History

writing by Baafuor Ossei-Akoto

The Akan people or the Akan Nations are 49.1% of the population of Ghana and includes the following sub-ethnic groups:

From the 15th century to 19th century, the Akan people dominated gold mining and gold trade in the region.

The Akwamus like most Akans also migrated from Adanse to settle at the Twifo-Heman forest at the later part of the 16th century. This group of Akans belonged to the Aduana family and are blood brothers of Asumennya, Dormaa and Kumawu. According to oral tradition it was as a result of succession dispute that compelled Otomfuo (brass-smith) Asare to desert the family to form a new state or city called Asaremankesee (which means Asares big state). The modern city of Asaamankese was originally founded and occupied by the Akwamus.

Akwamus expansion started between 1629-1710 and this took them to places like the whole Akuapem area including Kyerepon and Larteh, Akyem, Denkyera, Ga-Adangbe, the Ladoku states of Agona, Winneba, Afram plains, Southern Togoland and finally Whydah in present Benin. The powerful king Nana Ansa Sasraku l annexed the Guans and took over the traditional areas of the Kyerepons and ruled over them until Asonaba Nana Ofori Kuma and his followers after a succession dispute in their effort to form their own State engaged them in a fierce war after which the Akwamus were driven away from the mountains.

These Asona family members and their followers then were given a piece of land from the original settlers the Guans, Kyerepons, to form the Akuapem state. However, most of the present Akuapems still have their roots at Akwamufie especially those bearing the names Addo and Akoto or from the Aduana family.

Nana Ansa Sasraku also played an important role in the life of the King Osei Tutu of Asante. He protected him from the Denkyiras and when he was called to take over the Kwaaman stool Nana Ansa Sasraku provided him with 300 Asafomen (army) from Akwamu to guide him to Kwaaman. When Nana Osei Tutu arrived, he gave all the men to Kwaaman Asafohene and they became citizens of Asafo and that won the Kumase Asafohene the title Akwamuhene of Kumase. According to oral tradition, the whole structure of the Asante army that was started by Nana Osei Kofi Tutu l and helped the Asantes through many wars, was a replicate of the well organised Akwamu army.

Nana Osei Tutu was also assisted by the Anumfuo (later Adumfuo) who accompanied him from Akwamu, in execution cases. A large number of the Asantes of today originated from Akwamu especially, people from Asafo and Adum as well as sections of people from Bantama and Barekese.

After the death of Nana Ansa Sasraku, he was succeeded by two kings collectively, Nana Addo Panin and Nana Basua. It was during this time that the Akwamus took over the possession of the Danish Castle at Christianborg or Osu in 1693. The Akwamu sold it back to the Danes a year later, but retained the keys to the castle. As of 2007, the Akwamu still have the keys

At the peak of their power the Akwamus had embraced much of the Gold Coast and traditionally the Akwamuhene still has the jurisdiction of the Akosombo part of the Volta River. In the 1720s the King of Akwamu began selling many of his subjects to slave traders. This led to civil war and the state’s disintegration which cause the Akwamus to lost most of their lands to Akuapems, Akyems, Kwahus, Fantes and Krobos. The Kingdom of Akwamu was therefore one of the most powerful among the Akans

After the Akwamu war, the Akuapem state was formed by Nana Kwao Safro Twie from the Aduana Clan in 1735 at Obusum Kyenku at Asante Manso. Obusum Kyenku is presently called Obusumase. The Akwapem is one of the Akan

ethnic groups who did not participate in the slave trade business with the Europeans, more specifically the Dutch and the British.

Akuapem is now a kingdom in South-Eastern Ghana. With the enthronement of the Akan/Akyem King in 1773 to the throne of Akropong alongside the throne of Akuapem, the kingdom became a double state known as the Akropong-Akuapem Kingdom.

In 1733, Akwamu launched his army against the city-State of Akropong, which had been spared from the Ashanti conquests. To defend itself, the city called upon soldiers who liked war, the Akim, and who are also the hereditary enemies of the Ashanti. Akropong was saved, and as a reward, the king of the Akim was enthroned as the King of Akropong.

Nana Safrotwe Kakradae IV is from the descendants of Nana Kwao Safro Twie, who settled in Akuapem south of Ghana after the Akwamu war. The Akwapem state was formed by Nana Kwao Safrotwe from the Aduana Clan.

