'This tree was planted by my ancestor hundreds of years ago and my family settled here'
In the Ghanaian fishing town of Apam, a tree known as Santseo stands as a symbol of the author's family heritage, believed to have been planted in the 13th century by their ancestor Nana Asumbia. The tree, identified as Piliostigma thonningii, played a spiritual and practical role in guiding the family's migration along the coast. Today, it remains central to the family's identity, rooted between colonial-era Fort Patience and Apam Methodist Church.
- ▪Santseo, a tree in Apam, Ghana, is believed to have been planted in the 13th century by Komfo Nana Asumbia, a royal and spiritual leader.
- ▪The tree is a Piliostigma thonningii, chosen by the family for its resilience and symbolic significance during their migration.
- ▪Family oral history holds that they planted saplings during their journey and only settled where the trees took root.
- ▪Fort Patience, built by the Dutch in 1697, and Apam Methodist Church stand near the tree, marking different eras of Ghana's history.
- ▪The family initially settled in Accra and later moved westward, abandoning sites where planted trees did not survive.
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'This tree was planted by my ancestor hundreds of years ago and my family settled here'Just nowShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleMark WilberforceApam, GhanaMark WilberforceThe family home has been built around the treeAt the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, in the Ghanaian fishing town of Apam, there is a tree that most people barely notice.It stands on a stretch of red clay earth, rooted between two landmarks that tell very different chapters of Ghana's history. On one side is Fort Patience, built by the Dutch in 1697 during the era of European trading forts along what was then known as the Gold Coast, and used to trade in gold, ivory and enslaved people.
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