About the People
About 150,000 Otammari live in Northern Benin and Togo. They are famous for their masonry and their traditional homes that resemble mud castles. Most are subsistence farmers and hunters.
Illiteracy is high among this group. Many people only read French, the administrative language of Benin. Very few can read or write their heart language, Ditammari. Most cling to animism and ancestor worship and have resisted both Islam and Christianity. Each household has a family altar called the fetish, where the father of the household makes sacrifices and appeals to the spirits of the ancestors. Participation in initiation ceremonies is of the highest importance for teenage boys and girls.
The whole Bible is translated into Ditammari, but it is out of print. However, the Holy Spirit is moving among these people who have traditionally been extremely resistant to outsiders. Evangelical Christians of several denominations have noticed a dramatic change in their openness in recent years.
About the Project
AFM missionaries have been ministering to the Otammari people since Linden and Michelle St. Clair launched the project in 1996. Today, Ulrike Baur-Kouato leads the project, assisted by her husband Toussaint and three local evangelists. They are working to nurture the church in Natitingou and a growing number of groups in surrounding villages. Suzy Baldwin worked on the Otammari Project for many years and now serves on the Pendjari Project.
People-Group Facts
- Population: 150,000
- Language: Ditammari
- Religion: Animist
I’ve heard of people who believe having their picture taken means their soul is taken away, but hearing this was still a shock.
By:
Jason Harral
April 01 2010, 4:00 am | Comments 0
As a reader of this magazine, you are a part of this missionary movement.
By:
Maggi Harral
March 01 2010, 5:00 am | Comments 0
The sorcerers in Koutie-Tchatidoh have determined to kill one of our church members each year by sorcery, and they have been successful for several years.
By:
Jason Harral
February 01 2010, 5:00 am | Comments 0
Jeanne is an older lady with whom I spend quite a bit of time. She recently began feeling ill, and the hospital treated her for a serious infection. Later, she also tested positive for sickle-cell disease.
By:
Suzy & Fidel Baldwin-Noutehou
January 01 2010, 2:58 pm | Comments 0
Benin, here I come! Or rather, Benin, there I went! After spending two weeks in Benin in October, I now have concrete stories, pictures and experiences to share of my encounters with Otammari people and the AFM missionaries there.
By:
Jason Harral
January 01 2010, 5:00 am | Comments 0
Mama Augustine is a small lady, about 60 years old, who lives just down the road from me. Her husband is known throughout the quarter as a womanizer and a drunkard.
By:
Suzy & Fidel Baldwin-Noutehou
December 01 2009, 3:01 pm | Comments 0
“The Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper” (Gen. 39:23). This was written of Joseph in Egypt,
By:
Jason Harral
December 01 2009, 5:00 am | Comments 0
“She is just like us,” a lady recently said of me to my friend. Frequently, people comment to me, “You are already Benoise.” I take it as a compliment, but I know it’s not really true. They see that I have lived here 10 years, and I dress like them and speak like them and live much like they do.
By:
Suzy & Fidel Baldwin-Noutehou
November 01 2009, 3:04 pm | Comments 0
