By The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica • Edit History
Dagomba, also called Dagbamba, the dominant ethnic group in the chiefdom of Dagbon in the northern region of Ghana; they speak Dagbani (Dagbane), a language of the Gur branch of the Niger-Congo language family. Subject to the Dagomba are a number of peoples and parts of other ethnic groups, among them the Konkomba and Chakosi.
According to tradition, the Dagomba kingdom was founded by northern invaders in the 14th century. It extended south to the Black Volta River, but it was reduced in size by the conquests of the Guang (Gonja) in the mid-17th century. At the end of that century the Dagomba were subjugated by the Asante, who forced them to pay an annual tribute of slaves; this tribute was paid until 1874, when the Asante were defeated by British forces.
The Dagomba are farmers, their chief crops being sorghum, millet, corn (maize), yams, and peanuts (groundnuts). Most farm work is done by men; women often assist in harvesting. Dwarf shorthorn cattle, sheep, goats, chickens, and guinea fowl are kept; hunting and fishing are also practiced.
The Dagomba occupy compact walled villages, each household consisting of related men and their wives, children, and other dependents. The population is divided into commoners and chiefly families. The patrilineage is the basis of social organization among the commoners. Matrilineal descent is recognized and credited with the contribution of an individual’s spiritual attributes. The patrilineages are divided into hierarchically arranged segments; lineage heads, as custodians of ancestral shrines, exercise moral authority. The ancestral cult and an earth cult are the major features of Dagomba religion, although Islam and Christianity have had some success in the area.
For the chiefly class, the important kinship unit is a descent group known as the dang, composed of all descendants of a single grandfather or great-grandfather. In the centralized Dagomba state, only the sons of a previous paramount chief, the ya-na, may rise to that office, which is filled in rotation by one of three divisional chiefs.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Elizabeth Prine Pauls.
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Alternate titles: Ashanti
By The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica • Edit History
Asante, also spelled Ashanti, people of south-central Ghana and adjacent areas of Togo and Côte d’Ivoire. Most of the Asante live in a region centred on the city of Kumasi, which was the capital of the former independent Asante state. They speak a Twi language of the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo language family and are a subgroup of the Akan peoples.
Asante chief
Asante chief
An Asante chief wearing silk cloth and gold jewelry.
Doran H. Ross
Although some Asante now live and work in urban centres, they remain primarily associated with village life. They are mainly farmers who produce plantain, bananas, cassava, yams, and cocoyams for local markets and cacao for export.
raffia-fibre cloth
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African art: Asante, Fante, and Baule
The Asante region of southern Ghana is a remnant of the Asante empire,...
The basis of Asante social organization is the matrilineage, a localized segment of a clan whose members claim descent from a common female ancestor. Members of the lineage assist one another in activities such as building houses, farming, and clearing paths and in funeral rites. Since the Asante believe that every individual is made up of two elements—blood from the mother and spirit from the father—paternal descent is also recognized and governs membership in exogamous ntoro divisions that are associated with certain religious and moral obligations.
The head of the lineage is chosen by its senior men and women; females are prohibited from holding this position because of menstrual taboos forbidding contact with sacred objects. The lineage head is responsible for internal peace and relations with other lineages and, as custodian of lineage stools, which embody the spirits of ancestors, is the mediator between its living and dead members. Every important lineage head also has a stool as a symbol of the office. The village chief is chosen from a particular lineage, which differs from village to village; his main task, with the advice of his council of elders, is to settle disputes within the community.
In the traditional Asante state, villages were grouped into territorial divisions; the chief of the capital village was the paramount chief of the division, and his village council served as the division council. The paramount chief of the national capital, Kumasi, was the chief of the confederation. The symbol of Asante unity was the Golden Stool, which reputedly descended from the sky and to which all chiefs acknowledged allegiance. The queen mother (more often actually the sister of the chief) advised him about his conduct and was regarded as the authority on kinship relations of the lineage; she nominated candidates to fill a vacant chief’s position. The chief’s primary duties were formerly religious and military, but in modern times the position has become increasingly secular, involving economic administration and the provision of social and welfare services.
Although there are Christian and Muslim converts among the Asante, the traditional religion, based on belief in a distant supreme being, a pantheon of gods and lesser spirits, and the ever-present spirits of ancestors, remains the basis of the Asante conception of the universe. See also Asante empire.
By The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica • Edit History
Nkole, also spelled Nkore, Ankole, or Ankore, also called Nyankole, or Nyankore, a people of the Interlacustrine Bantu-speaking group who occupy the area of southwestern Uganda between Lakes Edward and George and the Tanzania border.
Related Topics: mugabe
Numbering about 1,500,000 in the late 20th century, the Nkole were traditionally divided into two quite distinct social groups: the pastoral Hima, who made up about one-tenth of the population, and the agricultural Iru, who constituted the remainder. Both groups spoke a common Bantu language. Though marriage between Hima and Iru was traditionally prohibited, each borrowed extensively from the culture of the other. Both groups were traditionally divided into patrilineal clans and groups. Polygyny has been general.
The differing economic pursuits of Hima and Iru gave rise to different modes of life. The Hima lived traditionally in scattered kraals about a mile apart, each with a number of different families. They subsisted almost entirely on the products of their herds. The Iru were sedentary hoe cultivators, for whom the staple crop was millet. They lived in settlements of from 40 to 100 homesteads.
The Nkole maintained a centralized state, headed by the mugabe (king). Hima were bound to the mugabe by an oath of fealty. Iru headmen were appointed over communities of their fellows, and through them Hima chiefs collected tribute.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Elizabeth Prine Pauls.
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