In December 1988, the chief of a small town in southern Ghana celebrated his Golden Jubilee, fifty years as chief of Larteh-Kubease. It was a remarkable event and illustrated many of the strengths of tradition in a contemporary West African state.
Larteh is a picturesque hill town in the state of Akwapim, forty miles north of the Ghanaian capital, Accra. It has a well-researched and colorful history, with a present population of 6,500 (125 women to every 100 men). The town's long main street is lined by stately mansions built from the profits of cocoa farms active around the turn of the century: "monuments to cocoa lands to the west" as Polly Hill described them (1963). The influences of German and Swiss missionaries of the Basel Mission in the late nineteenth century are still evident in the town, even though no missionary ever actually lived in Larteh (they worked from the adjoining town of Akropong). Larteh is an impressive Christian town, with imposing Presbyterian and Methodist churches, and half a dozen smaller churches, including Greek Orthodox. It is not unusual to meet people who are fifth-generation Christians. Somewhat ironically, many Ghanaians today best know Larteh for its shrine, Akonedi, one of the most well known indigenous religious sites in Ghana.
Larteh is divided into two sections, Kubease (upper Larteh) and Ahenease (lower Larteh), which have been intense rivals for as long as people can remember. We are concerned with Larteh-Kubease, because the Kubease-hene (chief of upper Larteh) celebrated his Golden Jubilee in December 1988. In addressing the chief we refer to him as Nana, a title used for chiefs and senior officials. This is a form that has been borrowed from the dominant culture in Ghana, the Akan, of whom the Asante are the best known.
Larterians, however, are not of Akan, but of Guan origin, a distinction they share with a few other hill communities in Akwapim. Larterians are proud of their special and separate identity, and claim to be Larteh's original and founding inhabitants. They have their own Guan language: Guan is sufficiently different from Twi, the most widely spoken language in Ghana, to hinder communication. Consequently, all younger Laterians are tri-lingual; they speak Guan at home, Twi (the Akan language) when conversing with outsiders, and English on formal occasions, or in speaking to strangers who do not know Twi. English is spoken in many different forms. Well-educated people (who are not necessarily wealthy) speak excellent, if at times slightly archaic, English. However, children from poorer families may attend school only sporadically (because they are needed at home) and are frequently less fluent.
Cocoa production slumped in the 1930s because of swollen shoot disease. Today there is little economic activity in Larteh itself. Many Larterians live and work on their farms, which are often more than day's travel from the town. As a result, a dramatic diaspora of enterprising Larterians have sought employment elsewhere in Ghana, Nigeria, and other countries. We conversed with many people and were struck again and again by the constant mention of a son in Florida, or a daughter in West Germany. Larteh has become the center of an international network that the community can activate to raise funds for important projects, such as the health center described below. The members of the Larterian diaspora strongly identify with their roots in their hometown and make every effort to return on such occasions as Nana's durbar (an Anglo-Indian word, originally
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