The Akan () people live primarily in present-day
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
and
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
in
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...
. The
Akan language (also known as ''Twi/Fante'') are a group of dialects within the
Central Tano branch of the
Potou–Tano subfamily of the
Niger–Congo family.
[Languages of the Akan area: papers in Western Kwa linguistics and on the linguistic geography of the area of ancient. Isaac K. Chinebuah, H. Max J. Trutenau, Linguistic Circle of Accra, Basler Afrika Bibliographien, 1976, pp. 168.] Subgroups of the Akan people include: the
Agona
Agona is a small town in Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivo ...
,
Akuapem,
Akwamu
Akwamu was a state set up by the Akwamu people in present-day Ghana. After migrating from Bono state, the Akan founders of Akwamu settled in Twifo-Heman. The Akwamu led an expansionist empire in the 17th and 18th centuries. At the peak of their ...
,
Akyem
The Akyem are an Akan people. The term Akyem (Akem, Akim or Aki) is used to describe a group of four states: Asante Akyem, Akyem Abuakwa, Akyem Kotoku and Akyem Bosome. These nations are located primarily in the eastern region in south Ghana. ...
,
Ashanti,
Bono
Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2.
Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...
,
Fante,
Kwahu
Kwahu refers to an area and group of people that live in Ghana, part of the Twi-speaking Akan group. The region has been dubbed Asaase Aban, or the Natural Fortress, in view of its position as the highest habitable elevation in the country. Kwahu ...
,
Wassa
The Wasa are Akan people who live predominantly in Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with I ...
, and
Ahanta. The Akan subgroups all have cultural attributes in common; most notably the tracing of matrilineal descent, inheritance of property, and succession to high political office.
Oral tradition and Ethnogenesis
Akan people are believed to have migrated to their current location from the Sahara desert and Sahel regions of Africa into the forest region around the 11th century. Many Akans tell their history as it started in the eastern region of Africa as this is where the ethnogenesis of the Akan as we know them today happened.
[Klein, A. Norman. “Toward a New Understanding of Akan Origins.” ''Africa: Journal of the International African Institute'', vol. 66, no. 2, 1996, pp. 248–73. ''JSTOR'', https://doi.org/10.2307/1161318. Accessed 22 Nov. 2022.] Oral traditions relate that Akans originated from ancient Ghana. They migrated from the north, they went through Egypt and settled in Nubia (Sudan). Around 500 AD (5th century), due to the pressure exerted on Nubia by the Axumite kingdom of Ethiopia, Nubia was shattered, and the Akan people moved west and established small trading kingdoms. These kingdoms grew, and around 750 AD the Ghana Empire was formed. The Empire lasted from 750 AD to 1200 AD and collapsed as a result of the introduction of Islam in the Western Sudan, and the zeal of the Muslims to impose their religion, their ancestors eventually left for Kong (i.e. present day Ivory Coast). From Kong they moved to Wam and then to Dormaa (both located in present-day Bono Region). The movement from Kong was necessitated by the desire of the people to find suitable savannah conditions since they were not used to forest life. Around the 14th century, some of them moved from Dormaa South Eastwards to Twifo-Hemang, North West Cape Coast and to other Akan states. This move was commercially motivated.
History
The kingdom of Bonoman (or Brong-Ahafo) was established as early as the 12th century. Between the 12th and 13th centuries a gold boom in the area brought wealth to numerous Akans. During different phases of the Kingdom of Bonoman, groups of Akans migrated out of the area to create numerous states based predominantly on gold mining and trading of cash crops. This brought wealth to numerous Akan states such as the
Akwamu Empire (1550–1650), and ultimately led to the rise of the well known Akan empire, the
Empire of Ashanti
The Asante Empire (Asante Twi: ), today commonly called the Ashanti Empire, was an Akan state that lasted between 1701 to 1901, in what is now modern-day Ghana. It expanded from the Ashanti Region to include most of Ghana as well as parts of I ...
(1700–1900), the most dominant of the Akan states. From the 15th century to the 19th century, the Akan people dominated gold mining and trading in the region; throughout this period they were among the most powerful groups in Africa.
[The African heritage, Volume 3 Zimbabwe Pub. House, 1999 – History – 180 pages] The
Akan goldfields, according to Peter Bakewell, were the "highly
auriferous
The mineral pyrite (), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Fe S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral.
Pyrite's metallic luster and pale brass-yellow hue giv ...
area in the forest country between the
Komoe and
Volta rivers."
