The Tém (also known as the Temba or Kotokoliare) an ethnic group 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 ...

, but also found in

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

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, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. There is reported to be about 417,000 of the Tém, with 339,000 in Togo, 60,000 in Ghana and 18,000 in Benin. They speak the

Tem language Tem, or Kotokoli (Cotocoli), is a Gur language spoken in Togo, Ghana, Benin and Burkina Faso. It is used by neighboring peoples. In Ghana the Kotokoli people comes from a northern part of the Volta Region Volta Region (or Volta) is one of Gha ...

History

The Téms originated as a coalition of

Gurma Gurma (also called Gourma or Gourmantché) is an ethnic group living mainly in northeastern Ghana, Burkina Faso, around Fada N'Gourma, and also in northern areas of Togo and Benin, as well as southwestern Niger. They number approximately 1,750 ...

chiefdoms who settled around Sokode during the 17th or 18th century. They may have originated from what is now

Burkina-Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

. The Téms converted to Islam during the 19th century via the influence of Chakosi merchants. Majority of Téms profess Islam today.

References

Bibliography

*Roger (Yaovi) Adjeoda, ''Ordre politique et rituels thérapeutiques chez les Tem du Togo'', L’Harmattan, Paris ; Montréal ; Budapest, 2000, 293 p. () (texte remanié d’une thèse soutenue à l’Université de Paris 8 en 1995) * Jean-Claude Barbier, ''L'histoire présente, exemple du royaume Kotokoli au Togo'', Centre d'étude d'Afrique noire, Institut d'études politiques de Bordeaux, 1983, 72 p. *Mamah Fousseni, ''La culture traditionnelle et la littérature orale des Tem'', Steiner, Stuttgart, 1984, 336 p. () (d’après une thèse à l’Université de Francfort-sur-le-Main, 1981) * Mamah Fousséni, ''Contes tem, Nouvelles Éditions Africaines'', Lomé, 1988, 108 p. () * Suzanne Lallemand, ''Adoption et mariage : les Kotokoli du centre du Togo'', L'Harmattan, 1994, 287 p. () *Suzanne Lallemand, ''La mangeuse d'âmes, sorcellerie et famille en Afrique'', L'Harmattan, 1988, 187 p. *Zakari Tchagbale, Suzanne Lallemand,''Toi et le ciel, vous et la terre : contes paillards tem du Togo'', Société d'études linguistiques et anthropologiques de France : Agence de coopération culturelle et technique, Paris, 1982, 235 p. () Ethnic groups in Togo Ethnic groups in Ghana Ethnic groups in Benin {{Togo-stub