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Asukwa 1Widan and over other landholding families at Dunkwa, puts the<br />
Abura-Dunkwa Stool lands in the centre of attention. This is what we<br />
eJ{p~ieI!c:e_c:lYi!len,j!1j:he autYJDRoJ 19_18 ,_we started to havetheDunkwa<br />
family lands surveyed with a view to producing a triangulated map ofthe<br />
territory. We found that the Omanhene desired to supervise our<br />
investigation, or that he at any rate wanted to set himself up as the authority<br />
who would check our findings and approve them.<br />
Acting through Nana Mensah, we were at first (3.11.1978) told to<br />
bring him the record of history that had been 'dictated' to us by Nana<br />
Quansah. We went to see Nana Mensah, explained our way of working to<br />
him, emphasized that we had introduced our research work to Nana Otu<br />
in an appropriate way, and found ourselves able to allay his fears.<br />
Then, a few weeks later (21.11.1978) we were addressed as 'Planning<br />
Officer Abura Dunkwa lands' and notified that our 'head office' at Cape<br />
Coast had never officially informed N ana Otu of our assignment 'to work<br />
at Abura Dunkwaand plan lands'. It was on this occasion that we were asked<br />
to send the information on the lands which we had collected so far to the<br />
Omanhene through the Odikro, so that he could 'check and verify any such<br />
fabricated legends [also referred to as 'fable-tales '] which might have been<br />
dictated to you by what Nana Mensah calls the self-made landowners.' To<br />
this he adds: 'as I have previously warned you the Abura Dunkwa lands<br />
Owarakesem, Ampaah and Foopa are owned by the Stool ofthe Omanhene<br />
of Abura and being looked after by overseers and caretakers.' As this<br />
sounded much more serious, the next day we had a long discussion with<br />
Nana Mensah during which we questioned him closely on the status of the<br />
Stool land concerned. We attempted on the one hand to convince him that<br />
we were recording all evidence, and on the other to tell him as adamantly<br />
as possible that, although no statement was ever accepted uncritically, in<br />
our line of work we would never leave the sifting and screening to an<br />
outsider.<br />
The problem seemed to be shelved for a time until, on 11 December<br />
1978 at sunrise, Nana Mensah wrote a third letter to tlW field supervisor,<br />
instructing him to suspend the field work as well as the cutting of footpaths<br />
along the boundaries of the lands until we had met the State Council at<br />
Abakrampa for a discussion of the issues that had arisen. In the letter, which<br />
I only received later in the day, he reiterated what he had written earlier on<br />
the subject of the Stool lands, this time adding: 'Kwame Nyamekye [the<br />
Tufuhene of Atwea ebusua] has no family land at Oworakesem, therefore<br />
any part or portion of the said land having been surveyed and planned<br />
66
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