The individual Akan Tribes Ahanta The Ahanta are found along the coastal area of south western Ghana from Shama in the east to the western border with Cote d’Ivoire. Both the Ahanta and Nzema celebrate the Kundum festival in remembrance of their ancestors. Kundum is celebrated between August and September each year, at the beginning of the harvest season. It is celebrated for one month and is characterized by drumming and dancing. Akwamu The Akwamu like most Akans migrated from Adanse to settle at the Twifo-Heman forest at the later part of the 16th century. They gained much of their wealth from trading with European merchants. This group of Akans belonged to the Aduana family and are blood brothers of Asumennya, Dormaa and Kumawu. According to oral tradition it was as a result of succession dispute that compelled Otomfuo (brass-smith) Asare to desert the family to form a new state or city called Asaremankesee: Asare’s big state. The modern city of Asaamankese was originally founded and occupied by the Akwamus. Akwamu expansion started between 1629 and 1710 and this took them to places like the whole Akuapem area including Kyerepon and Larteh, Akyem, Denkyera, Ga-Adangbe, the Ladoku states of Agona, Winneba, Afram plains, southern Togoland and finally Whydah in present Benin. Akwamu expansion allowed them to dominate trade between European forts in Winneba and Accra. The powerful king Nana Ansa Sasraku I, ruling from 1660 to 1689, fought wars of expansion but maintained amicable trading relations with European merchants. During 1710 Akwamu grew to become the largest Akan empire. Ansa Sasraku annexed the Guans and took over the traditional areas of the Kyerepons and ruled over them until Asonaba Nana Ofori Kuma and his followers, after a succession dispute in their effort to form their own State engaged them in a fierce war after which the Akwamus were driven away from the mountains. These Asona family members and their followers then were given a piece of land from the original settlers the Guans, Kyerepons, to form the Akuapem state. However, most of the present Akuapems still have their roots at Akwamufie especially those bearing the names Addo and Akoto or from the Aduana family. Nana Ansa Sasraku also played an important role in the life of the King Osei Tutu of Asante. He protected him from the Denkyira and when he was called to take over the Kwaaman stool, Nana Ansa Sasraku provided him with 300 Asafomen from Akwamu to guide him to Kwaaman. When Nana Osei Tutu arrived, he gaved all the men to Kwaaman Asafohene and they became citizens of Asafo and that won the Kumasi Asafohene the title Akwamuhene of Kumasi. According to oral tradition, the whole structure of the Asante army that was started by Nana Osei Kofi Tutu I and helped the Asante through many wars, was a replicate of the well organised Akwamu army. Nana Osei Tutu was also assisted by the Anumfuo (later Adumfuo) who accompanied him from Akwamu, in execution cases. A large number of the Asante of today originated from Akwamu especially, people from Asafo and Adum as well as sections of people from Bantama and Barekese. After the death of Nana Ansa Sasraku, he was succeeded by two kings collectively, Nana Addo Panin and Nana Basua. It was during this time that the Akwamu took over the possession of the Danish Castle at Christianborg or Osu. Because of the cordial relationship that existed between Akwamu and Asante, during the 19th century expansion of Asante, the Akwamu unlike most states after war, was never annexed by Asante but rather the Akwamu Stool became the wife of the Asante Stool during the reign of Nana Odeneho Kwafo Akoto I. That is the reason why during the Golden Anniversary of Nana Kwafo Akoto II Nana Opoku Ware II crossed the Pra river to spend two days at Akwamufie. At the peak of their power the Akwamu had embraced much of the Gold Coast and traditionally the Akwamuhene still has the jurisdiction of the Akosombo part of the Volta River. During the 18th century, Akwamu lost its greatness and reputation, and most of their lands fell into the possession of the Akuapem, Akyem, Kwahu, Fante and Krobo. Akyem Okyeman is a traditional area in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Historically, it has been attested that the Akyem were one of the first Akan tribes to migrate southwards after the fall of the ancient Songhai Empire. The Akyem states, commonly known as “Akyem Mansa”, consists of three main independent states, all grouped in the Eastern Region, with common language, culture, customs and historical background. The states are: Akyem Abuakwa – the largest of the states in terms of land, size, population and natural resources. Akyem Kotoku – the second largest. Akyem Bosome – the smallest of the three. The Akyem, according to history were a part of the then all powerful Adansi kingdom, the first nation to build mud houses in their kingdom at that time; hence the name “Adansi” (Builders). The Asante Kingdom emerged and under the leadership of Nana Osei Tutu, they fought and defeated the Adansis about the 14th Century and absorbed the Adansi kingdom into the growing Asante Kingdom. The Akyem nations which were then part of the Adansi kingdom, broke away and crossed the River Pra to settle on its banks to avoid becoming subjects of the Asante. Nana Osei Tutu decided to pursue them across the River Pra to teach them a lesson. That was a great miscalculation! While crossing the river with his army, he was shot by the Akyem who were lying in ambush on the other side of the river. He fell dead into the river. This was on a Thursday; hence, the great oath of the Asante, (“Meka Yawada”- I swear by Thursday). For this, the Akyem who carried out this defeat became known as “Abuakwanfo” or “Abuakwafo”, (Guerrilla Fighters). The Asante retreated and this tragedy made it a taboo for any Asante King up to the time of Nana Prempeh I (circa 1900) to cross the River Pra to the south except their armies. Nana Osei Tutu was succeeded by his nephew, Nana Opoku Ware I, who vowed to avenge his uncle’s death by renewing the war against the Akyem. The Akyem, knowing too well what the Asante intend to do after the death of King Osei Tutu, moved southeastwards. As a result of this movement, some of the Akyem, especially the Kotoku, settled in the present day Asante-Akyem area. The majority of the Akyem, however, continued to move southeastwards and settled in several areas along the way until they came into contact with the Akwamu, who were a powerful nation inhabiting and ruling the tribes from Asamankese to Nyanawase (which was then their capital and part of Akwapim). The Akyem, especially the Abuakwa, had to fight the Akwamu and got settled in the areas evacuated by the Akwamu. However, the Akwamu left some of their people at Anum Asamankese and Sakyikrom which are today part of Akyem Abuakwa; as well as Adoagyiri, now inhabited by the Kotoku. The Akyem Abuakwa made their temporary capitals in several areas, including Praso, until they finally settled at Pameng. However, it was during the reign of Nana Ofori Panin that the capital of Akyem Abuakwa was finally moved to “Kyebirie” (named after a black hat used by a hunter using the area as his hunting grounds). It is now known as Kyebi , where the Aduana clan had already settled. Meanwhile, the Akyem Kotoku settled at Nsutam-Bososo area with their capital at Gyadam. During the reign of the great warrior king of the Akyem, Nana Owusu Akyem Tenten, the Guans and Dawus appealed to him for help to drive the Akwamu out of their area for them to enjoy peace. He agreed to send his nephew, Odehyee Safori, with an army made up mostly of the people of Akyem Akropong (the Twafo section of the Adonten Division) to go to the aid of the the Dawus, the Guans and others. Odehyee Safori succeeded in driving the Akwamu out of what is today known as Akwapim, with its capital called Akropong, named after Akyem Akropong. Safori pursued the Akwamu across the River Volta, where they settled up to this day, with their capital at Akwamufie. On the return to Akwapim by the victorious Akyem Abuakwa army from the banks of the Volta river, Odehyee Safori and his army, with the consent of the Okyehene, Nana Owusu Akyem Tenten, his uncle, agreed to stay in Akwapim to protect the Akwapims from any further attacks by the Akwamu. To signify this agreement, a stone was “buried” and that the Akyem were to return to Akyem Abuakwa only when that stone had “grown”. Odehyee Safori became the Paramount Chief (Akuapimhene) with Akropong Akwapim as his capital of the newly founded Akwapim State. His nephew also became the Amanokromhene and the Gyasehene of the Akwapim state. Anyi The Anyi people are a subgroup of the Akan who migrated to their current location from what is present day Ghana between the 16th and 18th centuries. They were never as powerful as the Asante and Baule and as a result were indirectly under their rule during the height of both empires. Aowin Aowin dominated a territory in the west of present day Ghana until the 17th century after which it was reduced in size. Due to the decline of Denkyira state in the 18th century, Aowin regained its independence. Aowin was separated in the 19th century by the French and British. The Aowin are found today in the area spanning southeastern Cote d’Ivoire and southwestern Ghana. The language of the Aowin people is called Brossa. Asante The Asante went from being a tributary state, to a confederation of states, and ultimately a centralized hierarchical kingdom. Beginning as a tributary state of Denkyira, the foremost Akan power during the 16th century, the Asante Kingdom grew out of a confederation of Akan-speaking states led by Osei Tutu, the first Asantehene. Using Kumasi as the central base and an alliance with the lower coastal Akan states for trade, Osei Tutu challenged and eventually defeated the Denkyira in 1701. Realizing the weakness of a loose confederation of Akan states, Osei Tutu strengthened centralization of the surrounding Akan groups and expanded the powers judiciary system within the centralized government. Thus, this loose confederation of small city-states grew into a kingdom or empire looking to expand its borders. Newly conquered areas had the option of joining the empire or becoming tributary states. Osei Tutu was the fourth ruler in Asante royal history, succeeding his uncle Obiri Yeoba. The Asante comprise the largest contingent of the Akan or Twi-speaking peoples. Osei Tutu belonged to the Oyoko clan. By the middle of the sixteenth century, previous migrations of clan groups resulted in the development of a number of Akan states within a thirty mile radius of modern-day Kumasi, Ghana. The dense concentration of states in this limited area was primarily due to the region being a known source of gold and kola; two important trade routes – one from Jenne and Timbuktu in the western Sudan and the other from Hausaland – entered the area. These states were all dominated by the Denkyira. In the middle of the seventeenth century the last of the clan groups, the Oyoko clan, arrived. Exploiting the clans’ mutual hatred for their oppressor, Osei Tutu and his friend, priest and counselor Okomfo Anokye succeeded in merging these states into the Asante Union. This was a carefully orchestrated political and cultural process, which was implemented in successive stages. First, the union was spiritually brought into being through the Golden Stool, invoked by Okomfo Anokye, and explained as the embodiment of the soul of the Asante Union. The ruler – in essence the religious and political leader – and the occupant of the stool was to be known as the Asantehene and to be subsequently selected from the lineage of Osei Tutu and Obiri Yeoba. Second, Kumasi was chosen as the capital of the Asante Union, and Osei Tutu was now both the Kumasihene and the Asantehene. The Odwira Festival was inaugurated. Established as an annual and common celebration, and attended by all member states, this served as a unifying force for the nation. Third, Osei Tutu, assisted by Okomfo Anokye, developed a new constitution for the Union. The Asantahene, who was also the Kumasihene, was at its head, with the kings of the states of the union forming the Confederacy or Union Council. Fourth, as one of the key objectives for forming the Asante Union was to overthrow the Denkyira, Osei Tutu placed strong emphasis on the military organization of the Union. Supposedly borrowing the military organization from the Akwamu, Osei Tutu honed the Union army into an effective and efficient fighting unit. With the Asante Union firmly established and its military organization in place, Osei Tutu embraced on wars of expansion and revenge. After avenging his uncle’s death at the hands of the Dormaa and bringing some recalcitrant states into line, Osei Tutu focused on the Denkyira. In 1701, the absolute defeat of the Denkyira and their abettors, the people of Akyem, brought the Asante to the attention of the Europeans on the coast for the first time. The victory broke the Denkyira hold on the trade path to the coast and cleared the way for the Asante to increase trade with the Europeans. Osei Tutu and his adviser, Okomfo Anokye, forged the Asante Union from a number of different clan groups who submerged their old rivalries and hatred for the common good – the overthrow of their common oppressor, the Denkyira. Skillfully utilizing a combination of spiritual dogma and political skill, and ably supported by military prowess, Osei Tutu tripled the size of the small kingdom of Kumasi which he had inherited from his uncle Obiri Yeoba and laid the foundation for the Asante Empire in the process. In 1717, Osei Tutu was killed in a war against the Akyem. Asante was one of the few African states able to offer serious resistance to European colonizers. However they were also unpredictable supplier of gold and slaves to the European traders on the coast. Between 1826 and 1896, Britain fought four wars against the Asante kings (the Anglo-Asante Wars). But the most famous symbol of Asante resistance to the British was the famous Asante queen mother, Yaa Asantewaa. Yaa Asantewaa in battle dress. Yaa Asantewaa (c. 1840 – 17 October 1921) was appointed Queen Mother of Ejisu, a state in the Asante Confederacy, by her brother Nana Akwasi Afrane Okpese, the Ejisuhene (ruler of Ejisu). She is known in history as the leader of the Asante rebellion against British colonialism in 1900, known as the War of the Golden Stool. During her brother’s reign, Yaa Asantewaa saw the Asante Confederacy go through a series of events that threatened their future, including civil war from 1883–1888. When her brother died in 1894, Yaa Asantewaa used her prerogative as Queen Mother to nominate her own grandson as Ejisuhene. When her grandson was sent into exile to the Seychelles, along with the King of Asante Prempeh I and other members of the Asante government in 1896, Yaa Asantewaa became regent of the Ejisu-Juaben District. After the deportation of Prempeh I, the British governor-general of the Gold Coast, Frederick Hodgson, demanded the Golden Stool (the symbol of the Asante nation). This disrespectful request led to a meeting of the remaining members of the Asante government which was held secretly at Kumasi to discuss how to secure the return of their king. There was a disagreement among the leaders in attendance on how to go about this. Yaa Asantewaa, who was present at this meeting, stood and addressed the members of the council with these famous words: “Now I see that some of you fear to go forward to fight for our King. If it were in the brave days of Osei Tutu, Okomfo Anokye, and Opoku Ware, chiefs would not sit down to see their king taken away without firing a shot. No European could have dared speak to chiefs of Asante in the way the governor spoke to you this morning. Is it true that the bravery of Asante is no more? I cannot believe it. It cannot be! I must say this: if you the men of Asante will not go forward, then we will. We the women will. I shall call upon my fellow women. We will fight the white men. We will fight till the last of us falls in the battlefields.” With this, she took on leadership of the Asante Uprising of 1900, gaining the support of some of the other Asante nobility.

