In My Father's House by Kwame Anthony Appiah

We could go higher up the hill, to Asante New Town, to the palace of the Asante king, Prempe h II, whos e firs t wife, m y great-aunt, alway s calle d m e 'Akroma Ampim' (the name of our most illustrious ancestor) o r 'Yao Antony' (th e name of the great-uncle and head o f the family fro m who m I acquired my anglicized name, 'Anthony'). Nea r the center of the second larges t city in Ghana, behind our hibiscus hedge in the 'garden city of West Africa,' our life was essentially a village life, live d amon g a few hundred neighbors ou t from tha t village we went to the other little villages that make up the city. Ou r hom e wa s opposit e m y grandparent's house-where scores of her kinsfolk and dependents live d under th e direction o f my stepgrandmother, 'Auntie Jane,' who baked bread for hundreds of people fro m Mbrom and the surrounding areas-down the street fro m many cousins of various, usually obscure, degree s of affinity. My first memories are of a place called 'Mbrom,' a small neighborhood in Kumasi, capital of Asante, as that kingdom turned from bein g part of the British Gold Coas t colony t o bein g a regio n o f th e Republi c o f Ghana. Gyamfi, Anthony, Per Kodjo, Tomiwa, Lamide, Tobi, Mam e Yaa, Maggie, an d Elizabeth and in memory of my father Joe Appiah, 1918-90 Abusua-dua ytntwa Printed i n the Unite d State s of Americ a

Include s bibliographical references and index. In my Father's house : Africa i n the philosophy of culture / Kwame Anthony Appiah.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publicatio n Dat a Appiah, Anthony. N o part of this publication may be reproduced, stored i n a retrieval system, o r transmitted, i n any form or by an y means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, o r otherwise, without the prior permissio n o f Oxford University Press, Inc. Oxford Universit y Press Oxford Ne w York Toront o Delhi Bomba y Calcutt a Madra s Karach i Kuala Lumpur Singapor e Hon g Kon g Toky o Nairobi Da r es Salaam Cap e Town Melbourne Aucklan d Madri d and associated companies in Berlin Ibada nĬopyright © 199 2 by Kwame Anthony Appiah First publishe d in 199 2 b y Oxford University Press, Inc., T98 Madison Avenue, New York, New Yor k 10016-431 4 First issued a s an Oxford University Press paperback, 1993 Oxford i s a registered trademar k o f Oxford University Press All rights reserved. IN M Y FATHERS HOUS E Africa i n the Philosophy o f Culture

In My Father's House by Kwame Anthony Appiah