One afternoon we were loaded into the fleet of Peace Corps vehicles and set off for M’Poti. Peace Corps Togo staff had arranged for a meeting with the canton chief. It was a day of perfectly blue skies with large rolling-hill-clouds. Exiting the training center is a sudden entrance into the “real world,” — a foreign and new, but very real, world. The center is its own miniature village ensconced in a perimeter of trees, bush, and river which hide the noises of the road and town. We are eased into Togolese culture and life, guided along by our teachers and staff (themselves Togolese) who respond to our curiosity with open explanation.  I sat in the back of the land cruiser watching the road unfurl behind us. 

Our driver expertly sped us along: Motorcyclists and walkers slipped into the distance. As we slowed and turned on to a small path into the village, children looked up eagerly, some clapping and jumping. The white jeeps drew the attention of adults as well, who paused in their work to watch the careful negotiations of vehicles along the foot path all the way to the front yard of the chief. We approached and bowed towards the older men already seated by the house. In Togo you bow your head and bend your knees, hands on thighs, when greeting an older or higher ranking person. It wasn’t clear which of the men was the chief so I bowed generally towards them all. As I was about to take my seat, another man appeared dressed to the nines in a full outfit of lace-like open weave fabric in bright turquoise. He held his hand out to shake — I had met the chief. 

He sat down among the group of community leaders and advisors. We sat in a large circle under the shade of a mature mango tree. Blandine greeted the chief and advisors, introduced us, and explained the purpose of our visit. They each introduced themselves in turn. After that, the floor was open for us to pose any questions we like. Blandine guided our conversation through translation in three languages. I didn’t think to record the conversation before it began, so as our questions ranged far and wide, and the chief met us with funny commentary and anecdotes (and a few surprises), I consciously sought to preserve in memory all I could. 

The next morning I wrote down the questions and answers that stayed with me. While I’ve aimed to copy down verbatim (of the translation Blandine provided) these are not exact quotes. They are memories that I believe capture the tone and essence of what was said: 

Q: How did you become chief?

A: I was a professor and one day while I was working the old people came and kidnapped me and made me chief. 

When he first said he was kidnapped, many of us laughed interpreting it as an exaggeration. Later, he explained in more detailed what this process was like. “Kidnapped” proved accurate.

 A: Sometimes it is more like a kidnapping where they take you away suddenly. And sometimes one is invited to the home of an older honored person and then they are then told the true purpose of the meeting. The new chief is kept inside a room for seven days. During that time all the wise men of the village visit to pass on important information, instructions on being chief, and advice. At the end of the seven days, there was a ceremony and he became chief. If he needs to use the bush (bathroom) or leave the room at any point during the seven days, the old women lead him out of the room and the town crier tells everyone the chief is coming out and everyone must hide their face from him. 

Q: Are the village chiefs kidnapped like the canton chiefs?

A: Yes.

A comment from our teachers: Some villages are moving towards elections for chiefs in certain regions or within certain ethnic groups. And in some areas the the chieftaincy has always been inherited and continues to be so.

Q: What is the duration of chieftaincy?

A: For life. Unless you do something bad and the village removes you. 

Q: How has climate change impacted your community? (One of my questions)

A: Climate change hasn’t really affected our community. But there used to be strong large forests nearby and there are less and less now. And every year the rain diminishes. 

A little while later someone asked a follow up about what steps have been taken to combat these changes. As the chief was talking in the local language the notable brought from the porch two tree saplings and proudly held them up and then placed them in the center of the circle. 

A: Every year we are planting many trees so the forests will stay strong and so that the rains stay with us.

Q: Do you like being chief?

A: I can’t say that I like it. And I can’t say I don’t like it. It’s my role and so I do it. 

Q: What qualities are important for a chief to have? (One of my questions). 

A: I did not know before they kidnapped me and I became chief, but now I know that a good chief must tell the truth; must be courageous; must know how to forgive; must be a good judge and arbiter in discussions and decisions; and must be married.

Q: Does the wife of the chief have any special role or responsibility? (One of my questions)

A: No, because there is a chief of women, their representative to the chief. [A pause]. But the woman tells the man what to do inside the room. [laughter and nods from the old folks surrounding the chief].

Blandine’s further explanation: She may not be the power outside and in public, but she is the power inside — behind the scenes. 

Q: What have you learned from being the chief?

A: I’ve learned how to welcome guests; how to judge; how to hold my emotions and control my emotions and those of others during judgement (people don’t like to be blamed and it’s an intense process). And [to chuckles]. I’ve learned how to hold in my hunger. Judgements and debates can take all day and they have to go straight through. 

Q: Does the chief have the right to establish new rules about what people can and can’t do in the village.

A: Yes. For example you can hear the music from the bar now. If it was bothering people, I could make a rule that it needed to be turned down, or turned off by night time. I would send the town crier to the barman to announce my rule. 

Q: Is there anything in the village that is forbidden?

A: Yes there are forbidden things. There are actually two cemeteries. One for people who have done good and one for people who have not. And there’s different types of funerals for different ages and for whichever cemetery the person will be buried in. 

Q: If you had a Peace Corps volunteer in your community, what qualities would you like them to have? How would you like them to help?

A: I would like them to share the knowledge they have from the United States with us. So that we can also share the knowledge we have. Exchange is what’s most important. When we had Peace Corps volunteer here, she attended all our events. Our yam festival, our funerals. She became part of events, part of the community. And she shared about her life in the US. 

As we exhausted our questions, Blandine asked if there was anything they wished to say or ask. The “notable” (right hand man) told us we had not greeted the chief properly. A standing bow or handshake was not enough. The chief protested that it wasn’t necessary for us to re-do our greetings. But the notable and Blandine firmly said we must. So, we got up and followed the notable’s lead. We took off our shoes, approached the chief, then bowed low into a squat. With knees hovering just above the ground, hands placed on the ground, and head faced down we said a set of greetings and responses. Once the greetings were complete we were allowed to raise our head and look at the chief. 

After we rose up, it was time to go. Power and leadership was on my mind as I dusted off my feet, slipped into my sandals, and helped stack the chairs. After a bow of deep reverence, we said a normal goodbye: a slight bow, wave, and “au revoir.” We had met the most powerful man in M’Poti and the surrounding villages. He commanded a deep respect — enforced, in part, by his advisors who assured that in a deep bow of reverence we felt that power. But who were these elders and wise people who had kidnapped him and made him chief? Who were the people whose knowledge and word gave him his power. How did they come into their position? Had power actually been given or rather placed in a good steward’s hands? Leadership was not something he sought. But, now possessing it (or being possessed by it?), he was reflective and thoughtful about his role. It is his job and he seeks to do it well. 

We climbed aboard our fleet of white SUVs and worked our way out of M’Poti. An older woman paused her pounding of grain to smile and wave us off. Her arm showed strong lifelong muscles. Most likely, she was a “behind the scenes” power as well, like the chief’s wife. These sources of influence, power, and knowledge were openly discussed with wit and a smile. But they don’t hold the title, don’t take the starring role. 

They say, heavy is the head that wears the crown. I’ll add: nimble and skilled are the hands which forge the crown. And strong are the hands which place (and remove) it.