Beginning in March 1900, the rebellion laid siege to the fort at Kumasi where the British had sought refuge. The fort still stands today as the Kumasi Fort and Military Museum. After several months, the Gold Coast governor eventually sent a force of 1,400 to quell the rebellion. In the course of this, Queen Yaa Asantewaa and fifteen of her closest advisers were captured, and they too were sent into exile to the Seychelles. The rebellion represented the final war in the Anglo-Asante series of wars that lasted throughout the nineteenth-century. On 1 January 1902, the British were finally able to accomplish what the Asante army had denied them for almost a century, and the Asante empire was made a protectorate to the British crown. Yaa Asantewaa died in exile on 17 October 1921. Five years after the death of Yaa Asantewaa, on 12 November 1926, Prempeh I and the other remaining members of the exiled Asante court were allowed to return to Asante and given ceremonial control over Kumasi. Prempeh I saw to it that the remains of Yaa Asantewaa (and the other exiled Asante) were returned for a proper royal burial. In 1935 the full role of leader of the Asante people was restored, but limited to purely ceremonial functions.

Yaa Asantewaa remains a much-loved figure in Asante history and the history of Ghana as a whole for the courage she showed in confronting injustice during the colonialism of the British. To highlight the importance of encouraging more female leaders in Ghanaian society, the Yaa Asantewaa Girls’ Secondary School was established at Kumasi in 1960 with funds from the Ghana Educational Trust. In 2000, a week-long centenary celebration was held in Ghana to acknowledge the accomplishments of Queen Mother Yaa Asantewaa. As part of these celebrations, a museum was dedicated to her at Kwaso in the Ejisu-Juaben District on 3 August 2000. Unfortunately, a fire there on 23 July 2004 destroyed several historical items including her sandals and battle dress seen in the photograph above. The current Queen-mother of Ejisu is Yaa Asantewaa II.

Baule

The Baule belong to the Akan peoples who inhabit Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. Three hundred years ago the Baule people migrated westward from Ghana when the Asante rose to power. The tale of how they broke away from the Asante has been preserved in their oral traditions. During the Asante rise to power the Baule queen, Aura Poku, was in direct competition with the Asante king. When the Asante prevailed, the queen led her people away to the land they now occupy. The male descendant of Aura Poku still lives in the palace she established and is honoured by the Baule as their nominal king. The Baule have dominated politics in Cote d’Ivoire since independence with the first president Felix Houphouët-Boigny being a Baule. He was succeeded by another Baule, Henri Konan Bédié. The current president (May 2007) Laurent Gbagbo is also a Baule.

Bono

Bono state was an Akan state which existed from the early middle ages to the 18th century in what is now the Brong-Ahafo region of Ghana. The two names, Brong and Bono are used interchangeably. Its capital was Bono Manso (Bono-Mansu), an ancient market town the role of which in the Trans-Saharan trade was instrumental in the formation of Bono state. The state collapsed in the early 18th century. Upon the taking of Bono Manso by the Asante Confederacy in 1723, many residents of Bono Manso fled to Takyiman (or Tekyiman, Techiman, Takijiman). In 1740 the Bono-Tekyiman state, comprising roughly the same territory as the former Bono state, was founded more or less under Asante sovereignty.

Chokosi

The Chokosi are also known the Anufo, Chakosi, Tchokossi, Chokossi, Tiokossi and Kyokosi.

The Chokosi trace their roots to an area in present-day Cote d’Ivoire which they call Anou or Ano. Hence they refer to themselves and their language as Anufo “people of Anu”. It appears that migrations in the early 1700’s brought together Mande horsemen and their malams from the North and Akan peoples from the East.