The Akan goldfield was one of three principal goldfields in the region, along with the
Bambuk
Bambouk (sometimes Bambuk or Bambuhu) is a traditional name for the territory in eastern Senegal and western Mali, encompassing the Bambouk Mountains on its eastern edge, the valley of the Faleme River and the hilly country to the east of the rive ...
goldfield, and the
Bure goldfield.
This wealth in gold attracted European traders. Initially, the Europeans were Portuguese, soon joined by the Dutch and the British in their quest for Akan gold. The Akan waged war on neighboring states in their geographic area to capture people and sell them as slaves to Europeans (Portuguese) who subsequently sold the enslaved people along with guns to the Akan in exchange for Akan gold. Akan gold was also used to purchase slaves from further up north via the Trans-Saharan route. The Akan purchased slaves to help clear the dense forests within
Ashanti.
About a third of the population of many Akan states were indentured servants (
i.e. Non-Akan peoples). The Akan went from buyers of slaves to selling slaves as the dynamics in the Gold Coast and the
New World
The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...
changed. Thus, the Akan people played a role in supplying Europeans with indentured servants, who were later enslaved for the
trans-Atlantic slave trade
The Atlantic slave trade, transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and i ...
.
In 2006 Ghana apologized to the descendants of slaves for the role the Ashantis had played in the slave trade.
![Akan Gold Weight MHNT bovid head](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Akan_Gold_Weight_MHNT_bovid_head.jpg)
Akan people, especially the
Ashanti people
The Asante, also known as Ashanti () are part of the Akan ethnic group and are native to the Ashanti Region of modern-day Ghana. Asantes are the last group to emerge out of the various Akan civilisations. Twi is spoken by over nine million Asante ...
, fought against European colonialists and defeated them on several occasions to maintain autonomy. This occurred during the
Anglo-Ashanti wars
The Anglo-Ashanti wars were a series of five conflicts that took place between 1824 and 1900 between the Ashanti Empire—in the Akan interior of the Gold Coast—and the British Empire and its African allies. Though the Ashanti emerged victorio ...
: the
War of the Golden Stool
The War of the Golden Stool, also known as the Yaa Asantewaa War, the Third Ashanti Expedition, the Ashanti Uprising, or variations thereof, was a campaign in 1900 during the series of conflicts between the United Kingdom and the Ashanti Empire ...
and other similar battles.
By the early 1900s, Ghana was a colony or protectorate of Great Britain, while the lands in the Ivory Coast were under the French. On 6 March 1957, following the decolonization from Great Britain under the leadership of
Kwame Nkrumah, the Gold Coast was united with
British Togoland
British Togoland, officially the Mandate Territory of Togoland and later officially the Trust Territory of Togoland, was a territory in West Africa, under the administration of the United Kingdom, which subsequently entered into union with Ghan ...
and the
Northern Region,
Upper East Region
The Upper East Region is located in north Ghana and is the third smallest of the 16 administrative regions in Ghana. It occupies a total land surface of 8,842 square kilometers or 2.7 per cent of the total land area of Ghana. The Upper East regi ...
, and
Upper West Region
The Upper West Region of Ghana is located in the north-western corner of Ghana and is bordered by Upper East region to the east, Northern region to the south, and Burkina Faso to the west and north. The Upper West regional capital and largest se ...
of the Gold Coast to form Ghana. Ivory Coast gained independence on 7 August 1960.
Trans-Atlantic slavery
Many people across the Americas can trace their lineage to the Akan people due to the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Some notable Akan descendants include the
Coromantees in Jamaica, the
Akwamu in St. John, and
Coffy
''Coffy'' is a 1973 American blaxploitation film written and directed by Jack Hill. The story is about a black female vigilante played by Pam Grier who seeks violent revenge against a heroin dealer responsible for her sister's addiction.Gary A. ...
, who was the leader of the 1763
Berbice slave uprising
The Berbice slave uprising was a slave revolt in Guyana that began on 23 February 1763Cleve McD. Scott"Berbice Slave Revolt (1763)" in Junius P. Rodriguez, ''Encyclopedia of Slave Resistance and Rebellion'', Vol. 1, Westport, Ct: Greenwood Press, 2 ...
in Guyana. According to one estimate, roughly ten percent of all slave ships that embarked from the coast of West Africa contained Akan people. Although gold was the primary source of wealth in their economy, the capture and sale of Akan people peaked during the Fante and Ashanti conflicts, resulting in a high number of military captives being sold into slavery. Coromantee soldiers and other Akan captives were known for various slave revolts and plantation resistance tactics. Their legacy is evident within groups such as the Maroons of the Caribbean and South America.
