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Togo

From Bahaipedia
 Togo
Some of the participants at the jubilee celebrations of the 50th Anniversary of the Bahá’í Faith in Togo.
Location of Togo
National AssemblyTogo
Statistics:
Total Population
 -  UN 2021[1] 8,644,829
Bahá'í pop.
 -  Bahá'í source  
 -  Non-Bahá'í source 44,573
History:
Firsts
 -  Local Bahá'í Carl Allotey 
 -  Pioneers David Tanyi
Mavis Nymon
Vivian Wesson 
 -  Local Assembly 1955, Lome 
 -  National Assembly 1975 
How to contact:
 -  Email asnbaha@laposte.tg
Official Website https://www.bahai.org/national-communities/togo
Related media
Categories: Togo • People

The Togolese Republic is a West African country. The official language of the country is French, and Ewe and Kabiye are also recognized languages.

Little is known about the region before European contact, beyond the fact that it was inhabited. From the 16th century Europeans used the area as a trading centre for slave traders. In 1884 Germany claimed part of the region as a protectorate and in 1905 established the colony Togoland. In the First World War Britain and France conquered the colony and established the Anglo-French condominium which later became the separate colonies British and French Togoland. After World War II French Togoland became an autonomous republic and in 1960 French Togoland became the independent Togolese Republic.

The Bahá'í Faith was established in Togo when pioneers arrived in 1954. In the late 1960's the community was firmly established and it has continued to grow since.

History[edit]

Establishment of the Community: 1950's to 1960's[edit]

At the opening of the Ten Year Crusade in 1953 French Togoland was named a goal territory to be opened to the Bahá'í Faith.[2] It was opened by David Tanyi who pioneered to the country in April 1954 and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. Other early pioneers who were also named Knights were Vivian Wesson and Mavis Nymon who pioneered from America arriving in the country from Ghana by dugout canoe just before midnight on May 2, 1954.[3] The three pioneers formed a Bahá'í group in Lome.[4] The first local to become a Bahá'í was Carl Allotey who declared in June 1954.[5]

By September 1954 there were nine Bahá'ís in Lome, and in February 1955 Auxiliary Board member Valerie Wilson visited Lome. In April 1955 the Local Spiritual Assembly of Lome was established. At the time the Assembly was formed there were fourteen members with a further sixteen having become Bahá'ís in Lome but moved away.[6] By 1957 a second Local Spiritual Assembly had been formed in Togo.[7] As of 1962 both Local Spiritual Assemblies had gone defunct, but there was still an active Bahá'í group in Lome.[8]

In 1964 the National Spiritual Assembly of West Central Africa was established and given the responsibility of administrating the Faith in Togo.[9] In 1967 the Local Spiritual Assembly of Lome was re-established through the efforts of American Bahá'í Samuel Lynch.[10] Also in 1967 Helen Reech pioneered to Togo, joining Lynch.[11] In 1969 the first National Bahá'í Teaching Institute of Togo was held in the village of Animagnan on September 7 and was attended by sixty-two. Various topics on the Faith were explored during the institute, and six people declared during it.[12]

The 1970's[edit]

In 1970 Hand of the Cause Rúhíyyih Khánum visited Togo for four days visiting the capital, Lome, and the villages Ahepe, Dzafi and Zowla. A teaching conference and institute were held in Zowla during her visit and she was interviewed for a half hour in French on the national radio station.[13] In April 1970 the National Spiritual Assembly of Dahomey, Togo, and Niger was established.[14] In October 1971 a Bahá'í delegation met with the President General of Togo.[15]

In July 1974 Bahá'í pioneers Charles Lerche and Kathy Hampton married during an International Teaching and Deepening Conference in Lome which received press coverage. The Conference was centered on the theme Building Bahá'í Community Life and was attended by three hundred with twenty-two people declaring during it.[16] In December 1974 a nine-day Proclamation Campaign was held in collaboration with a visit by Bahá'í singer Ranzie Mensah from Ghana. The Local Spiritual Assembly of Lome determined that during the campaign more may have been informed of the Faith than had been in the previous twenty-one years of the Faith's presence in the country.[17]

In April 1975 the National Spiritual Assembly of Togo was established, with Hand of the Cause Raḥmatu’lláh Muhájir and David Tanyi attending the inaugural National Convention.[18] As of the establishment of the Assembly there were ten adult Bahá'í pioneers, with two children, in Togo, and only three were elected to the National Assembly, with the rest of the members being native Togolese Bahá'ís.[19] As of January 1977 there were twenty-nine Local Spiritual Assemblies in Togo and by mid-1977 there were thirty-two and a Local Haziratu'l-Quds had almost been constructed.[20]

In September 1977 the first Bahá'í Women's Institute of Togo was held at which Counsellor Thelma Khelghati spoke on the education of children, teaching the Faith to women, and the role of women in Bahá'í communities.[21] In late 1977 a teaching trip undertaken by five Bahá'ís through Togo resulted in four-hundred and fifty declarations, over thirty localities being opened to the Faith, and eight Local Spiritual Assemblies being formed.[22][23] In July 1979 Hand of the Cause Dr. Muhájir visited Togo and consulted with the National Spiritual Assembly of Togo and Togolese Bahá'í community on teaching.[24] He also taught in villages in the country during his visit.[25]

The 1980's[edit]