Together with the indigenous Ndenyi people, they were amalgamated into one people with a mixed language and culture. In the mid 1700’s, a small band of mercenaries left Ano to assist the chiefs of the Gonja and Mamprusi peoples in present day Ghana. The band consisted of Mande horsemen, Akan musket-toting foot soldiers, and some Muslim scholar amulet-makers (Kirby 1986:34). These groups provided the basis for a society divided into three classes or estates: Nobles, commoners and Muslims.

Eventually, the small army established a camp on the shores of the Oti river where the town of Mango in Togo stands today. Since they were warriors and not farmers, they made their living by conducting raids into the farming communities around them. This provided them with wives and slaves as well as foodstuffs and livestock. (Holman 1990:9-12) Eventually the people settled in the surrounding farming communities, and assimilation took place.

The Chokosi in Ghana currently inhabit an area of savannah grassland in the north eastern part of Ghana. The soil is poor, but the main occupation of the people is farming. Communal labor is still called for many tasks between men and women. Markets in the area follow a six day cycle, and they provide social interaction as well as economic activity. People bring their local produce to sell in order to buy such things as soup ingredients (women) or bicycle parts (young men). It is a patrilineal society.

Denkyira

Denkyira was a nation of Akan people that existed in southern present-day Ghana from 1620. Before 1620, it was called Agona. The ruler of the Denkyira was called Denkyirahene and the capital was Jukwaa. The first Denkyirahene was Mumunumfi.

Denkyira became powerful through gold production and trade with Europe. It dominated the neighbouring states until 1701, when it was defeated by the Asante in the Battle of Feyiase, and became a tributary.

In 1868 Denkyira entered the Fante Confederacy to fight for Great Britain against the Asante and the Dutch. When the confederacy proved unable to defeat the Asante, it became a part of the British Gold Coast colony in 1874.

Fante

The Fante had long been in the region both inland and on the coast of what is today Ghana. In the 16th century they began to expand along the coastal areas in order to defend themselves from foreign invaders. The establishment of the confederacy was a proclamation of the several small independent kingdoms that made up the Fante tribes.

The standard explanation has long been that the Fante states were forced to form a confederation by the rapid growth of the Asante Confederacy in the early 18th century that began to threaten the security of the surrounding region. Sanders argues that the same forces that were driving the expansion and centralisation of the Asante, the lucrative trade with the Europeans and the introduction of firearms and other weapons, also fueled the increasing unity of the Fante.

The Fante united and produced a confederacy to be recognised not only by the people of the Gold Coast, but also by the European powers. The confederacy was headed by the Chief of Mankessim, who was given the title of Breyni. It was the obligation of highest Chief to respect the wishes of a council of the leaders of the other major towns. Despite a similar political structure the Fante never managed to become as united as the Asante, though their differences were overcome when their kingdoms were under dire threat. During the early 18th century the Fante expanded at the expense of smaller neighbouring states eventually annexing the lands of the Asebu, Cabesterra, and Agona. The Fante were allies of the British who supported their efforts against the rival Dutch, who were aligned with the Asante. The Fante Confederacy was smaller than the Asante, but through their control of the coastal trade and close links with the British the Fante became the administrators of the entire Gold Coast. The Fante leaders were the best educated and wealthiest of the peoples in the region.

For the first half of the 18th century the Asante were pre-occupied with expanding their confederacy to the north rather than against the stronger coastal groups. The next few decades saw internal disputes within Asante. The Fante subsequently intervened, lending material support to rebel groups in Asante and offering safe harbour to refugees and dissidents fleeing the Asante Confederacy. The Fante introduced laws forbidding the selling of firearms to the Asante and curtailing the amount of trade that could pass between over Fante lands, cutting off supplies to the confederacy.

By the early 18th century the Asante had consolidated the large parts of the middle region under their rule and began to plan for a full-scale invasion of the Fante Confederacy. In 1806 the Asante-Fante War began. The Asante army, the best-armed and trained in sub-Saharan Africa, easily routed the Fante. The British felt unable to intervene and acknowledged Asante control of the region.

The British continued to work with the Fante to curtail the Asante. With advice from the British in 1811 the Fante again went to war. While defeated in open battle the Fante were able to win the war by forcing the Asante to withdraw by employing guerilla tactics. For the next several decades the Fante worked to play the Ashante off against the British while maintaining their independence, over time, however, British influence came to dominate the Fante lands. In 1844 the Fante leaders agreed to a bond with the British that made the area a protectorate of the British, but guaranteed internal control would remain with the local rulers.

However, the British soon began to exceed the agreement, and intervened in life along the coast. The Fante leaders were much displeased, and also felt the British were not doing enough to protect them from the Asante. The most controversial action was an 1868 agreement between the British and Dutch to trade forts along the coast. Previously the entire coast had been a mix of British and Dutch forts. The British and Dutch governments agreed to exchange forts whereby the British would control all the forts east of the River Kakum, and the Dutch would get all the forts to the west, including most of those in the Fante areas. It has also been argued that the local elites were angered by the abolition of the profitable slave trade by the European powers.

These factors greatly annoyed the people throughout the region. Legally the local rulers saw the Europeans as tenants, and they demanded to right to approve the fort exchanges. The local rulers were not even consulted before the agreement was announced. The Fante also worried about the close relations between the Asante and the Dutch.

This led to an 1868 meeting of the leading Fante and also representatives of the Denkyira, Wassa, Twifu, and Assin who met in Mankessim and formed a confederation. The group proclaimed their loyalty to the British protectorate, but also demanded the right to self-government. They also promised to prevent the Dutch from assuming control of the forts in the area.

The new state had a King-President at its head and below him a council of kings and elders and a national assembly representing a larger portion of the population. King Ghartey was elected as the first King-President while King Otoo of Abura was placed in charge of the armed forces. The new government created a standing army of some 15,000 men, introduced a poll tax covering the region, and most importantly a judicial system that asserted the right of the Confederation, not the British, to mete out justice. This Confederation was paralleled in the east by the Ga lead Accra Native Confederation

Otoo marched the new army to Komenda to join that city in its effort at preventing the Dutch from taking control of the fort vacated by the British. This effort was successful and the Dutch were rebuffed. Otoo next turned to trying to take Elmina, the centre of Dutch power on the coast. The effort to storm the city failed and the Fante forces became bogged down in a long war.

In 1871 the constitution was rewritten and a new Executive Council was created. Otoo and Edu of Mankessim were elected co-King-Presidents, but shortly Otoo’s role was switched to the General Field Marshal and Edu became the sole King-President.

The long fighting around Elmina soon began to drain the resources of the state. It proved unable to collect much of the poll tax, and the British refused to allow the Confederacy to tax lucrative trade in the region. For a time the Ghartey brothers funded the state out-of-pocket, but soon the Confederacy was all but broke. Moreover the fighting with the Dutch and its allies had left the northern part of the Confederacy, on the border with the Asante, undefended and these regions felt the Confederation was failing to provide the needed protection.

British reaction to the Confederacy was mixed. Originally the British had little interest in directly administering the region themselves and some felt a self-governing European style state was a positive development. More British representatives in the region and in London saw the Confederacy as a dangerous precedent that was anti-British and doomed to failure. The Dutch, while winning militarily against the Fante, could little afford to fight a war in West Africa and decided to abandon the entire Gold Coast. The British, now in control of the entire region, approached the leaders of the Confederation and offered them money and to defend them against the Asante if the Fante acquiesced to being annexed to the Gold Coast. This was done and the Confederation ceased to exist in 1873.

