Anniversaries are occasions for celebrating the truism of history as the "craftsman" who shapes the lives, the future direction and progress of nations and peoples.
Nations and peoples who do not treasure and celebrate their history have therefore killed their zeal to forge ahead.
Søren Kierkegaard, one of the fathers of modern Existentialism, has said: "Life is lived forward but it is understood backward."
The Very Reverend Dr Livingstone Buama, Former Moderator of the E.P. Church often stressed the importance of self-examination anytime an important occasion was celebrated by communities and nations to bring home the observation made by Kierkegaard.
So was the case with the Chiefs and people of Taviefe, who on Sunday November 8 climaxed the celebration of 100 years of the arrival of Christian Evangelization and its bedfellow, formal education in that community.
This is how Taviefe, a predominantly farming community, hemmed in-between the Ameklu and Gbogbotsyue Mountains eight kilometres West of Ho in the Volta Region of Ghana had lived "its life forward and understood it backward" as narrated in a historical account titled "Evangelization and Education at Taviefe 100 years" edited by Professor Ansa K. Asamoa, a son of the soil, and launched as part of the celebration.
The people of Taviefe popularly referred to as "Ohio" were said to belong to the Dogbonyigbo group comprising the Anlos in Ghana, Fon in Benin and Be in Togo who as other Ewe groups migrated from Notsie in the 16th century.
According to Taviefe oral tradition, the people of Taviefe belonged to the Anlo stock but had to leave Anlo because of a bloody misunderstanding between one Togbe Anyage said to be the then "Awadada" (military commander) of Anlo and Togbe Sri the then Awomefia.
Assisted by one Togbe Kpatada of the Agave Hlor, Togbe Anyage was said to have led his people mainly from the Central Division of Anlo to present day Taviefe some of whom during the course of the journey sojourned at and formed the present Adaklu Traditional Area.
At Adaklu other groups were said to have left to settle at present day Have rpt Have; Golokuati; Goviefe; Anfoeta and Anfoega.
Another group said to be the ancestors of Taviefe-Aviefe used another route through Anloga-Aflao-Tsevie-Agu-Nyive stopped briefly at Aflawu where a group remained behind and inhabited what is known today as Viefe in Aflao.
A section of this second group settled at present day Nyive in both Ghana and Togo while others proceeded finally to settle at Taviefe-Aviefe.
Many years later it was said that a group from Taviefe-Tsetse migrated to settle at Shia while Ave a few kilometres away from Shia was founded by a hunter from Taviefe-Avenya.
It was said that since time immemorial a strong bond of solidarity developed among Taviefe, Adaklu, Shia and Ave and any external aggression against one of them constituted an attack against all of them.
Discussions are said to be going on towards the formation of an association of all the kin of Anyage-Kpatada towns of Taviefe; Adaklu; Shia; Ave; Nyive; Have; Golokuati; Goviefe Anfoeta and Anfoega.
In spite of the breaking away, Taviefe and Adaklu were said to have remained loyal to their Anlo roots and therefore supported the Anlo-Akwamu-Peki-Asante Alliance," in those days of wars.
"Because of the terrible war adventure in which Taviefe was trapped for decades in the 19th century it was not easy to introduce Christianity there" as the chiefs and people were said to be highly suspicious of foreigners and strangers.
At a point one Togbe Bele Komla, the Traditional Priest of Taviefe was said to have told one Franz Klu from Ho, the first teacher and representative of the North German Missionaries to be sent to Taviefe, thus, "you are a priest and I am also a priest. You say prostitution is a sin. Prostitution is also a stigma in our religion".
The initial non-acceptance of the Christian religion in Taviefe as recounted was because they did not regard the "Ten Commandments as morally novel and alien to Ewe religion."
Whereas the North German Mission became active in neighbouring Ho in 1859 it was not until 1903 when formal evangelization started in Taviefe.
The name Taviefe was according to oral tradition adopted because on reaching the top of the Ameklu Mountain range from Ho overlooking what was to be their new settlement below, Togbe Anyage could hardly move and his people appealed to him to "crawl bit by bit" which in Ewe is "Ta Vie."
Despite their religious differences the early Christian community in Taviefe and their compatriots who were adherents of traditional religion were then, as now united in their support for the development of formal education in the community.
At a point, in order to deal with truancy among pupils and reluctance of parents to send their children to school, the then Fiaga of Taviefe Togbe Yaotse Agbeli I was said to have decreed that "every nuclear family which had two or three children must send at least one to school. A penalty of two pounds ten shillings was imposed as a fine on defaulters".
Togbe Agbeli's decree was said to have forced people to listen to Christian sermons but enthusiasm for baptism was negligible.
From such difficult and shaky beginnings, Taviefe could appropriately be described as a Christian community with several highly educated people.
"The amazing grace of God of which we have to speak about from generation to generation, is clearly manifested in the faith journey of the Taviefe E.P. Church," the Right Reverend Francis Amenu, Moderator of the General Assembly of the E.P. Church, said in his goodwill message on the occasion of the celebration of its 100 years anniversary.
Togbe Kornu II in his welcoming address took the people of Taviefe back in time and reminded them of "the great sacrifices," that had to be made by their forebears in planting the Christian religion and education in the community and their obligation to protect the gains valiantly.
By Wilhelm Gaitu