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A SHORT
LIFE HISTORY OF THE REV. WINFRIED T. ODJIDJA
BY HIS SON THE
RT. REV. E.M. LARTEY ODJIDJA, FORMER MEODERATOR OF THE PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH OF GHANA
“I slept and dreamed that life was
beauty
I
woke and found that life was duty.”
E. S. Hooper
PARENTAGE AND
BOYHOOD
Winfried Tekpenor Odjidja, fondly
referred to as `O.D.J.' by his children and friends, was born of
heathen parents on or about the 26th May, 1867, at Otalenyah, a
village close to Odumase Krobo.
The name
Odjidja (pronounced Ojija) given him at birth was an old family name
uncommonly used because of unpleasant associations. The name is said
to come from an Ewe word signifying a `porcupine', a nickname used
for an earlier ancestor who was choleric and tenacious in character.
Traits of that indomitableness still linger in the family.
The household
into which young Odjidja was born was a large one. Domestic servants
and farm hands of all ages mingled freely with sons, daughters,
nephews, nieces, cousins and distant relations of all shades. The
able members of this extended family spent the greater part of the
year on the upland farms at Akosomo, Tsredon or Apla which could be
reached in a couple of hours from Odumase. The head of the family
visited these farms during the harvest seasons, and on such trips
young Odjidja would always accompany his father like a mascot. He
was the second child of the fourth wife of his father Tetterwayo
Anang, commonly called Amatse Tetterwayo.
His mother,
Mamlewayo, a royalist from the Suisi clan, married Amatse Tetterwayo
when the latter was past middle age. She became the youngest wife
and mother of the youngest children born to her husband. Young
Odjidja was the pet of his aged father, which contributed not a
little to his early frivolous and precocious life. He was in many
ways a spoilt child, and very much attached to his father.
Much of his
boyhood days were given to drumming, singing and dancing. Before the
age of ten he was widely known in and around the village as a
drumming star of no mean merit, the pride of his father, and the
mascot of the community on ceremonial occasions. His father's
household excelled in the performance of a dance called "Atopra"
young Odjidja took delight in exhibitions. Later, in his words, he
described how often he entertained the farm hands and the entire
household for hours on end with his `odono' drums.
With no
special assignment either at Otalenyah or on any of the upland
farms, young Tekpenor spent much of his time in self-assigned
outdoor jobs such as trapping, drumming, dancing and racing around.
Not so his elder brother Tekpetey who was four years his senior. He
was lighter in build and led a more ascetic life, devoted to farming
and showing an early interest in the medicinal use of herbs. He
later developed into a herbalist and an exorcist.
Otalenyah is
about a mile and a half from the Mission House at Odumase where the
Basel Mission had a small primary school. Through this village also
passed the main road to Kpong on the banks of the Volta. Along this
road, when the weather looked kind, came one of the resident
missionaries riding on a pony with a crowd of village boys trailing
behind. Young Tekpenor never missed this treat and soon became a
prominent devotee. This regular outing was very much resented by his
mother Mamlewayo, who foresaw a danger in what looked like a
harmless pastime. The more she tried to dissuade him from the
parades the more interested young Tetterwayo became.
His father's
fears for his future began to grow and finally culminated in his
decision to send the boy to the mission school at Odumase. His
mother, Mamlewayo, a woman of strong conservative idiosyncrasies,
became hostile and made several attempts to persuade father and lad
to give up the idea. To her, schooling was pure alienation from the
clan, and the solidarity of the family outweighed all other benefits
from schooling.
During the
later part of 1877 young Tekpenor was given to one Mr. W. Buckman,
who had been newly appointed to the teaching staff of the Basel
Mission Boys' School at Odumase. Under Mr. Buckman's roof his first
earnest training began. Apart from classroom instructions, his
master taught him elementary housekeeping and dressmaking. Later he
developed this trade into something which stood him in good stead.
The fatherly care of Buckman helped greatly in switching the country
lad's mind from his drums and free life to the new arts. The new
life he found lacked nothing in excitement and enjoyable activity.
He felt at home in this, as in his previous life, much to the
dislike of his mother.
In 1878, his father became a catechumen
and gradually light began to glow in and around the village of
Otalenyah. There is no evidence that old Tetterwayo on becoming a
catechumen was obliged to divorce some of his wives. It is known
that he expressed the wish to take Mamlewayo his youngest wife and
distant relative, into the new faith. She, however, never became a
catechumen herself during her husband's life time.
