FamilyTies: The Adamah Papers Exhibit Launches
I remember when Tuggstar told me about a mysterious bag of documents that contained records about his maternal great grandfather, Togbui Adamah II. The archive documents the 1800s up until Ghana Independence—documentation of early conversations with colonizers, records of the development projects for Somey and chieftaincy disputes. Five years later, after fervent research, meticulous digitization and much commitment, FamilyTies: The Adamah Papers exhibit launches today at the the Black Cultural Archives—the only national heritage centre dedicated to collecting, preserving and celebrating the histories of African and Caribbean people in Britain.
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In 2013 Promise Adamah-Togobo returned from Ghana with some paperwork, paperwork that confirmed an incredible legacy connecting Togbui Adamah II, Paramount King of Some in south eastern Ghana with an ordinary east London family. What Promise held in her hands was indisputable proof that they were direct descendants of Ghanaian royalty. As we investigated further into the legacy of Togbui Adamah II, we learned about the life that he lived and just how significant he was in ensuring that his kingdom was not entirely swallowed up by colonial interactions.
Since historical accounts of Africa were often not told by Africans, the true essence or meaning of something could be lost.
This collection was donated to Black Cultural Archives in 2014 after they visited us and begun to realize the importance of these documents. The collections create a snapshot of everyday life in early 1900s to the 1950s. More than that, it includes important information about what it was like to live under colonial rule with the earliest document dating from 1858, and have allowed us to start building a clearer picture of what life was like [during the early 1900s] through the words of those who actually lived in the region, and to explore little known histories through the eyes of one family.
The Family Ties exhibition will examine topics such as:
migration of the Ewe People
the Adamah family history
Colonialism and interactions with the British
the role of traditional spirituality and its juxtaposition to Christianity
day to day family and village life
interactions with other communities and Fia’s
The material in this collection is a mixture of handwritten and typescript letters, newspapers, photographs, and personal papers. The BCA will also have audio through the use of oral history interview and cultural music. The creation of 12 panels and 2 light box vinyls that will be created for Manchester can be used as well as original material in display cases. This is quite possibly the first time the Ewe culture has been presented in this way, outside of traditional cultural realms, and is contains some amazing artefacts to detail just how colonialism worked and the impact it had on the people in the colonized regions. Here we have a chance to hear the stories of the people that lived these lives and in their own words. The online exhibition will focus on the Ewe nation, in particular their historic migration and modern-day diaspora, their culture and beliefs, and the impact of interactions with neighbouring nations and with Europeans.
In partnership with the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Educational Trust, Family Ties toured to Manchester Central Library on 6 April until 31 May 2017, and will arrive at Black Cultural Archives, London in spring 2018. In each region, we will hold family history workshops and spoken word event, with school workshops in London that will bringing the exhibition alive. This eagerly-anticipated exhibition will prove how one family’s history can tell a global story. This story, of an everyday Black family in Britain, could be any of our stories. BCA's mission is to help discover these hidden treasures and weave them into the national conversation.
Here are five generations of the Adamah family that live within the diaspora. Togbui Adamah II had five wives with twenty-four children. As we continue to discover the full extent of the Adamah family, who knows who else we may find.
I can't wait to see it in person. Go check it out…it runs until late September!
Black Cultural Archives
1 Othello Close, London, SE11 4RE
England
