Paper long abstract:

Societies of the ‘Slave Coast’ of West Africa owed their post-seventeenth century prosperity to their participation in the trans-Atlantic slave-trade, while their domestic economies relied heavily on internal slavery. Along this stretch of the coast, a number of social institutions engage with aspects of the legacy of slavery and the slave-trade. On the Upper Slave Coast, the southern Ewe and Mina have developed several religious cults which deal with the aftermath of slavery, enabling them to engage with their guilt at having incorporated slaves into their society, while simultaneously mourning the demise of the slaving past, which coincided with an economic golden age. The Adja, Heuda and Gen of the Middle Slave Coast were raided frequently by their more powerful neighbours for slaves. As a result, they developed great insecurities, which they articulated through the creation of ritual objects that stood for their suffering; raiding and enslavement were constant concerns. The Fon of the Lower Slave Coast appear to be troubled by their role in the expulsion of slaves from West Africa, making ritual provisions in the form of prayer, for people they sold into slavery in almost an act of repentance. The focus of this paper will be to explain why the ghosts of slavery assume different manifestations along the ‘Slave Coast’, and how and why societies have developed different emotions – from guilt and celebration, to fear and repentance - in relation to their agency in the slaving-era.