Over time, the Amlade and Lafe re-wrote oral traditions and linked the two clans through a common ancestor who had given birth to twins; one twin became the Lafe clan ancestor, while the other became the Amlade clan ancestor. According to the oral story, the families of the twins scattered and were re-united later.
The common ancestor further allowed the Amlade to maintain communication with their dead ancestors without leaving the area and returning to their place of origin on a regular basis (Greene 67).
The Anlo-Eve are a great example of how African religion, identity, and cultural customs are inseparable. However, a word of caution: Making generalizations about traditional African religion is dangerous. The hundreds of ethnic groups encompass hundreds of religious traditions. For every similarity, there are a dozen differences. Above all else, African history is local history.
For Further Reading:
David M. Anderson and Douglas H. Johnson, editors, Revealing Prophets, Athens: Ohio University Press, 1995.
Thomas D. Blakely, Walter E.A. van Beek and Dennis L. Thomson, editors, Religion in Africa: Experience and Expression, Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1994.
David Chidester, Savage Systems: Colonialism and Comparative Religion in Southern Africa, Charlottesville: The University Press of Virginia, 1996.
Sandra E. Greene, Gender, Ethnicity, and Social Change on the Upper Slave Coast: A History of the Anlo-Ewe, Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1996.
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