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
An unwelcome visitor has come to Natitingou and many other places in West Africa. He has been hanging around for several months now, and everyone hopes he’ll go away soon. Who is this stranger?
By:
Suzy & Fidel Baldwin-Noutehou
November 01 2005, 7:44 pm | Comments 0
“Tawes’ son is sick, and the family wants to take him to the hospital. Can they go back to Natitingou with you?” He was about 10 and looked like a famine victim. He’d always been skinny even when he’d been eating enough.
By:
Suzy & Fidel Baldwin-Noutehou
October 01 2005, 6:46 pm | Comments 0
In December, 2002, I became quite ill with stomach and intestinal problems. The usual remedies for diarrhea didn’t do anything, and the problem continued to get worse and worse.
By:
Suzy & Fidel Baldwin-Noutehou
September 01 2005, 6:50 pm | Comments 0
“Can you come and look at this guy? He has a problem with his hands and feet.” I asked what the problem was. They told me that, for about a week, the man’s wrists and ankles had felt like there was fire in them.
By:
Suzy & Fidel Baldwin-Noutehou
August 01 2005, 6:52 pm | Comments 0
In August of last year, we started a health committee in the village of Koutie. Koutie is home to one of the most active Adventist churches in the Atacora region.
By:
Suzy & Fidel Baldwin-Noutehou
July 01 2005, 6:56 pm | Comments 0
Perhaps you remember the story I wrote about Mama Nestor (also called Katherine) in the January 2005 issue of Adventist Frontiers. I want to thank all of you who have been praying so faithfully for Katherine and for her son, Nestor.
By:
Suzy & Fidel Baldwin-Noutehou
June 01 2005, 6:57 pm | Comments 0
I would like to introduce you to a friend of mine named Nestor. I have already written a little about him and his mother, Catherine (to whom I refer as Mama Nestor), who recently had an operation to remove a cancerous tumor (see the January AF).
By:
Suzy & Fidel Baldwin-Noutehou
March 01 2005, 8:00 pm | Comments 0
I was sitting on Mama Nestor’s bed when Papa Nestor and their ten-year-old daughter came in. When he saw the empty bed, he thought his wife had died, and he started to cry and cry.
By:
Suzy & Fidel Baldwin-Noutehou
January 01 2005, 8:02 pm | Comments 0
Every three weeks at 8:30 P.M. we would study at the garage. Jacob read in Baribaa and the other friend would slowly read in French.
By:
Suzy & Fidel Baldwin-Noutehou
December 01 2004, 8:04 pm | Comments 0
The price of hospital bills, medicine, treatments, and lab work is a common problem here. Every week, it seems like someone we know comes asking for help with medical bills.
By:
Suzy & Fidel Baldwin-Noutehou
November 01 2004, 6:43 pm | Comments 0