[The Techiman-Bono of ]Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
: an ethnography of an Akan society Kendall/Hunt Pub. Co., 1975
Akan polity
The Akans consider themselves one nation. Akan means first, foremost, indicating the enlightened and civilized. While traditionally matrilineal, they are also united philosophically through 12 patrilineal spirit groups called the
Ntoro''.'' Within the Akan nation are branches based on many dialects, widest and possibly the oldest one being used is Twi. Each branch subsequently holds a collection of states and stemming from city-states. The state or ''Aman'' are typically ruled by several kings known as ''Amanhene'' or ''Ahemfo.'' The state is the basic unit of Akan polity. Several states and city-states can band together to form a confederacy or an empire regardless of clan or
abusua
Abusua is the name in Akan culture for a group of people that share common maternal ancestry governed by seven major ancient female abosom (deities). they belong to, while those outsides of the Akan tribe or the abusua were usually conquered or annexed via war or mutual agreement. For example, the Guan state of Larteh and the Akyem state of Akropong joined together to form the Akwapim Kingdom to avoid the Akwamu, who the Guan deemed as oppressive. Under the State there are Divisions and under these Divisions are towns and villages.
Akan kings are ranked according to their jurisdiction. The head of an inter-clan Confederacy is usually considered a King, as in the Kings of Ashanti, Fante, Akyem and the Akwapim. Under these are the heads of the constituent states who equates an
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
that only heads an
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
(e.g.
Asante Empire and the
Denkyira
Denkyira was a powerful nation of Akan people that existed before the 1620s, in what is now modern-day Ghana. Like all Akans, they originated from Bono state. Before 1620, Denkyira was called Agona. The ruler of the Denkyira was called Denkyira ...
). In Asante's case, as an Empire, the Asantehene reigned over the non-Oyoko clan city-states and ruled over the kings of those states as an Imperial head or Emperor (a hardly used but an equivalent term for Emperor or ''the king of kings''). Next there are divisional Chiefs, they are primarily arranged according to the five divisions of an Akan army. The Fante army or
Asafo
Asafo are traditional warrior groups in Akan culture, based on lineal descent. The word derives from , meaning war, and , meaning people. The traditional role of the Asafo companies was defence of the state. As the result of contact with Europea ...
formation resembles a cross or an airplane. The battle formation has the Frontline, the West Flank, an East Flank, the main body and the Vanguard. There are, therefore, five divisional chiefs in each Paramountcy. These are followed in rank by the Kings of the city and then the Kings of the town and then king of the suburbs.
The Akan tribe mostly has seven Abusua (Matrilineal clans) in each state. They do not have the same names in each state but each has an equivalent clan (e.g. in Fante areas along the coast, the Asante clan of Oyoko is referred to as Dehyena or Yokofo). The clans are assigned States which they rule by their status as founders of that jurisdiction. The Ashanti Kingdom is ruled by the Oyoko Clan. However, the Bretuo or Twidanfo (in Fante), as well as other clans, rule States, Divisions, Towns, and Villages within the Kingdom. The Fante-speaking tribes usually have the Asona Clan ruling most of their States (like Mankessim). Certain sub-clans or lineages have exclusive rights to some stools within Akanland such as the lineage of Afia Kobi in the Oyoko Clan who alone sits on the Golden Stool of Asante.
The Akans are traditionally a Matrilineal people of the African continent. Matrilineal inheritance makes it easier to trace the line of succession. Within each lineage or House are the branches. The chief of a family is called an ''Abusuapanyin'' (or family-elder). Ranking above a family chief (a family's Abusuapanin) is the clan's chief (or clan's Abusuapanyin). These branches are called Jaase or Kitchens. Each Kitchen takes its turn to present a candidate for the stool to the kingmakers of the lineage. Once accepted their candidate rules till death. This means until all the Jaase have presented their candidates they have to wait their turn.
Akan Kings of whatever rank have other noblemen who serve them as sub-chiefs. These sub-chiefs do not have hereditary titles and therefore do not have black stools. Besides, each King has a female co-ruler known as the
Queen-mother. The Queen-mother is more like a figurehead representing the King's or Emperor's eldest sister and hence the mother of the next King or Emperor, she could rule as a King if she wishes (e.g. queen-mothers mainly from the House of Asona clan:
Nana
Nana, Nanna, Na Na or NANA may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Nana (given name), including a list of people and characters with the given name
* Nana (surname), including a list of people and characters with the surname
* Nana ( ...
