Mohenu, Paulo

Paulo (Paul, Paolo) Mohenu (1809 - 1886) was a traditional priest who converted to Christianity and later became an evangelist of the Basel Mission in the Gold Coast (now Ghana).

Early Life

His father was Ataa Ayiku and his mother Adukoi, both from Teshie in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. It is not known what languages he spoke, but he must have spoken Ga, his mother-tongue, and possibly Adangbe and Twi. He did not receive any formal education. Mohenu’s mother passed on when he was twelve years old. Mohenu was a farmer and a hunter by profession.

Work as a Priest of the Ga Religion

Mohenu was initiated into the religion by a well-known priest in Teshie when he was about 19 years old. The initiation took place in the bush one night. At the initiation, a concoction of blood from Mohenu and his master was mixed and he drank it. He became very popular in Ga areas. He often performed at functions like funerals and festivals to exhibit his magical powers and incantations. He served a deity called *“Dzabaa” * and * “Atiko.” * People consulted him for solution to their problems as well as invitations to festivals, marriages, and funerals. He also used herbs to heal sick people. He settled at a village known as Gunwuluno, near Abokobi, to serve his clients. Later on, he revealed that his previous life was full of tricks and magic.

Conversion and Baptism

In 1854, the English colonial government burned down Osu in the Greater Accra Region, because of the refusal to pay the poll tax ordinance. Johannes Zimmerman, who was then in charge of the mission station at Osu, and his family moved from Osu to settle and start a new Christian community in Abokobi. A Basel missionary named John Stanger started evangelizing the area of Abokobi and its surroundings. He won two converts at a village called Abladzei, near Abokobi, where Mohenu had moved to reside. One day, his anger was kindled, like the merchants in Acts 16, at the prospect that he might lose all the local people who were converting to the new faith. It has been said that Mohenu was furious when missionaries visited his house, one day when he was home.

Mohenu discovered that his farm has been plundered by pigs. He then decided to keep a vigil at the farm during the night to ward off the pigs. But that evening, in a vision, he saw a dazzling light and a huge headless snake. He tried to fire at the snake with his gun but a voice insisted that he should not. This frightful event caused him an illness that proved resistant to treatment. Eventually, he went into coma and in a vision, he was admonished by an angel to forsake his former life and give his life to Christ.

After he heard street preaching in the neighbourhood of Abokobi, he was touched deep in his unconscious being and was led to apply for baptism. At first nobody took him seriously, but his insistence made people believe him. Along with seventeen other catechumens, [1] he was baptised in October of 1857 at Gunwuluno, near Abokobi. In those days, catechumens were prepared for baptism during at least nine months of discipleship. This proved effective in the life of Mohenu. At his baptism, he received the name of Paul. His traditional amulets and talisman were destroyed by Laissle Smith, a Basel missionary. He learned to read the Bible, became an itinerant preacher. Over a period of almost twenty years, he helped found and build up congregations in Odumase, Ada and in many small villages on the Accra plain.

The person who is commonly attributed with the conversion of Mohenu is the Basel Mission missionary, Heinrich Bohner. However, if Mohenu converted in 1857, it can only be said that Bohner strengthened the faith of Mohenu. In fact, Mohenu was already a Christian before Bohner’s arrival because Bohner sailed for the Gold Coast in 1863. Because Mohenu was well acquainted with Ga culture and religion, he became a key source for the book Im Landes des Fetishs. [2]

Work as a Preacher

He was commissioned in June of 1867 as an itinerant preacher and he toured most of the towns in the Ga-Adangbe areas. He worked at places like Abokobi, Mayera, Sasabi, Ada, Tema and Yilo-Krobo. He also helped Daniel Saba in Awutu, Central Region of Ghana. [3] He was the instructor for about fifteen catechumen in Mayera who came for even services organised by Mohenu. This was a congregation that he founded. The first converts from Mayera, seven in number, were baptised on March 15, 1868. Mohenu also received some help from Daniel Ablo, his in-law, to instruct the converts at Mayera.

Because he did not receive education at the teacher’s training college in Akropong, he remained in the position of an evangelist and a presbyter. This position of evangelist was given to indigenous members of the church who had not received seminary training but were eloquent. He and Peter Hall were the two foremost evangelists of the Basel Mission in the Gold Coast. [4] He was found to be a suitable person for this work. His sermons and preaching were described as fiery, [5] and his speech has been described as having a coarse power of speech. [6] Even though he was not a catechist, he instructed catechumens before their baptism. Right after his commissioning, he was requested to return to the new outstations of Abokobi, which needed special attention.

