Atorkor Slave Monument (Atorkor, Ghana)

Atorkor-Slave-Market.jpg

Dublin Core

Title

Atorkor Slave Monument (Atorkor, Ghana)

Subject

Subject (Topic)
Slavery
Middle Passage
Transatlantic Slave Trade
Slave Trade
Public art
Public sculpture
Anlo-Afiadenyigba, Ghana
Subject (Object Type)
Commemorative sculpture

Description

The memorial is located in the coastal Ghanaian district of Anlo, once known for its substantial involvement in the slave trade. A high-walled circular enclosure with a small wooden door, which serves as a narrow entrance, leads the viewer to the central feature of the memorial: a life-size sculptural group of a tall European slave-trader brandishing a whip over two kneeling African figures. The African figures, dressed in traditional garb, are chained at the neck. The interior walls of the monument are embellished with a narrative frieze illustrating a popular local legend. The narrative frieze of the memorial tells the story of a popular white trader who lived in Atorkor (a small village located in the district of Anlo): As the story goes: “One day, the Trader announced a dancing competition for the best dancers and drummers amongst the youth on his ship. The best dancer in the village was a beautiful young girl, but her parents forbade her from attending the party, as she had not completed her chores for the day. All the other young people in the village went to the dancing competition on the boat, where they were plied with rum before being shackled and sold into slavery.” As artist and educator Senam Okudzeto notes, “There are many versions of the story. This particular one corresponds with the official government version and was sourced from a website put up by the present chief of Atorkor, Samuel Adjorlorlo, who runs the Atorkor Development Foundation (ADF), an NGO for the development of the region” (see bibliographic citation).

Source

Visit Volta Region, Ghana Tourism Authority

Date

1999

Contributor

Tourism Development Committee (part of the National Gov't of Ghana)

Format

JPEG

Language

English

Type

Visual Arts-Sculpture

Bibliographic Citation

Okudzeto, Senam. "Emotive Histories: The Politics of Remembering Slavery in Contemporary Ghana." Atlantic Studies 9, no. 3 (2012): 337-61.
Akyeampong, E. "History, Memory, Slave-Trade and Slavery in Anlo (Ghana)." Slavery and Abolition 22., no. 2 (2010): 1-24.

Rights Holder

Renée Ater

Still Image Item Type Metadata

Original Format

Sculpture

Citation

“Atorkor Slave Monument (Atorkor, Ghana),” Contemporary Monuments to the Slave Past, accessed October 5, 2024, https://slaverymonuments.org/items/show/1166.

Geolocation