Abena Boaa who ruled Offinso 1610–1640, Nana Afia Dokuaa who ruled Akyem Abuakwa 1817–1835, and Nana
Yaa Asantewaa
Yaa Asantewaa I (born 17 October 1840 – 17 October 1921) was the Queen Mother of Ejisu in the Ashanti Empirenow part of modern-day Ghana – appointed by her brother Nana Akwasi Afrane Opese, the Edwesuhene, or ruler, of Edwesu. In 1900 she l ...
who ruled Edweso 1896–1900). They present the candidate for consideration as King. An assistant king does not have a Queen-mother as his title is not hereditary.
A Prince or Daakyehen(Fante)(lit ''Future-king'') is any of the members of the lineage eligible to sit on a stool. However, not all noblemen or noblewomen are Princes as some may be ineligible. A prince is not necessarily the son of a King but rather the former King's nephew on the mother's side. As such, nobles strive to achieve the position of a prince in their families or for their children.
A sub-chief does not, however, need to be a nobleman. He only has to be suitable for the position he is to occupy. Some sub-chieftaincy positions can be abolished at will. They include the heads of the ruling house or Mankrado, the Linquist, the Chief Kingmaker or Jaasehen, the Supi or General of the Army, the Captains of the Army or Asafohen(Fante) among others. The way Akans ruled their nation fascinated the tribes of other West African nations and as the Akans conquered or formed alliances with these nations, parts of it were transmitted to them. The British particularly felt the Akan system was highly efficient and tried to establish it throughout their dominions in West Africa using the Indirect Rule System. The Ewes and the Ga-Adangmes with their close affinity to the Akans have modified certain aspects of it to fit their societies.
In Ghana and other modern states where the Akan tribe is located, the Kings, Assistant Kings, Princes, and Noblemen of the Akans serve mostly a symbolic role. Modern politics has side-lined them in national politics although it is common to find that an elected or appointed official to be of Akan royalty. And, especially in the villages and poor areas, traditional Kings are still very important for organizing development, social services and keeping the peace. Some Kings have decided to push ahead with the leadership of their Kingdoms and States in a non-political fashion. The Asantehen and okyehen have emphasized Education and Environmental Sustainability respectively. Others push the national government and its agents to fulfill promises to their people.
In modern Ghana, a quasi-legislative/judicial body known as the House of "Chiefs"(a colonial term to belittle African Kings because of the racist belief to not equate an African King with a European King in rank) has been established to oversee "chieftaincy" and the Government of Ghana as the British Government once did certifies the Chiefs and gazettes them. Several Akan Kings sit at the various levels of the National House of "Chiefs". Each Paramountcy has a Traditional Council, then there is the Regional House of "Chiefs" and lastly the National House of "Chiefs". Akan Kings who once warred with each other and Kings of other nations within Ghana now sit with them to build peace and advocate development for their nations.
The identity of an Akan nation or meta-ethnicity is expressed by the term ''Akanman''.
The Akan word ''ɔman'' (''plural Aman'') which forms the second element in this expression has a meaning much of "community, town, nation, state". has been translated as "Akanland".
Akan language
Akan refers to the language of the Akan
ethnolinguistic
Ethnolinguistics (sometimes called cultural linguistics) is an area of anthropological linguistics that studies the relationship between a language and the nonlinguistic cultural behavior of the people who speak that language.
__NOTOC__
Example ...
group and the Akan language which was and is the most widely spoken and used
indigenous language
An indigenous language, or autochthonous language, is a language that is native to a region and spoken by indigenous peoples. This language is from a linguistically distinct community that originated in the area. Indigenous languages are not neces ...
in the Akan tribes. Each tribe having its own dialect
Akan is officially recognized for literacy in the Akan-majority regions, at the primary and elementary educational stage (Primary 1–3) K–12 (education) level, and studied at university as a bachelor's degree or master's degree program.
The Akan language is spoken as the predominant language in the Western, Central, Ashanti, Eastern, Brong Ahafo regions of the akan clan.