In 1980 the Bahá'í community of Togo organized a conference to observe the International Year of the Child in Lome which was attended by seventy-five, including the US Ambassador and a representative of the Togo Ministry for Women.[26] In April 1980 an eleven day teaching campaign resulted in one hundred people, including the entire village of Otoha, declaring.[27] In March 1981 a Bahá'í school attended by forty was held in Lome.[28] The 1981 Togo National Convention had twice as many attendees as any previous Convention.[29] In 1982 a six week teaching campaign was held in Togo during which fifteen localities were opened to the Faith, and two Local Spiritual Assemblies were formed.[30]

In January 1983 the Tidonti I Tutorial School was opened, it had been formed through the collaboration of three Local Spiritual Assemblies and had sixty students upon opening.[31] In 1985 The Promise of World Peace, the peace statement by the Universal House of Justice, was presented directly to Togo's Head of State.[32] In 1987 a professor of educational science at the University of Benin spoke at a meeting held under the auspices of the Lome Bahá'í community.[33] In 1989 the newly formed Local Spiritual Assembly of Houngveke began holding adult literacy classes.[34] In November 1989 Lea Nys, a Belgian travel teacher, had an audience with the Head of State of Togo, General Gnassinbe Eyadema.[35]

1990's to Present[edit]

In September 1990 a Bahá'í exposition was held in the library of Atakpame which was visited by 2500 people over two weeks.[36] In November 1994 the Vivian Wesson Institute, which offered courses for intensive study of the Faith, was opened in Togo.[37] In 1999 a meeting attended by sixty-five Local Spiritual Assembly members from Togo and Burkina Faso met in Papri for two days, consulting on teaching, the advancement of women, children's education, and Nineteen Day Feasts.[38]

In August 2004 jubilee celebrations were held for the 50th Anniversary of the Faith in Togo in Lome and Djidjole and three hundred people attended. A regional Youth Conference was also held as part of the celebrations. As of 2004 there were 108 Local Spiritual Assemblies in Togo.[39]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ "World Population Prospects 2022". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  2. ↑ Baha'i News (1953). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 265, Pg(s) 2. View as PDF.
  3. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (2006). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 33 (2004-2005), Pg(s) 58. View as PDF.
  4. ↑ Baha'i News (1954). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 283, Pg(s) 11. View as PDF.
  5. ↑ Lee, A.A., The Baha'i Faith in Africa: Establishing a New Religious Movement, 1952-1962, 2011 Brill: Boston, p 91
  6. ↑ Baha'i News (1956). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 300, Pg(s) 6. View as PDF.
  7. ↑ Baha'i News (1958). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 325, Pg(s) 16. View as PDF.
  8. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1970). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 13 (1954-1963), Pg(s) 1014. View as PDF.
  9. ↑ Baha'i News (1963). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 393, Pg(s) 2. View as PDF.
  10. ↑ Baha'i News (1967). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 433, Pg(s) 5. View as PDF.
  11. ↑ Baha'i News (1967). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 433, Pg(s) 15. View as PDF.
  12. ↑ Baha'i News (1970). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 466, Pg(s) 9. View as PDF.
  13. ↑ Baha'i News (1970). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 471, Pg(s) 14. View as PDF.
  14. ↑ Bahá'í News, No 472, p 5
  15. ↑ Baha'i News (1972). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 490, Pg(s) 11. View as PDF.
  16. ↑ Baha'i News (1974). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 523, Pg(s) 8. View as PDF.
  17. ↑ Baha'i News (1975). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 528, Pg(s) 8. View as PDF.
  18. ↑ Baha'i News (1975). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 530, Pg(s) 17. View as PDF.
  19. ↑ Baha'i News (1975). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 537, Pg(s) 9. View as PDF.
  20. ↑ Baha'i News (1977). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 555, Pg(s) 7. View as PDF.
  21. ↑ Baha'i News (1977). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 550, Pg(s) 7. View as PDF.
  22. ↑ Baha'i News (1978). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 564, Pg(s) 14. View as PDF.
  23. ↑ Baha'i News (1978). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 568, Pg(s) 15. View as PDF.
  24. ↑ Baha'i News (1979). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 583, Pg(s) 11. View as PDF.
  25. ↑ Baha'i News (1980). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 587, Pg(s) 14. View as PDF.
  26. ↑ Bahá'í News, No. 591, p 14
  27. ↑ Baha'i News (1981). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 598, Pg(s) 13. View as PDF.
  28. ↑ Baha'i News (1981). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 607, Pg(s) 16. View as PDF.
  29. ↑ Baha'i News (1981). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 605, Pg(s) 3. View as PDF.
  30. ↑ Baha'i News (1982). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 614, Pg(s) 15. View as PDF.
  31. ↑ Baha'i News (1986). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 660, Pg(s) 6. View as PDF.
  32. ↑ Baha'i News (1988). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 683, Pg(s) 10. View as PDF.
  33. ↑ Baha'i News (1987). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 678, Pg(s) 12. View as PDF.
  34. ↑ Baha'i News (1989). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 696, Pg(s) 16. View as PDF.
  35. ↑ Baha'i News (1990). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 708, Pg(s) 17. View as PDF.
  36. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 255. View as PDF.
  37. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1996). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 23 (1994-1995), Pg(s) 95. View as PDF.
  38. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (2001). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 28 (1999-2000), Pg(s) 58. View as PDF.
  39. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (2006). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 33 (2004-2005), Pg(s) 60. View as PDF.


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