Early in 1881,
dark clouds hung over the village of Otalenyah; Amatse Tetterwayo
fell ill. From the description of the malady that killed him it can
be deduced that he died from a form of abdominal ulcers. Maybe it
was during this period that he was baptised, taking the name
Abraham. The illness was a short one, but sufficiently long to bring
together the scattered family. A few days before his death he
assembled his family and to each of his four wives he gave a sum of
money in silver and cowries. When he came to the turn of Mamlewayo,
he specially called for a particular pot containing silver and
cowries hidden at a corner, which he caused to be emptied on a mat
and ordered to be given to Mamlewayo, adding that after his death
she might be in great need of money to look after the children.
The other
children by his other wives were all grown up. Mamlewayo, it was
said, with tears running down her cheeks, refused the money. "0 bie,
Suisi-yobi" (You silly Suisi woman) and with these words he ordered
the pot to be carried back.
Soon after,
Abraham Tetterwayo (alias Amatse Tetterwayo) died and was mourned
for several weeks by the entire clan. From his father young
Tetterwayo inherited his tenacity of purpose, strong will and
indomitable passion for work, his straight-forwardness tempered with
deep humanity. That large `baobab' tree that stands in the courtyard
of the mission house at Odumase marks the grave of Abraham
Tetterwayo. (Reference, the Father Odadea Tree at Old Presec,
Odumase Krobo)
EDUCATION
The unity of
the family broke up by the death of Amatse Tetterwayo. The older
wives left with their children for their respective clans and farms
and Mamlewayo kept house for her four little boys and and a girl.
Parts of Tsredom and Akosomo farms came to the children who were too
young to manage successfully. This difficulty nearly called a halt
to the education of young Tekpenor who was just about to finish
his fourth year at school. But in the midst of extreme perplexity
his elder brother, Tekpetey, barely his senior by some four years,
stood out as a guardian. His mother, who by now had changed her
mind, became another invaluable supporter.
The time came
when it was hard to find his fees or find hard cash to meet small
household expenses. Friends and relatives made every effort to
dissuade Mamle-wayo and her son Tekpetey from continuing to support
young Odjidja at school. Elder brothers and paternal uncles chuckled
when they saw them struggling to meet the demands. Mamlewayo took to
pottery and the baking of a local bread called "Kakla". Tekpetey
tightened his belt and buried himself in farm work, and with that
inborn tenacity of purpose, they kept to their vow to see young
Odjidja through his education.
In those days a pupil had to transfer
from Odumase Krobo School to Christiansborg in his fourth year of
schooling to complete his primary education, and so in July 1881
young Odjidja in company with other classmates transferred to the
Basel Mission Boarding School at Christianborg. Going was not easy,
the cost of living being 2/6 a month, and so 12/6 had to be found
for the first half of the year. The distance was considerable and
the young boys had to carry everything with them on a 3-4 day trek.
The road was not too safe for the young.
Mother and
children consulted together and with heavy hearts agreed to appeal
to a maternal uncle called Obene for financial assistance. This
humane uncle readily provided the 12/6 needed and young Odjidja left
for the coast to continue his education.
The new
environment spurred him on to harder work. To earn some money, he
took to carving and made beautiful wood stamps for his mates and
tutors. Thus enough money came to him to pay his way into the Middle
Boarding School. He added tailoring to his hobbies and spent some of
his holidays with the Nelsons of Accra as an apprentice tailor. He
soon became proficient enough to take an execute orders from his
mates. This added income helped to' clothe himself without asking
anything from home. Often he paid his whole fees from the proceeds
of his handwork. His charge for making a complete suit mostly done
by hand was 4/6.
During the
third year in the Middle School, some of his mates felt called to
enlist as prospective students for the Seminary at Akropong. He had
not expected that he would receive the call, but he said that,
because of the monetary inducement of an allowance of 3/6 a term
paid to those students and an unquenchable thirst for more
knowledge, he joined the class later in the year, and with them
began to take a course in New Testament Greek. He passionately
applied himself to his studies and became a favourite of his tutors.
It was here
that he first came into contact with a life-long friend, the Rev.
Ludwig Richter. Mr. Richter was his teacher at school and it was
then that they became endeared to one another. Young Odjidja admired
the scholarship of his tutor and the latter the assiduity of his
student. The difference in age between tutor and student was not
very great - it was about 4 years.
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Cont'd/2
Written by
his son the Rt. Rev. E. M. L. Odjidja, former Moderator of the
Presbyterian Church of Ghana.
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