“Truly Christian, but no longer European”—these words from the introduction to The Surprising African Jesus (14) describe exactly how I felt years ago when I opened an earlier but similar collection with the intriguing title Jesus of the Deep Forest (1981), also translated from Tvi by Fr. Jon Kirby of the Society of the Divine Word. To Fr. Kirby, the Anglophone theological world owes a debt of gratitude for introducing us to Afua Kuma (1908–1987), a once obscure and unlettered Ghanaian woman whose repertoire of prayer and praise, all of it oral, was as evanescent and ephemeral as it was sparklingly spontaneous. Recordings were made and transcribed by Kirby’s tutor in Tvi (Joseph Kwakye), a selection of which formed the basis of the original collection, Jesus of the Deep Forest. In terms of length, it was more a booklet than a book. Eventually, as Afua Kuma’s virtuosity began to...

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