on his dying bed were, ''“I have finished my course, I am only expecting an everlasting rest”''.<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />

* J.G. Christaller (1881) “''A Dictionary of the Asante and Fante Language Called Tshi (Chwee, Twi)'',” Basel, 2nd revised edition, edited by J. Schweizer, published as “''Dictionary of the Asante and Fante Languages called Tshi (Twi)'',” Basel, 1933

* Keteku, H. K. (1965), “''The Reverend David Asante'',” Accra: Waterville Publishing House<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://search.library.wisc.edu/catalog/9910014251402121|title=The Reverends Theophilus Opoku and David Asante|last1=Keteku|first1=H. J|date=1965|publisher=Waterville Pub. House 1965|location=Accra}}</ref>

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