Asafo Companies

The word `Asafo’ is derived from ‘sa’ (meaning war) and ‘fo’ (meaning people). Warrior groups are active throughout the Akan area, but it is the Fante tribe which inhabit the coastal region of Ghana, that has developed a sophisticated and expressive community with a social and political organization based on martial principles, and elaborate traditions of visual art.

It is certain that the local organization of warriors into units of fighting men was an established practice well before the arrival of Europeans. Nevertheless, the influence on – and the manipulation of – these groups to suit the trading and colonial ambitions of the foreigners has created many of the qualities of the Fante Asafo that continue to this day.

The situation throughout the Fante region is fraught with political complexities, for there are twenty-four traditional states along an eighty- mile stretch of the Atlantic coast, and each state is independently ruled by a paramount chief or ‘omanhen’, supported by elders and a hierarchy of divisional, town and village chiefs. In any one state there may be from two to fourteen Asafo companies, with as many as seven active companies in a single town. There is a lack of political unity within the Fante culture as a whole, so that inter-company rivalries – as well as disagreements between the states – are, not surprisingly, endemic. When the Fante were not fighting together against a common enemy, these antagonisms often extended to open conflict among themselves. observers report that battles between Asafo companies in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries left many dead and wounded.

By exploiting these divisions, the Europeans could `divide and rule’ and ensure that their control of the coast went unchallenged. At the same time, by organizing the Asafo warriors into efficient military units, they could bring together an army for a quick reaction to any threat from the interior. The enemy was, more often than not, the Ashanti kingdom, a traditional opponent of the Fante, and a dangerous and unpredictable supplier of gold and slaves to the European traders on the coast. The primary function of the Asafo, as we have seen, was defence of the state, Nevertheless, the companies are key players in a balance-of- power struggle – typical of the many that exist in communities the world over – between the military and civilian groups within government. Although the Asafo are subordinate to their chiefs and paramount chief, they are intimately involved in the selection of the chief and are responsible for his crowning or ‘enstoolment’. As long as the chief has the support of the people – as represented by the Asafo – he has the authority accorded to him by tradition; the prerogative to appoint and remove chiefs remains with the people. Asafo elders also serve as advisers to the chief.

While Fante chieftaincy is aristocratic and matrilineal – the chief tracing his descent through females back to the founders of the community – the Asafo are patrilineal and democratic, Every child, male or female, automatically enters his father’s company, and membership is open to all classes, from stool holders to fishermen.

Kwahu

Kwahu is a region in south-central Ghana, on the west shore of Lake Volta. There are two common spellings, Kwahu and Kwawu. The “w” spelling is the official spelling from the African Studies Centre, University of Ghana, and more resembles the pronunciation. The “h” was put in by Swiss missionaries from Basel, who added the “h” to ensure that Kwa, the first syllable, was not pronounced as “eh”. The “h” is not separately pronounced in the name.

The term Kwahu also refers to the variant of Akan language spoken in this region.

The name derives from its myths of origin, “The slave (awa) died (wu)”, which was based on an ancient prophesy that a slave would die so the wandering tribe of Akan would know where to settle. The myth was part of the historical stories of the Agona matriclan, the first paramount lineage of Kwahu, and was later adopted by the Bretuo-Tena matriclan (Twidan) who later replaced them.

The paramount chief and the royal matrilineage of the Kwahu reside at Abene, north of Abetifi on the banks of the highlands.

Abetifi (Tena matriclan) is the head of the Adonten (vanguard). Obo (Aduana, Ada, Amoakade) is the head of the Nifa (Right Division) Aduamoa (Dwumena, Asona) is the head of the Benkum (Left Division).

As part of the Asante Empire, Kwahu had an Asante emissary, governor or ambassador at Atibe, next to Mpraeso, of the Ekuona matriclan). To indicate its independence from Asante in 1888 the Kwahu assassinated the Asante emissary in Atibe, about the time of the arrival of the Basel missionaries from Switzerland. The Kwahu royals invited the missionaries to build their mission in Abetifi. Obo led the pro-Asante opposition to the Swiss.

Nzema

The Nzema originated from the north, in Bono or Adanse, settling in the 15th century. This was recorded by the Portuguese, who traded with other Europeans arriving in the country in the 15th century. During the 19th century Nzema was one region until the deportation of the ruler Kaku Akaa. The Nzemas are divided into the Evalue, Dwira, Ellembelle and Jomoro. Their various versions of the Nzema language differ only very slightly in very few insignificant ways. There is however only one standard written Nzema language. The Nzema are found along the coastal area of south western Ghana from Shama in the east to the western border with Cote d’Ivoire. Both the Nzema and the Ahanta celebrate the Kundum festival in remembrance of their ancestors. Kundum is celebrated between August and September each year, at the beginning of the harvest season. It is celebrated for one month and is characterized by drumming and dancing.

Sefwi

The Sefwi were composed of a number of states, but despite this they remained as one community. They celebrate a common annual yam festival which is called the Alluolie or Eluo.

The Sefwi were vassal states of the Denkyira. After Denkyira was defeated by Asante, the Sefwi gained their independence but soon were taken over by Asante. Sefwi was rich in gold, ivory and rubber that led to their prosperity.

A HISTORY OF SEFWI: A HISTORY OF ORAL EVIDENCE*

By K. Y. Daaku**

In the extreme north of the Western Region of Ghana are three traditional states collectively known as Sefwi. Sefwi is made up of three mutually independent paramountcies Anhwiaso, Bekwai and Wiawso. It is bounded on the north-east by Ashanti (Asante), on the east by Denkyira and Wassa-Amenfi, on the south by Aowin and on the west by the Anyi-Baoule of the Ivory Coast. It also shares a common boundary with Brong Ahafo in the north. All the three states share a common dialect Sefwi but almost all the people speak Twi (Akan). In Addition they have a common tutelary deity, Sobore, and a common yam festival – the Alluolie.

Since the middle of the seventeenth century this vast stretch of territory has served as a centre of refuge for people escaping from the political centralization policies of their neighbours to the north and east. Refugees from Bono-Takyiman Wenchi, Adanse, Denkyira, Assin and Asante found ready welcome in this territory. It appears that the Aowin (Awowin) rulers who formerly controlled modern Sefwi territory adopted an open door policy as a measure to increase the population of their state. Nor has the influx of people info Sefwi ceased up to the present day. Its virgin forest serves as a bait for cocoa farmers and timber merchants from all over Ghana.

* The only known historical study on Sefwi is by H. P. Holtsbaum entitled “Sefwi and its Peoples” in Gold Coast Review Vol. 1, 1925, p. 76-94. My own work is based on my collection of oral traditions in the three states between June and September 1970. This was carried out as part of the UNESCO Research on Oral History being undertaken by the Institute of African Studies, Legon. I am grateful to the Institute for the funds for the research. Field notes are in the library of the Institute.