A language with some Akan influence called
Ndyuka is also spoken in South America (Suriname and French Guiana), with the Akan language coming to these South American and Caribbean places through the trans-Atlantic slave trade and Akan names and folktales are still used in these South American and Caribbean countries (another example can be seen in the Maroons of
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
and their influence with Akan culture and loanwords specifically from the
Fante dialect
Fante (), also known as Fanti, Fantse, or Mfantse, is one of the three principal members of the Akan dialect continuum, along with Asante and Akuapem, the latter two collectively known as Twi, with which it is mutually intelligible. It is prin ...
of the
Central Region of
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
) in the language of
Jamaican Maroon Creole
Jamaican Maroon language, Maroon Spirit language, Kromanti, Jamaican Maroon Creole or Deep patwa is a ritual language and formerly mother tongue of Jamaican Maroons. It is an English-based creole with a strong Akan component, specifically from ...
or Kromanti.
With the present state of technology, one can listen to live radio broadcasts in Akan from numerous radio stations and receive mass media and public broadcasts in Akan from numerous multimedia and media broadcasting.
Akan is studied in major universities in North America and the United States, including Ohio University, Ohio State University, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Harvard University, Boston University, Indiana University, University of Michigan, and the University of Florida.
The Akan language has been a regular language of study in the annual Summer Cooperative African Languages Institute (SCALI) program and the Akan language is regulated and administered by the
Akan Orthography Committee The Akan Orthography Committee (AOC) was founded for the promotion of the Akan language and has since created a standard dialect for Akan.
Orthography
A standardized writing and orthographic writing system for Akan was completed by the Akan Orthogr ...
(AOC).
Some of Akan's language characteristic features include
tone,
vowel harmony
In phonology, vowel harmony is an Assimilation (linguistics), assimilatory process in which the vowels of a given domain – typically a phonological word – have to be members of the same natural class (thus "in harmony"). Vowel harmony is t ...
, and
nasalization
In phonetics, nasalization (or nasalisation) is the production of a sound while the velum is lowered, so that some air escapes through the nose during the production of the sound by the mouth. An archetypal nasal sound is .
In the Internation ...
.
Culture
![Akan face](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Akan_face.jpg)
Akan culture is one of the traditional
matrilineal
Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's lineage – and which can involve the inheritance ...
cultures of Africa.
Akan art
Akan art is an art form that originated among the Akan people of West Africa. Akan art is known for vibrant artistic traditions, including textiles, sculpture, Akan goldweights, as well as gold and silver jewelry. The Akan people are known for ...
is wide-ranging and renowned, especially for the tradition of crafting bronze gold weights, using the
lost-wax casting
Lost-wax casting (also called "investment casting", "precision casting", or ''cire perdue'' which has been adopted into English from the French, ) is the process by which a duplicate metal sculpture (often silver, gold, brass, or bronze) i ...
method. The Akan culture reached South America, the Caribbean, and North America.
Some of their most important mythological stories are called ''anansesem'', literally meaning "the spider story", but in a figurative sense also meaning "traveler's tales". These "spider stories" are sometimes also referred to as ''nyankomsem'': "words of a sky god". The stories generally, but not always, revolve around
Kwaku Ananse, a trickster spirit, often depicted as a spider, human, or a combination thereof.
Elements of Akan culture also include, but are not limited to:
*
Akan art
Akan art is an art form that originated among the Akan people of West Africa. Akan art is known for vibrant artistic traditions, including textiles, sculpture, Akan goldweights, as well as gold and silver jewelry. The Akan people are known for ...
*
Kente cloth
Kente ( ak, kente or ''nwetoma''; ee, kete; Dagbani: Chinchini) refers to a Ghanaian textile, made of handwoven cloth, strips of silk and cotton. Historically the fabric was worn in a toga-like fashion by royalty among ethnic groups such as the ...
*
Adinkra symbols
''Adinkra'' are symbols from Ghana that represent concepts or aphorisms. ''Adinkra'' are used extensively in fabrics, logos and pottery. They are incorporated into walls and other architectural features. ''Adinkra'' symbols appear on some tradit ...
*
Outdooring naming ceremony
*
Akan names
*
Akan Calendar
The Akan people (a Kwa group of West Africa) appear to have used a traditional system of timekeeping based on a six-day week (known as ''nnanson'' "seven-days" via inclusive counting). The Gregorian seven-day week is known as
''nnawɔtwe'' (eig ...
*
Akan Chieftaincy
In many parts of West Africa, there is an old chieftaincy tradition, and the Akan people have developed their own hierarchy, which exists alongside the democratic structure of the country. The Akan word for the ruler or one of his various cou ...
*
Akan gold weights
*
Akan religion
Akan religion comprises the traditional beliefs and religious practices of the Akan people of Ghana and eastern Ivory Coast. Akan religion is referred to as Akom (from the Twi word ''akom'', meaning "prophecy"). Although most Akan people have i ...
