David Tanyi
David Tanyi | |
|---|---|
 Tanyi (back) and his family with Vivian Wesson (left). | |
| Born | January 1, 1928 Bakebe, Cameroon |
| Died | June 3, 2000 Bakebe, Cameroon |
| NSA member | Ghana 1970 - ???? |
| Spouse(s) | Esther |
| Children | Enoch Tanyi |
David Tanyi (January 1, 1928 - June 3, 2000) was a Cameroonian Bahá’í who was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for pioneering to Togo and he also pioneered to Ghana. Enoch Olinga referred to him and his wife, Esther, as the "Adam and Eve of the Faith in Cameroon."[1]
Biography[edit]
Tanyi was born in Bakebe village in Southwest Cameroon in 1928 and he was raised a Protestant.[1] In 1953 he met Alí and Violette Nakhjavani and Enoch Olinga who visited a store where he was working as a clerk and bookkeeper and he was taught about the Bahá’í Faith by Olinga and he and his wife, Esther, became Bahá’ís that year.[2]
In April 1954 Shoghi Effendi sent a cable to the fledgling Cameroonian community which consisted of just nine members requesting pioneers to open several virgin territories to the religion and Tanyi volunteered and was assigned to pioneer to French Togoland,[3] and Alí Nakhjavání drove him to Lomé and they arrived on April 13, 1954, and he was joined by American pioneers Vivian Wesson and Mavis Nymon on May 2.[4]
In December 1954 Esther joined Tanyi in Lomé and they established a Local Spiritual Assembly in 1955.[5] In 1955 Tanyi and his wife taught the Faith in Dahomey opening the country to the Faith.[6][7] They were asked to pioneer to Ghana in 1957 and moved to Tamale arriving on March 3 that year and Tanyi became a member of the District Teaching Committee for Ghana.[5] Initially Tanyi worked as a shoemaker in Ghana however he became a certified accountant and secured a position in the Finance Department of the University of Science and Technology with the family moving to Kumasi. He served as an Auxiliary Board member at some point,[1] and in 1970 he was elected to the first National Spiritual Assembly of Ghana.[5]
In 1989 the Tanyi's returned to Cameroon,[5] where Tanyi served on Local Spiritual Assemblies. He passed away in Bakebe village in 2000.[1]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (2002). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 29 (2000-2001), Pg(s) 274. View as PDF.
- ↑ Earl Redman, The Knights of Bahá’u’lláh, George Ronald: London, 2017 p 70
- ↑ Earl Redman, The Knights of Bahá’u’lláh, George Ronald: London, 2017 p 71
- ↑ Earl Redman, The Knights of Bahá’u’lláh, George Ronald: London, 2017 p 72
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Earl Redman, The Knights of Bahá’u’lláh, George Ronald: London, 2017 p 73
- ↑ Baha'i News (1978). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 573, Pg(s) 12. View as PDF.
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (2002). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 29 (2000-2001), Pg(s) 274. View as PDF.