** Dr. K. Y. Daaku is a lecturer in the Department of History, Legon.

EARLY HISTORY

It is not known for certain when the name Sefwi came to be applied to this area. The etymology of the word “Sefwi” indicates that the state is of comparatively recent creation. Sefwi is said to be the contraction of the Twi phrase, “Esa awie” or “Esa hie” meaning “War is over”. It is interesting to note that it was only in the early 19th century that the name appeared in the European records. The first mention of Sefwi, known to the writer, is in Bowdich. Before his time the early writers referred to the area as Inkassa, Inkassa Igyina, Great Enkassa or Encasser. In 1819 Bowdich mentioned a state of “Sauee” as lying eight journeys west north west from Kumasi. Five years later Dupuis showed two states Safey and Showy on his map of Wangara. These states were located to the northwest and southwest respectively of Asante. The latter state (Showy) which he placed between the Bia and Tano rivers may be identified with Sefwi Wiawso, whilst the former (Safey), although widely placed off its present location, may stand for either Anhwiaso or Bekwai or both. Perhaps the significance of Dupuis’ map lies in the fact that for all the time Sefwi has been known to comprise of more than one independent state.

Both written and oral evidence indicate that until the rise of the Akan states of Denkyira and Asante the most powerful state in the southwestern region of Ghana was Aowin. It was not until the last two decades of the 17th century that Denkyira succeeded in bringing Aowin under its rule. Even so the Denkyira victory did not much affect the power of Aowin since all that the victorious power was interested in was to obtain free passage for its traders to and from Aowin and to collect it annual tribute. The evidence would seem to suggest that by the end of the 17th century Aowin had not only regained its former power but had embarked on a policy of economic and political expansion which was to bring it face to face with the rising power of Asante in the 1710’s. Its control over the sources of gold and the trade routes to the northern market of Begho and the coastal town of Apollonia was one of the causes which led to the Asante-Aowin War of 1715. By the beginning of the 18th century the wars with Denkyira and Asante had led to a loss of much of Aowin territory to the west of the Tano to many of the Twi-speaking people from the east. Although the new immigrants were victorious in the wars, they seemed to have lost their language, which now is so heavily overlaid with the dialect of the Aowin as to render it virtually incomprehensible to the other Twi speakers. In spite of their linguistic affinity with the Aowin, very few people in the three states of Sefwi may be said to have remotely directly originated from the Aowin. Among such towns are Bonzan (Moinsea), DaTano, Benchema, Kwodwokrom, and part of Bodi. Although they do not consider themselves to be Aowin, there is no doubt that they were once a part of or under the Aowin.

PHASES OF SETTLEMENT

One of the problems of the researcher into the history of Sefwi is how to determine the various phases of settlements and migration. This problem is made more difficult by the incessant land succession disputes and litigation among the three paramount stools on the one hand, and between the paramount stools and some of the divisional chiefs on the other. All are however agreed that the Anhwiaso state was the first of the three to be established. Bordering on Asante to the northeast, it is most probable that this was the state, which was known to Dupuis as Safey. The traditions of many of the towns of Anhwiaso trace their original homes to southern Asante and to Brong Ahafo. The most important of these towns is Wenchi, the name of which is, at times, used to describe the whole of the Anhwiaso traditional area. Now ruled by members of the Asona clan who trace the home of their lineage to Ansa in Adanse, Wenchi appears to have been founded by people from Brong Ahafo. It is interesting to note that the Asona of Kesekrom and Ahibenso in the Wiawso area who claim to have come from Anhwiaso Wenchi, emphatically assert that their original home was in Wenchi in Brong Ahafo. There is enough circumstantial evidence to show that people from Wenchi in the Bono-Takyiman area may have founded Anhwiaso Wenchi and named it after their old home. This is partly evidenced by the similarities in the yam festival of the two towns and partly by the traditions of Bono Wenchi which assert that early in the reign of Osei Tutu the Asante sacked and destroyed their old capital, Ahwene Koko. As a result of the destruction, the tradition continues, many of their people moved and settled in Sefwi, Aowin and Nzema areas. It is most probable that many of the refugees from Ahwene Koko moved into Anhwiaso Wenchi, the original founders of which might have been related to them. Now enjoying the status of a divisional chief (the Benkumhene) to the Anhwiaso Omanhene, Wenchi has for a long time disputed the claim of the Adum-Aduana of Anhwiaso to occupy the paramount stool. To Wenchi the Adum-Aduana are usurpers. According to the Asona traditions of Wenchi they lost virtually all the male royals of their clan as a result of wars with their neighbours. In order that the necessary customary rites would be regularly performed they entrusted the custody of the stool to one Nipa Panyi, the eldest of the stool sons. Until that period their sons of the Aduana clan were the principal state executioners (Adumfo). Unfortunately for the Asona it took them a long time to be able to get a male royal capable of occupying the stool. But because of this long period of regency, and the love of the power which their sons had wielded they refused to hand over the stool to them and thereby, made permanent an arrangement which had been intended to be temporary.

The confusion in the Anhwiaso state is made worse by the existence of two rival groups of Aduana each claiming to be the rightful rulers. The chief of Chirano, who is said to be the head of the Aduana clan in Anhwiaso, and whose branch of Aduana is collectively known as the Sawua, maintains that the Adum-Aduana have worked themselves into a position which had formerly been occupied by them. The Sawua claim that they once lived at old Wenchi with the Asona, with whom they were only separated by a brook. Both the Adum-Aduana and the Sawua people maintain that they are autochthonous. Whilst the former assert that they brought their stool from their old home at Old Anhwiaso, where they emerged from a hole in the ground, the latter also claim that their ancestors emerged from a hole at a place near old Wenchi. It appears that the claims of both the Sawua and the Adum-Aduana are mere rationalizations to support a position which the Aduana have come to occupy not by right but by force.

The traditions of Sefwi Bekwai assert that the Anhwiaso people were already settled in their present territory when they arrived there. Perhaps because of the smallness of their number, Bekwai was not prepared to fight it out to capture land from the original settlers. This may explain why it is the smallest of all the three states. The Ekoona of Bekwai who occupy the Omanhene’s stool, claim to have emigrated from Adanse, where they belonged to the royal family at Fomena. Owing to family disputes they moved away. First passing through Denkyira, Wassa and Nzema they were later granted land near the Sobore River by Obumankoma, chief of Agona in Wassa Amenfi, then a vassal of the powerful Aowin king. Sometime in the 18th century the strained relationship between Bekwai and Wiawso, who had lately arrived in the area, led to a war in which Bekwai was forced to take refuge in Asante. They were however, later granted land by the Anhwiaso stool, thanks to the intercession of the Asantehene.

The history of Sefwi Wiawso is clOseiy connected with Asante-Awowin relationship. Of all the three states Wiawso appears to have been the one which was much more directly influenced by developments in the Asante capital – Kumasi. Indeed the evidence seems to suggest that the vast tract of territory which Wiawso came to control was obtained with the help of the Asante whom they faithfully supported after the Asante-Denkyira War. Like the other states, many of the people in Wiawso trace their origins to Asante and Denkyira. Here the important clan is ‘Asankera’ which occupies the paramount stool. The beginnings of the settlement of the Twi-speaklng people in Wiawso may be traced to the rise of Denkyira to power between 1640 and 1660. Reluctant to submit to Denkyira rule, some members of the Asakyiri clan left Adanse Akrokeri and eventually settled a few miles west of the Tano at a place known as Bauko. Together with the Agona rulers of Bonzan, which had once been a powerful Aowin out-post, the Asakyiri of Bauko, succeeded in despoiling Aowin of much of its land lying between the Bia and the Tano. But the period of Bauko rule in this area was soon to be cut short during the last phase of Denkyira imperial drive towards the end of the 17th century. From about the 1680’s refugees from Wassa and Twifo came pouring into the area to avoid being brought under Denkyira rule. It was at this time that the modern state of Wiawso was established. It appears however, that for some time there existed a mutual working relationship between the Asakyiri of Buako and the new Asankera people who had lately arrived from their former home near Asankaragua, in the Wassa Amenfi area.