Beliefs
Concepts of Akan philosophy and inheritance
These are the basic concepts of Akan philosophy and inheritance:
*''
Abusua
Abusua is the name in Akan culture for a group of people that share common maternal ancestry governed by seven major ancient female abosom (deities). '' () – What an Akan inherits from his mother
*
Ntoro – What an Akan gets from his father, but one does not belong to a ''Ntoro''; instead one belongs to one's ''Abusua''
*''
Sunsum
= Introduction =
In the mythology of the Ashanti people and Akan people, the Sunsum is one's Spirit. The Sunsum is what connects the body (honam) to the soul ( Kra). The Sunsum can be transmitted in a variety of ways, including from father to son ...
'' – What an Akan develops from interaction with the world
*''
Kra'' – What an Akan gets from ''Nyame'' (God)
Matrilineality
Many but not all of the Akan still
[de Witte, Marleen (2001). ''Long Live the Dead!: changing funeral celebrations in Asante, Ghana''. Published by Het Spinhuis.]
. practice their traditional matrilineal customs, living in their traditional
extended family
An extended family is a family that extends beyond the nuclear family of parents and their children to include aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins or other relatives, all living nearby or in the same household. Particular forms include the stem ...
households. The traditional Akan economic and political organization is based on matrilineal ''lineages'', which are the basis of inheritance and succession. A ''lineage'' is defined as all those related by
matrilineal descent
Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's lineage – and which can involve the inheritance o ...
from a particular ancestress. Several lineages are grouped into a political unit headed by a council of elders, each of whom is the elected head of a lineage – which itself may include multiple extended-family households.
Public offices are, thus, vested in the lineage, as are land tenure and other lineage property. In other words, lineage property is inherited only by matrilineal kin.
[Busia, Kofi Abrefa (1970). ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 1970. William Benton, publisher, The ]University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
. , Vol. 1, p. 477. (This Akan article was written by Kofi Abrefa Busia, formerly professor of Sociology and Culture of Africa at the University of Leiden
Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...
, Netherlands.) Each lineage controls the lineage land farmed by its members, functions together in the veneration of its ancestors, supervises marriages of its members, and settles internal disputes among its members.
The political units above are likewise grouped (into traditionally seven) but as of today, eight larger groups called ''
abusua
Abusua is the name in Akan culture for a group of people that share common maternal ancestry governed by seven major ancient female abosom (deities). '': Aduana, Agona, Asakyiri, Asenie, Asona, Bretuo, Ekuona, and Oyoko. The members of each such ''abusua'' are united by their belief that they are all descended from the same ancient ancestress – so marriage between members of the same group (or ''abusua'') is forbidden, a taboo on marriage. One inherits or is a lifelong member of, the lineage, the political unit and the ''abusua'' of one's mother, regardless of one's gender or marriage. Members and their spouses thus belong to different ''abusuas'', with mother and children living and working in one household, and their husband/father living and working in a different household.
According to one source
of information about the Akan, "A man is strongly related to his mother's brother (wɔfa) but only weakly related to his father's brother. This is perhaps viewed in the context of a
polygamous
Crimes
Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is marrie ...
society in which the mother/child bond is likely to be much stronger than the father/child bond. As a result, in inheritance, a man's nephew (his sister's son) (wɔfase) will have priority over his own son. Uncle-nephew relationships, therefore, assume a dominant position."
"The principles governing inheritance, generation, and age – that is to say, men come before women and seniors before juniors."... When a woman's brothers are available, a consideration of generational seniority stipulates that the line of brothers be exhausted before the right to inherit lineage property passes down to the next senior genealogical generation of sisters' sons. Finally, "it is when all possible male heirs have been exhausted that the females" may inherit.
Certain other aspects of the Akan culture are determined
patrilineally
Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritan ...
rather than matrilineally. There are ancestrally 12 patrilineal ''
Ntoro'' (spirit) groups, and everyone belongs to his or her father's ''Ntoro'' group, but not to his family lineage and ''abusua''. Each ''Ntoro'' group has its own surnames, taboos, ritual purifications, and forms of etiquette.
A person thus inherits one's ''Ntoro'' from one's father but does not belong to his family.
A recent (2001) book
provides an update on the Akan, stating that some families are changing from the above ''abusua'' structure to the
nuclear family.
[de Witte (2001), p. 53.] Housing, childcare, education, daily work, and elder care, etc. are then handled by that individual family, rather than by the ''abusua'' or clan, especially in the city. The above taboo on marriage within one's ''abusua'' is sometimes ignored, but "clan membership" is still important,
with many people still living in the ''abusua'' framework presented above.
Notable individuals of Akan origin
*
Kwame Nkrumah (1909–1972) – started the
pan-African movement, which liberated many
states from European colonialism
*
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founde ...
(1938–2018) – the first black man to
head the
United Nations organization
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
. He was awarded the
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
*
Arthur Wharton
Arthur Wharton (28 October 1865 – 12 December 1930) is widely considered to be the first black professional footballer in the world. Though not the first black player outright – the amateurs Robert Walker, of Queen's Park, and Scotland inte ...
(1865–1930) – the first black
professional footballer
Association football is the world's most popular sport and is worth US$600 billion worldwide. By the end of the 20th century it was played by over 250 million players in over 200 countries. Around the world, the sport is played at a professi ...
in the world.
[J. A. Mangan, ''The Cultural bond: sport, empire, society'']
*
Full List of Akan people (famous and notable individuals)
Gallery
File:Brooklyn Museum 1993.182.3 Staff Finial.jpg, Akan metalwork from the Brooklyn Museum, New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
File:Brooklyn Museum 1998.36 Mask Bo Nun Amuin.jpg, Mask (Bo Nun Amuin), from the early 20th century.
File:Brooklyn Museum 22.1771 Elephant Mask GlaoKlolo (3).jpg, Wooden mask of an elephant.
File: COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Houten masker van een woudgod TMnr 3305-16.jpg
File: Gold ornaments (mask and shield), Ashanti - African objects in the American Museum of Natural History - DSC05964.JPG, Empire of Ashanti
The Asante Empire (Asante Twi: ), today commonly called the Ashanti Empire, was an Akan state that lasted between 1701 to 1901, in what is now modern-day Ghana. It expanded from the Ashanti Region to include most of Ghana as well as parts of I ...
warrior
A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste.
History
Warriors seem to have be ...
military golden war combat helmet and personal armour
Body armor, also known as body armour, personal armor or armour, or a suit or coat of armor, is protective clothing designed to absorb or deflect physical attacks. Historically used to protect military personnel, today it is also used by vari ...
of the Empire of Ashanti
The Asante Empire (Asante Twi: ), today commonly called the Ashanti Empire, was an Akan state that lasted between 1701 to 1901, in what is now modern-day Ghana. It expanded from the Ashanti Region to include most of Ghana as well as parts of I ...
– Museum of Natural History
A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more ...
.
File:Ashantee soldier2.jpg, Empire of Ashanti
The Asante Empire (Asante Twi: ), today commonly called the Ashanti Empire, was an Akan state that lasted between 1701 to 1901, in what is now modern-day Ghana. It expanded from the Ashanti Region to include most of Ghana as well as parts of I ...
Soldier
A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer.
Etymology
The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...
, , Visual Art
The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts ...
– Joseph Dupuis
Joseph Dupuis (1789–1874) was appointed as Consul and Vice-Consul for the British Government between 1811 and 1842, with various postings to Africa during that period, including one as Vice-Consul in Mogador. He was married to Evelina Danby, who ...
.
File: Asante map.jpg, Empire of Ashanti
The Asante Empire (Asante Twi: ), today commonly called the Ashanti Empire, was an Akan state that lasted between 1701 to 1901, in what is now modern-day Ghana. It expanded from the Ashanti Region to include most of Ghana as well as parts of I ...
and the Gold Coast map.
File:African-civilizations-map-pre-colonial.svg, Diachronic map showing "Akan-held territory Ashantiland
The Asante Empire (Asante Twi: ), today commonly called the Ashanti Empire, was an Akan state that lasted between 1701 to 1901, in what is now modern-day Ghana. It expanded from the Ashanti Region to include most of Ghana as well as parts of Iv ...
" Sovereign nation state
A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group.
A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may i ...
and territorial entity with pre-colonial states and cultures of Africa (spanning roughly 500 BCE to 1500 CE). This map is "an artistic interpretation" using multiple and disparate sources.
File:The Mali Empire.jpg, The Mali Empire in 1337, including the location of the Bambuk
Bambouk (sometimes Bambuk or Bambuhu) is a traditional name for the territory in eastern Senegal and western Mali, encompassing the Bambouk Mountains on its eastern edge, the valley of the Faleme River and the hilly country to the east of the rive ...
