Ashanti

...destroying the very foundation upon which the structure we are striving to preserve original: "perpetuate" stands. Its outer shell and form might remain, but it seems unlikely original: "too much to expect" that its vital energy could survive such a process.

A living universe—the acknowledgment of a supreme God—sanctity and reverence for dead ancestors—religion that is inseparable from law—these were the foundations on which the old order was based.

Are there no other alternatives, then, besides scrapping the African’s past entirely original: "en bloc" and frankly accepting European civilization in its widest sense? Or making well-meaning efforts "to preserve the best of the old culture" without the courage, or perhaps the knowledge, to realize that for the African, "religion" was coextensive with every action and thought? It is not possible to pick and choose from his culture and say, "I will keep this and this," if at the same time we destroy the very thing that gave the whole system its dynamic force.

Or, realizing this, should the administrator say to the missionary organizations original: "Missionary Bodies", "We are compelled to restrict your activities in the best interests of tribal authority; we find that the development of these people along their national lines is completely incompatible with the principles original: "tenets" you preach"? In other words, are we to decree that the African is not to be Christianized because doing so causes him to lose his national identity original: "denationalized"?

The first of these suggestions—scrapping the past entirely—must be dismissed, except by those who are prepared to sacrifice most of the inherent characteristics of the African people.

The second suggestion—preserving only the outward form—is in many ways even more dangerous because it is based on partial knowledge. It would preserve the outward appearance without asking where it gets the power that must lie behind every human effort if it is to succeed. It would keep a delicate machine and expect the mechanism to function even after the original power source has been removed and an entirely new driving force substituted—one not completely suited to the old type of machine. In my opinion, it would be better to move forward on modern Western lines than to keep this imitation original: "parody" of the old system.

We come now to the third suggestion—restricting missionary activity to protect tribal authority. I should confess at once that it is undesirable and impractical. In time, Ashanti might have produced its own prophet who could have elevated the "perhaps inspired elements" original: "it may be inspired elements" in the religion of these people into a faith original: "cult" that would have earned the admiration, or at least the respect, of people of other creeds. This would have made possible a policy similar to that...