The foundations of the modern state of Wiawso are associated with two early rulers, Obumankoma and Nkoa I. Tradition has it that it was Obumankoma who led the migration of the people from Wassa Amenfi to their first settlement at Bosomoiso, by the Sobore. It is not known whether it was the fear of Denkyira which urged Obumankoma on to move westwards. Not long after his settlement at Bosomoiso, however, the ever victorious armies of Boa Amponsem I of Denkyira overran the new settlement. Obumankoma once again moved and founded his capital at the strategically superior site on top of the hill where the modern town, Wiawso, stands. By correlating traditional with documentary evidence one may be able to establish the period of the foundation of both the Wiawso town and state.

It is traditionally remembered that very early in his reign, Nkoa I, the second ruler of Wiawso, was presented with the Etwie drum by Boa Amponsem. Although Wiawso traditions describe this as exchange of gifts, yet it appears that by accepting this all important drum from Boa Amponsem, Nkoa was acknowledging his vassalage to Denkyira. Boa Amponsem is known to have died in 1692. It is therefore highly probable that Nkoa might have been enstooled around 1691. If Nkoa was the second ruler as Wiawso traditions assert, then it is most likely that the foundation of Wiawso state goes back not earlier than the 1680’s or late 1670’s. It is most probable that the Asante soon followed the victory over Denkyira with the capture of Wiawso and Bekwai. Asante traditions maintain that the defeat of Sefwi took place at the time of Osei Tutu. From all appearances, the Sefwi soon learned to adjust themselves to their new situation. This enabled them to play a leading role in the Asante drive towards the southwest in the 1710’s. Nkoa I (Ntwan) whom the Europeans mistakenly identify as king of Wassa, instead of Wiawso, was known to have played a leading role In the Asante-Aowin War when the Asante forces under General Amankwatia carried all before them to Apollonia in 1715. In the Sefwi Wiawso people the Asante found brave and willing allies competent to guard their southwestern frontiers against Aowin. It might be due to Nkoa’s services to the Asante in the war that Wiawso was allowed to annex much of the land west of the Tano, which had formerly belonged to the Aowin. It is significant to note that the traditions of Wiawso describe Nkoa I as the warrior king and credit him with the conquest of Aowin and the extension of their territory to much of its present frontiers.

SEFWI AND THEIR NEIGHBOURS

Whatever the intentions of the founders of the Sefwi state in moving westwards from the centre of Akan politics, they soon learned that ‘War is not yet over” as they had hoped. They had to fight with some of their neighbours over land or fight wars for their allies and overlords. In spite of the traditions of early settlements in Wassa country by both the Bekwai and Wiawso states, their relations with the former soon deteriorated. It is said that Obumankoma of Wiawso defeated Wassa (presumably Amenfi) probably towards the end of the l680’s. Wiawso hegemony over Wassa could not have lasted long because Obumankoma was himself defeated by Boa Amponsem. To the period of Denkyira overlordship in Wiawso may be traced the influx of the large number of Denkyira immigrants, as testified by the many stools occupied by people of the Agona clan. Indeed, Denkyira political institutions were greatly copied by Wiawso. It is interesting to note that two of the most warlike towns, Amenfie and Bodi, trace their origins to this period. Although most of the stools interviewed in this area tried to play down their subjection to Denkyira, there is enough evidence from their war songs which lends support to the early phase of Denkyira dominance. It is not unlikely that Nkoa I of Wiawso, like Osei Tutu of Asante, learned much from the military tactics and political organisation of Denkyira.

It was not only the Wiawso state but Bekwai and Anhwiaso also came under Denkyira rule. The traditions of the last mentioned state hold that they were once overran by latter power while most of their able-bodied men were away to war with their northern neighbours. By the end of the 17th century the Denkyira army under their fearful general, Agya Ananse Obooman, had carried their arms to as far west as the Bia and south westwards to bring Aowin under their rule.

As Bosman and the other European observers reported, all the former tributary states of Denkyira were anxious for its downfall because Denkyira rule tended to be harsh. Indeed it is known that most of the tributary states overtly supported Asante. To them the Asante war of liberation would also win them their independence. Unlike Akyem Abuakwa, little did they realize that Asante which had objected to Denkyira rule, was itself embarking on an imperial drive. It was perhaps with a view to gaining the confidence of the Asante that Anhwiaso immediately transferred its allegiance to Asante after 1701. It is not certain when and why Wiawso and Bekwai came under Asante rule. If the information collected by Bowdich at the beginning of the 19th century is to be believed then the defeat of Wiawso soon followed that of Denkyira. It is known that Osei Tutu’s General Amankwatia, conquered “Sawee Bomancumma”. By 1700, however, Obumankoma was dead and had been succeeded by Nkoa. Any Asante war against Sefwi then would be against Nkoa but not Obumankoma. It is interesting to note that within less than a decade and a half, Nkoa I had so successfully adapted himself to the changed political situation as to play a prominent role in the Asante-Aowin War of 1715. Nor could Anhwiaso preserve its friendly relations with Asante for long. In 1715, Amankwatia’s army on its way to Apollonia overran its capital and thus completely reduced Anhwiaso to a tributary status. Perhaps the role played by the Bantamahene Amankwatia in bringing these states completely under Asante rule explains why Wiawso and Anhwiaso served the Asantehene through the Bantamahene.

Throughout the period between 1715 and 1887, when Sefwi finally came under the British, Asante maintained its rule in the area. By the reign of Osei Kwadwo, Asante power had stretched farther westwards into part of the Anyi-Baule region of the Ivory Coast. The whole of modern Sefwi had been brought under Asante rule by the 1770’s, when Osei Kwadwo is said to have defeated the former Aowin principality of Bonzan. Bonzan traditions agree that they came under Sefwi Wiawso at the suggestion of the Asante. To pacify the former powerful Bonzan Wiawso agreed to make it the Krontihene of the state.

One of the mysteries in Sefwi history is its relationship with Ebiri Moro. Fuller, without citing his source of information, asserts that one Ebiri Moro, King of Sefwi, sacked Kumasi when the Asante armies were gone to war against Akyem. This happened according to Fuller, during the reign of Opoku Ware. It is interesting to note that none of the chiefs interviewed could tell of Ebiri Moro’s identity. Perhaps one may argue that since his actions brought the state into disrepute the Sefwi people have deliberately struck out his name from the king lists. I am inclined to believe that no such an attempt has been made. Judging from the intense rivalry among the paramount stools, it is not unlikely that one of them would have shown who Ebiri Moro was as long as he was not connected with their stool. All the available information, however, makes Ebiri Moro either a ruler of Ahafo or Aowin. Indeed, Wiawso traditions assert that it could not have been a ruler of Sefwi since they were at that time fighting with the Asante army.