Contribution to scholarship

It may surprising that an “uneducated” man like Mohenu would contribute to scholarship. As noted above, Mohenu was one of the sources to Heinrich Borner’s book, Im Landes des Fetischs. This book was a contribution to understanding Ga religion and culture. Even though Mohenu was not the author, Bohner as an eyewitness received contribution from Mohenu to guide his judgments and conclusions. This book has received some criticism. [7]

Death, Memorial, and Legacy

Mohenu died in 1886 at the ripe age of 77. He was buried in the Basel Mission cemetery in Abokobi. Due to his tours, it is possible that he contracted plasmodium, causing his death. In 1986, a special memorial service was held on the centenary of his death at Abokobi, Greater Accra Region of Ghana. [8] On that occasion, I. H. Frempong, moderator of the Synod of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, presented a shield depicting the picture of Mohenu and an award of ȼ3,000 (three thousand cedis) that church groups could competed for annually within the Ga Presbytery to encourage Bible studies. The cash was used to purchase books in memory of Mohenu at the Trinity College Library, Legon (now Trinity Theological Seminary). [9] The Teshie high priest Osabu Kodjo narrated the history of the Mohenu family. He also expressed the desire to become a Christian one day as Mohenu had done. [10]

An annual “Paulo Mohenu Lecture” has been held in his honour since 2015 at the Paulo Mohenu Congregation in Teshie-Aboma, a congregation of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana also named in his honour.

Emmanuel Anim Nyanteh

Notes

1. Feuille Religieuse du Canton de Vaud (Lausanne: Au Bureau de la Feuille Religieuse, 1889), 314.
2. Heinrich Bohner, Im Lande des Fetishs: Ein Libensild als Spiegel des Volkslebens. (Basel: Verlag der Missionsbuchhandlung, 1890), 3-4.
3. Abraham Nana Opare Kwakye, “African Initiatives and Sources in Christian History: Paolo Mohenu (1809-1886), a Gold Coast Traditional Priest who Became a Basel Mission Evangelist” in E. Sasu Kwame Sewordor and Anne Beutter, African History Between Ghana and Switzerland: Essays Honouring Paul Jenkins. (Basel: Basler Afrika Biblographien, 2024), 119.
4. Otto Schott, The Basel Mission on the Gold Coast, Western Africa. (Basel: Felix Schneider, 1879), 18. Peter Hall was educated at the Seminary. See his Autobiography (Accra: Waterville Publishing House, 1965), 22-24.
5. Nuremberg Missionsblatt. (Nuremberg: Zentralausschuss des evangelish-lutherischen Missionsvereins, 1883) 64.
6. *Der Evanglische Heindenbote, * 1867, 59.
7. See the foreword in Bohner, Im Landes des Fetishs, 3-4. Also, Noel Smith, Presbyterian Church of Ghana, 2835-1960: A Younger Church in a Changing Society (Accra: Ghana Universities Press, 1966), 61.
8. “Paolo Mohenu Remembered,” The Presbyterian, April-June, 1986, 8.
9. “Paolo Mohenu Remembered,” The Presbyterian, April-June, 1986, 8.
10. “Paolo Mohenu Remembered,” The Presbyterian, April-June, 1986, 8.

Bibliography

Akwei, Addotey Samuel Nii. “Indigenous Ga in the Development of the Basel Mission Church: The Role of Carl Christian Reindorf, Paul Mohenu and Thomas Kwatei.” MPhil. diss., University of Ghana, 2017.

Bohner, Heinrich. Im Lande des Fetischs: Ein Lebensild als Spiegel des Volkslebens. Basel: Verlag der Missionsbuchhandlung, 1890.

Debrunner, Hans. History of Christianity in Ghana. Accra: Waterville Publishing House, 1967.

Koramoa E. T. and Reynolds, Edward. Ghana Presbyteri Asafo: Mfe Ɔha ne Aduonum Adwuma 1828-1978. Accra: Waterville Publishing House, 1978.

Kwakye, Abraham Nana Opare. “African Initiatives and Sources in Christian History: Paolo Mohenu (1809-1886), a Gold Coast Traditional Priest who Became a Basel Mission Evangelist” in E. Sasu Kwame Sewordor and Anne Beutter, African History Between Ghana and Switzerland: Essays Honouring Paul Jenkins. Basel: Basler Afrika Biblographien, 2024, 113-123.

Kurzes Lebensbild des afrikanischen Reisepredigers Paulo Mohenu. Basel: 1870.

Mfeha Adwuma a Basel Asɛmpatrɛw Feku Ayɛ Sika Mpoano, 1828-1928.

Odjijha, E. M. L. Paulo Mohenu the Converted Fetish Priest. Accra: Waterville Publishing, 1965.

Odoi, N. A. A Brief History of Abokobi. Accra: 2004.

Presbyterian Church of Ghana, “Paul Mohenu” in Youth Guild vol. 24. Osu: Presbyterian Youth Resource Centre, 2022.

Ringwald, Walter. Stafette in Afrika. Stuttgart: Evang. Missionsverlag, 1957.

Schott, Otto. The Basel Mission on the Gold Coast, Western Africa. Basel: Felix Schneider, 1879.

Schrenk, Elias. Pilgerleben und Pilgerarbeit. Second Edition. Basel: Ernst Röttger, 1905.

Smith, Noel. Presbyterian Church of Ghana 1835-1960: A Younger Church in a Changing Society. Accra: Ghana Universities Press, 1966.

Steiner, Paul. Paulo Mohenu, der bekehrte Festishpriester. Basel: Verlag des Missions-Comptoirs, 1878.

This article was researched and submitted in December, 2024 by Emmanuel Anim Nyanteh, a graduate of Trinity Theological Seminary and a member of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Christ Congregation Afutu-Nsawam.