Remembering family history involves creating genealogies, organizing family events like homecoming festivals, and preserving objects or sites of historical significance. These activities play a crucial role in uniting dispersed families and shaping their future. Two key themes emerged from Professor Carola Lenz’s lecture: the divisive and unifying forces at work in family memory and family histories as a window to African experiences of colonialism (and decolonization), Christianity, and Western education.

Stages of Family Remembering

Professor Carola Lenz observed that memory practices have undergone significant changes over the past five decades in terms of what and who is being remembered, for which purposes, who remembers with which authority, and for which audience.

Before colonialism and the spread of Christianity, family memories in Northwestern Ghana and other parts of Africa focused on tracing migration roots and settlement histories. This practice sought to uncover genealogical connections and to remember past struggles.

Memory-making was closely linked to the needs of a peasant economy, including the solidification of land rights and the recognition of chief titles when chieftaincy was present. Families without registered land needed to have a narrative that demonstrated their ancestors were the original occupants, or that showed that they obtained the land from someone else. Additionally, peasant families had to manage their marital ties by keeping track of all exchanges made during ceremonies and ensuring that any outstanding debts were settled. Another important aspect was organizing agricultural labor by identifying who belonged to their lineage and protecting the family from supernatural threats. As Professor Lenz noted, “family memory making was organized around safeguarding the reproduction of the lineage and it also included safeguarding a good standing in the wider web of relatives and clans”.

Methods of Constructing Memories and Transmitting Them

During the pre-colonial era, memory construction methods were primarily oral. Living together in common homesteads facilitated the transfer of knowledge and traditions to the next generation. Importantly, this communal living helped forge alliances between lineages, strengthen family units, and manage conflicts within families. As a result, narratives about family history were often vague, as being overly precise could lead to disputes. Therefore, strategic silences about extramarital relationships or uncertain genealogical connections regarding past conflicts were maintained to ensure peaceful coexistence both within and beyond the family.

The study revealed that remembering was a dynamic process that took place through speeches, songs, proverbs, and the practice of rituals. A key aspect of this process was the calling of ancestors, which involved regularly pacifying the spirits of the deceased. This practice always included reciting the names of ancestors and conducting sacrifices. Ancestor names served as important mnemonic devices. Like the order in which genealogical names are mentioned, the meanings of these names were subject to various interpretations and could evolve and depend on the context. Ancestor names often evoked memories of significant historical events, such as slavery and the onset of colonial rule, and they also carried moral lessons for future generations.

The research further revealed that funerals serve to commemorate family history and honour the experiences and achievements of deceased individuals. Traditionally, men were celebrated for their roles as hunters, warriors, or farmers, while women were recognized as diligent farmers and nurturing mothers. In contemporary discussions, professional accomplishments have also been included in the range of memorable contributions.

The stories shared by women are also significant. They often reveal family secrets that are not typically shared with larger audiences and are discussed in more intimate settings. These narratives frequently reflect on past conflicts or remarks about specific individuals, serving to prevent future disputes and foster loyalty amid competition between different lineages. Additionally, they may aim to caution others about the strategies of certain family members.

Christianity

Professor Carola Lenz found in her research that Christianity introduced new approaches to family history. She highlighted how the narratives of migration and the concept of original unity—aimed at curbing the dispersion of the people of Israel and fostering future reunification—provided compelling storylines for reshaping local family histories.

The Bible introduced the idea of "once and for all ancestors," which has been incorporated into collective lineage memories. However, Lenz noted that this concept rarely appeared in indigenous genealogies, which typically did not extend beyond the grandfather. The establishment of founding figures was based on written genealogy found in the Bible, and once this concept was introduced by missionaries, it also became part of oral history-making.

Western Education

The emergence of Western education, particularly through boarding schools, disrupted the traditional ways in which young people learned about their family history. Students in these schools were exposed to national and regional histories and interacted with peers and teachers from diverse ethnic backgrounds. In some cases, teachers encouraged students to share their tribal histories, which shifted the authority of validating these narratives from elders to educators. This change created a new framework for understanding memory and the process of memory writing.

For many families involved in the study, this shift did not immediately affect their methods of memory-making. However, it later contributed to practical aspects such as gathering labour cards, writing CVs for job applications, and creating testimonials, as well as organizing photographs and snapshots.

According to the study, many families in Southern Ghana and other regions of Africa did not start using photography for memories until the late 1980s. During this time, family members began to regularly keep pictures of important ceremonies and take studio photographs. In earlier years, the focus was on progress, modernization, and civility, which were highly valued. However, students who attended university and received international training began to develop a nostalgic view of the past.

This shift led the educated to take an interest in systematically documenting family history. They started creating genealogical charts, filming traditional ceremonies, and interviewing elderly relatives to learn about their distant ancestors, the broader network of kinship, and extensive migration routes. Searching for a foundational ancestor or a group of predecessors became a way to unify different lineages and identify an exemplary leader whose qualities could be emulated by future generations.

About Professor Carola Lenz

Professor Carola Lentz is a social anthropologist and senior research professor at
Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz. Since the late 1980s, her research
has focussed on West Africa, and she is particularly interested in land rights, ethnicity and nationalism, colonialism, the politics of memory, and the emergence of a middle class. Her book: Land, Mobility and Belonging in West Africa (2013) received the Melville Herskovits Prize from the African Studies Association. Together with David Lowe, she published Remembering Independence (2018), and together with Isidore Lobnibe, Imagining Futures: Memory and Belonging in an African Family (2022). She is a member of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities and the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. From 2020 to 2024, she served as president of the Goethe-Institut