Nor do the 19th and early 20th century traditions collected associate him with Sefwi. Reindorf asserts that Ebiri Moro was the ruler of Parana and that Amankwatia fought and defeated Obumankoma and not Ebiri Moro. Kumawu traditions collected by Rattray in the 1920’s associate Ebiri Moro with Wassa. Judging from Sefwi relations with Asante at the beginning of the 18th century, it is difficult to believe that they would have been bold enough to have carried an attack to the capital of their overlord. It appears that the historian interested in finding more about this mysterious Ebiri Moro must search for him in the Aowin states which are in both Ghana and the Ivory Coast or in the Bono Takyiman-Wenchi area.

SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANISATION

With the influx of people from many parts of the country especially from Adanse which is known to be the first organized Akan state “from which other states learned the art of government”, the social and political systems of Sefwi have been much influenced by the immigrants. The present basic social structure may be said to be the super imposition of the highly developed pure Akan clan system on one which had hitherto been organised primarily around living quarters and in Asafo or warrior company groups. The outcome on the whole has not been a very satisfactory marriage. This explains the confusion about the various clans who claim to be eligible to occupy important stools. In Anhwiaso and Wiawso it appears that the struggles between the various clans are primarily due to the unsuccessful merger of the two dissimilar institutions i.e. the pure Akan clan system on the one hand, and the Aowin-Bono system on the other.

Nowhere is this situation as pronounced as in the Wiawso state. There the clan in which the paramount stool is vested is known as the Asankera. One would expect that all the members of this group would belong to one known Akan clan group. But far from it, There are, at least, three different clans who claim to belong to the Asankera group. The present Omanhene of Wiawso, for instance, asserts that he is of the Oyoko clan, while Buako and Asafo which are also Asankera are of the Asakyiri and Bretuo clans, respectively. In the Anhwiaso area perhaps the origins of the struggles between the Asona of Wenchi on the one hand, and the Adum-Aduana and the Aduana (Sawua) on the other, stem from a similar unsuccessful arrangement of merging clans with living quarters.

In the political sphere, however, most of the Akan institutions have been easily adopted. The politico-military division of the state into the left, right, and vanguard wings each under a leader who led his men in time of war and administered the division in peace-time is a common feature of the Sefwi constitution. Also all the states have such purely administrative posts as the Kronti, Akwamu, Gyaase, Ankobea, and a host of others which are common with all the other Akan states. In spite of these arrangements, however, it appears that, with the exception of a few important stools in some places the all important office of the queen-mother was unknown or her role was relegated to an inferior status.

ECONOMY

Like most of the forest states of West Africa Sefwi’s economy was based on trade. Gold mining and panning as well as ivory hunting were two of the most important occupations. Gold and ivory were exchanged for manufactured goods. A town like Bonzan (when translated the name means the river which spits out gold), owed its fame and importance to its gold industry. Gold from Sefwi and other Aowin towns was regularly sent to Begho to the north and to the European forts at the coast. The route connecting Kumasi to Sefwi was one of the important arteries of trade at the beginning of the 19th century. Towards the end of the 19th century when rubber became one of the principal items of trade in the forest region of Ghana, Sefwi appears to have been active in the tapping of rubber. The abundance of both the tree, Funtumia elastica, and the vine, Landolphia Owarensis, in the area greatly made rubber exploitation a lucrative occupation for the people. It was undoubtedly during this period of rubber boom that Debiso in Sefwi became an important stopping place and market centre for people who journeyed to Kankyaabo (Krinjabo) and other places in modern Ivory Coast. While it may not be denied the importation of European manufactured goods, especially iron implements helped to make possible this economic exploitation, Sefwi and its immediate neighbourhood had had traditions of iron working going back to the pre-European period. To both Denkyira and Sefwi the iron working towns of Tonsuosim (Maudaso) by the Bia, and Bopa-Piri, by the Tano had long provided the much needed hoes and machetes (adre), for the exploitation of the forest.

FESTIVALS AND TRADITIONAL DEITIES

As was pointed out earlier on all the three states of Sefwi share a common culture in spite of the fact that they all came from different places. They share a common dialect, Sefwi, have a common Yam Festival, Alluolie, and a common deity, Sobore. Although the Sefwi dialect is grouped with other Akan languages, it is mostly unintelligible to the other Akan speakers. Linguistically the incoming Akans from the east and other regions have had their language very much overlaid with the Aowin-Bono dialect. Now Sefwi shares this common dialect, with the Aowin, Nzema and Anyi-Baule in the Ivory Coast.

In their common yam festival,the Alluolie,they celebrate the end of the farming year, and offer food and drinks to their ancestors – a practice which is not dissimilar from the Ohum and Odwira festivals of the Akans. On the other hand the second festival, the Alie, is not celebrated by all the stools, but only by members of the Asona clan in the three states. The importance of this festival lies perhaps in the fact that it serves as one of the only connecting links between the two Wenchis of Bono and Sefwi. Formerly celebrated only in Wenchi, but not taken up by the Omanhene of Anhwiaso and such places as Chirano, Subiri and Kesekrom, it has much in common with the celebration of the annual Apo festival of Wenchi in the Bono states. In both the Alie and the Apo food which is cooked for the ancestors is placed at the outskirts of the town and merry-making women dance up and down the streets at times exposing their naked but well decorated bodies to the onlookers.

In the worship of the tutelar deity Sobore, the three states also have a common identity. The deity is supposed not only to protect the states from all calamities but it is also a fertility god. Admittedly each state had its own shrine and priests but in all essentials the method of worshipping is similar. It appears that the Sobore predates the establishment of the modern Sefwi state. This may explain why only the local dialect and not Twi and only locally made wine from the raffia palm are used in worshipping Sobore. It is highly probable that the worship of this stream Sobore, was taken over from the Aowin.

CONCLUSION

From about the middle of the seventeenth century that stretch of territory which later became known as Sefwi was gradually being subjected to Akan influences from the east and northeast. Formerly the territory west of the Bia, spanning across the Tano and the Bia into parts of the Ivory Coast and stretching south to parts of Nzema was under the rule of the Aowin.

With the rise of powerful states of the Akans to the east, the territories of Aowin and Nzema became the refugee centres for those who refused to accept the leadership of the new states. For Aowin in particular this was a welcome development since it provided them with much needed subjects to occupy its sparsely peopled spheres of influence. This open door policy was to provide the excuses for the powerful states of Denkyira and Asante to bring Aowin under their control. At times with the overt support of the conquerors, many Akans moved west to populate modern Sefwi. It is interesting to note that virtually all the ruling houses but Bonzan and a few others, trace their origins into Denkyira, Adanse and Asante.

The newcomers brought with them the social and political organisations which they had learned from the Akan areas. The present day loosely formed clans in Sefwi are the outcome of the unsuccessful merger of the Akan clan system, based an exogamous matriarchy with what used to be a loose form of organisation based on living quarters and warrior groups. On the other hand if the Akans succeeded in establishing their political organisation on the predominantly Aowin-Bono system, culturally they were almost wholly assimilated by the conquered. The Akan language became so heavily overlaid with the Aowin dialect as to make it unintelligible to other Akan speakers, it is

Interesting to note, however, that the Akan Twi is still spoken by most of the people in addition to Sefwi for prestige reasons. This may be due to the rule of Denkyira and Asante and, to a larger extent, to the frequent infusion of Twi speakers who come in as migrant cocoa farmers.

Wassa

The Wassa people are found in the Western Region of Ghana, inland off the coast and into the interior. Their annual Eddie festival is celebrated to coincide with the harvest period of farm produce. The Wassa are divided into various sub-ethnic groups, namely the Wassa Fiase/Mpohor and Wassa Amenfi.