In Memorial Tribute to Our Matriarchal Ancestor Awo Amma OboAtaa (1701-1780)

, I would like to devote today’s blog to some unpleasant aspect of African culture. The piece also  pertains  to our family history and family’s origin.

Our matriarchal ancestor, Awo Amma Oboataa was born in Abetifi-Kwahu  in the Eastern Region of Ghana in 1701. She was married to the paramount chief as his first wife. They had three children: Kofi Addo, Kofi Atia and Amma Agyeiwaa.

In 1749, the chief became critically sick; it was obvious that he was going to die. In the olden days, when a chief died,  his first wife and some slaves were killed in a sacrificial ritual so they could accompany him to “asamando”- the underworld, because it was believed that the chief was still going to reign as a chief and help his subjects as he did on planet earth.

The paramount chief hated the custom but he could not change it. He encouraged his wife and the three children to leave Abetifi  before his death. He also gave them a lot of gold dust and gold nuggets as inheritance for the children.

So, naturally Awo Aboataa left Abetifi and settled at a village called Akaa-Buem in the Oti  Region of Ghana, where our family now resides. My grandpa Moses Amoabeng who died in 1940, and my grandma Elizabeth Adwoa Oforiwaa  (1909-1977) specifically descended directly from Awo Oboataa’s son, Kofi Addo.

This story underscores the horrible nature of human sacrifice and the plight of women in general.  It is a barbaric custom. And it should be condemned. 

But the one positive aspect of this story is our ancestor’s courage and defiance against an unjust tradition. We  are all alive  today because of her action. We now have doctors, nurses, business men and women, teachers, pharmacists, policemen and women, judges and professional soldiers,  professors, clergymen, architects and librarians in the family. 

I wrote a short story about this event in: