:''See Tchamba Charmers for the use of the term in Harry Potter.'' The name Tchamba sometimes spelled Chamba, stands for both a city located in

Tchamba Prefecture Tchamba Prefecture is one of the prefectures of Togo located in the Centrale Region. The center is at Tchamba. The cantons (or subdivisions) of Tchamba include Tchamba, Koussountou, Adjéidè (Kri-Kri), Kaboli, Balanka, Alibi, Affem, Larini, Bago ...

in the Centrale Region of

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

, and the tribe living in that area. Tchamba is originally a tribe living in and around the town of Chamba, Ghana in the

Northern Region, Ghana The Northern Region is one of the sixteen regions of Ghana. It is located in the north of the country and was the largest of the sixteen regions, covering an area of 70,384 square kilometres or 31 percent of Ghana's area until December 2018 when ...

of 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 ...

, on the road from

Salaga Salaga is a town and is the capital of East Gonja District, East Gonja district, a district in the Savannah Region, Ghana, Savannah Region of north Ghana. Salaga had a 2012 Human settlement, settlement population of 25,472 people. Etymology The ...

Bimbilla Bimbilla is the capital town of Nanumba North District, a district in the Northern Region of Ghana. It is located in the East of the region, and is near the Oti River. History Bimbila was founded by Naa Mnantambo (son of Na Gbewa) after movin ...

. Part of the tribe is still living there; others have migrated to

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

and there is also an ex-pat community of Tchambas in

Frankfurt (Main) Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The Tchambas are known as aborigines (indigenous people) of Northern Ghana, once covering an area as large as the present

Dagbon The Kingdom of Dagbon is one of the oldest and most organised traditional kingdoms in Ghana founded by the Dagomba people (Dagbamba) in the 11th century. During its rise, it comprised, at various points, the Northern Region (Ghana), Northern, Uppe ...

. Due to major tribal wars between the

Dagomba people The Dagombas are a Gur ethnic group of northern Ghana, numbering more than 2.3 million people. They inhabit the Northern Region of Ghana in the sparse savanna region below the sahelian belt, known as the Sudan. They speak the Dagbani languag ...

and the Kokomba people in the aftermath of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, many of them fled to present-day Tchamba in Northern Togo, while others fled to

, but a third group survived in the North of Ghana. The various groups maintain close relations, for example in the Chamba Heritage Society and it is not uncommon for families to live in two of their homelands. The

Tchamba language Ntcham, or Basari, is a language of the Gurma people in Togo and 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, sharin ...

is widely spoken in Togo, Ghana, Benin, and Nigeria. They have linguistical affiliations with Konkonba, Bassari. They are predominantly Moslems. In Togo, the major clans are Imamwa, Congoro, Lari, Dopo, Sangbe, Lambu, Daru, Atarouwa, Nantoh, Ninchey, Kumateh, and others. The Congoros are the origins there, whereby the Laris among others came. The kingship was originally for the Congoros while the Islamic leadership position (Imam) is always held by Imamwa as their name implies. Some of the major towns in Tchamba are Alibi, Kasaleym and Affem Boussou.

References

*Hunter-Hindrew, Mamaissii V. M.Ed. Mami Wata: ''Africa's Ancient God/dess Unveiled''. 2nd Edition." (New York: MWHS, 2005). *Rosenthal, J. ‘''Possession Ecstasy & Law in Ewe Voodoo" (Charlottesville: University of Virginia'', 1998). {{coord, 9, 02, N, 1, 25, E, region:TG_type:city, display=title Populated places in Centrale Region, Togo