, Bure, Lobi and Akan Akan may refer to:
People and languages
*Akan people, an ethnic group in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire
*Akan language, a language spoken by the Akan people
*Kwa languages, a language group which includes Akan
* Central Tano languages, a language group ...
Goldfields
See also
*
List of rulers of the Akan state of Adanse
*
List of rulers of the Akan states of Akwamu and Twifo-Heman
List of rulers of the Akan (Bron) state of Akwamu (formerly Twifo-Heman)
Territory comprised part of present-day southern Ghana
See also
*Akan people
*Ghana
* Gold Coast
*Lists of office-holders
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akan State Of Akwamu, Rulers
Rul ...
*
List of rulers of the Akan state of Bono-Tekyiman
*
List of rulers of the Akan state of Denkyira
*
List of rulers of the Akan state of Gyaaman
*
List of rulers of the Akan state of Akyem Abuakwa
*
List of rulers of Asante
The is the title for the monarch of the historical Ashanti Empire as well as the ceremonial ruler of the Ashanti people today. The Ashanti royal house traces its line to the Oyoko (an '' Abusua'', or "clan") Abohyen Dynasty of Nana Twum an ...
*
Birimian
The Birimian rocks are major sources of gold and diamonds that extend through Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso. They are named after the Birim River, one of the main tributaries of the Pra River in Ghana and the country's m ...
*
Geology of Ghana
The geology of Ghana is primarily very ancient crystalline basement rock, volcanic belts and sedimentary basins, affected by periods of igneous activity and two major orogeny mountain building events. Aside from modern sediments and some rocks form ...
*
Gyaaman
Gyaman (also spelled Jamang, Gyaaman) was a medieval Akan people state, located in what is now the Bono region of Ghana and Ivory Coast. Gyaman was founded by the Bono people, a branch of the Akan, in the late 15th century. The Bono then proceed ...
*
Tacky's War
Tacky's War, Tacky's Revolt, or Tacky's Rebellion, was a widespread slave rebellion in the British Colony of Jamaica in the 1760s. Led by Akan people (then referred to as Coromantee but originally from around Kromantsie in the Central Region of ...
Notes
References
Further reading
* Antubam, Kofi, ''Ghana's Heritage of Culture'', Leipzig, 1963.
* Kyerematen, A. A. Y., ''Panoply of Ghana'', London, 1964.
* Meyerowitz, Eva L. R., ''Akan Traditions of Origin'', London, c. 1950.
* Meyerowitz, Eva L. R., ''At the Court of an African King'', London 1962
* Obeng, Ernest E., ''Ancient Ashanti Chieftaincy'', Tema (Ghana), 1986.
* Bartle, Philip F. W. (January 1978), "Forty Days; The AkanCalendar". ''Africa: Journal of the International African Institute'' (
Edinburgh University Press), 48 (1): 80–84.
* For the Akan, the first-born twin is considered the younger, as the elder stays behind to help the younger out.
* "Kente Cloth." African Journey. webmaster@projectexploration.org. 25 September 2007.
* Effah-Gyamfi, Kwaku (1979), ''Traditional History of the Bono State'', Legon: Institute of African Studies,
University of Ghana
The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities.
The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the Br ...
.
* Effah-Gyamfi, Kwaku (1985), ''
Bono Manso
Bono State (or Bonoman) was a trading state created by the Bono people, located in what is now southern Ghana. Bonoman was a medieval Akan kingdom in what is now Bono, Bono East and Ahafo region respectively named after the ( Bono and Ahafo) a ...
: an archaeological investigation into early Akan urbanism'' (African occasional papers, no. 2) Calgary: Dept. of Archaeology,
University of Calgary Press
The University of Calgary Press is a university publishing house that is a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Calgary. Located in Calgary, Alberta, it publishes peer-reviewed scholarly books that connect local experiences to global comm ...
.
* Meyerowitz, E. L. R. (1949), "Bono-Mansu, the earliest centre of civilisation in the Gold Coast", ''Proceedings of the III International West African Conference'', 118–20.
* Shumway, Rebecca. 2011. "The Fante and the Transatlantic Slave Trade." Rochester: University of Rochester Press.
External links
*
*
Kasahorow Akan Dictionary The Dictionary of Standard Written Akan''Akan Philosophy of the Person'' Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2006)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akan People
Indigenous peoples of West Africa
West African people
Ethnic groups in Ivory Coast
Ethnic groups in Ghana