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Ghana (from August 1978 to January 1979) and to devote more time to the
AburaDunkwaresearch, I decided on a more comprehensive approach. My
intention was to chart allAburaDunkwafarnilylands,andmy-firststep-was
to inform the Chief of the town and the Omanhene of Abura Traditional
Area of the work that was to be undertaken and of its purpose.
I got into touch with a geographer/cartographer at the University
of Cape Coast, who was willing to undertake a detailed family land survey.
Casual labourers were hired locally for the work of cutting footpaths along
the boundaries of family lands which, as was to be expected, ran mostly
through uncultivated bush. The family heads co-operated by joining us in
the fields and showing us their boundaries. The land had to be measured
with the aid of a measuring tape and a compass with a graduated scale. The
data thus obtained were converted into lines by the geographers at the
university. At some points it was impossible to take measurements, e.g.
when the ground was marshy, or when the borders between two or more
lands were formed by rivers. The mapping process brought conflicts to light,
not created by our surveying activities but of long standing. Their nature
was studied carefully since they formed an essential part of the research
subject.
In addition to a precise map of the family lands, we needed data
on the various family groups: how many adult members they had, and who
was permitted to claim a piece ofland. For this purpose, we made use of the
membership list of the Eyije kuw, the AburaDunkwa funeral society. Such
membership is by family group, each family contributing proportionately
to the number of adults in the group. Family heads came to pay their
contributions every second Saturday and the total takings were donated to
a family group whose turn it was to arrange funeral festivities for one or
more of its deceased.
The records of the society are comparatively accurate and up-todate
since all family groups in the area are registered. Family heads ensure
that they pay for all their adult members, but also that they do not pay for
too many. However, this does not mean that the numbers recorded equal
those of adults who may claim land: among people for whom a family
group feels obliged to arrange funeral festivities (three months after the
burial) will be many who emigrated from the town many years, if not
decades, previously. The society's administrative records, therefore, could
only be a starting point in identifying their total membership.
We realized an im portant fact immediately: i.e. that there were about
30 family lands and more than 70 family groups. In other words, many
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