Akan people
The Akan (/ˈækæn/) people are a Kwa group living primarily in present-day Ghana and in parts of Ivory Coast and Togo in West Africa.
[2] Subgroups of the Akan people include: the Agona, Akuapem, Akwamu, Akyem, Anyi, Ashanti, Baoulé, Bono, Chakosi, Fante, Kwahu, Sefwi, Wassa, Ahanta, Denkyira and Nzema, among others.
The Akan subgroups all have cultural attributes in common; most notably the tracing of royal matrilineal descent in the inheritance of property, and for succession to high political office.
Akan people are believed to have migrated from smaller kingdoms in the western Sudan region to their current location around the 11th century.
[3] 11th century Arab historian Al-Bakri wrote about this great kingdom based on accounts by Berber merchants, who often traded with these ancient Ghanaians.
[4] The ancestors of the Akan eventually left for Kong (i.e. present day Ivory Coast).
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.
[10][11][12] The Akan goldfields, according to Peter Bakewell, were the "highly auriferous area in the forest country between the Komoe and Volta rivers.
[11][12][19] By the early 1900s, Ghana was a colony or protectorate of Great Britain, while the lands in the Ivory Coast were under the French.
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.
Some notable Akan descendants include the Coromantees sold from and around Anomabo (Fantelands) in Jamaica, the Akwamu in St. John, and Coffy, who was the leader of the 1763 Berbice slave uprising in Guyana.
Fante war lord Chief Takyi also led a slave rebellion in Jamaica.
Within the Akan nation are branches based on many dialects, widest and possibly the oldest one being used is Twi as well as Fante.
The Fantes also upon migrating from the interior Takyiman conquered other Guan tribes including Efutu and Ewutu and merged them into Mfantseman[22] Akan kings are ranked according to their jurisdiction.
However, the Bretuo or Twidanfo (in Fante), as well as other clans, rule States, Divisions, Towns, and Villages within the Kingdom.
[22] A Prince or Daakyehen(Fante)(lit Future-king) is any of the members of the lineage eligible to sit on a stool.
Each clan, known as abusua, plays a significant role in inheritance, succession, and the selection of chiefs.
The eight main Akan clans—Oyoko, Bretuo, Agona, Asona, Asenie, Aduana, Ekuona, and Asakyiri—are integral to the governance of their respective communities.
The Ewes and the Ga-Adangmes with their close affinity to the Akans have modified certain aspects of it to fit their societies.
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 Akan word ɔman (plural Aman) which forms the second element in this expression has a meaning much of "community, town, nation, state".
Each ethnic group having its own dialect[24][25] 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.
[24][25] Some of Akan's language characteristic features include tone, vowel harmony, and nasalization.
[26] Akan art is wide-ranging and renowned, especially for the tradition of crafting bronze gold weights, using the lost-wax casting method.
The stories generally, but not always, revolve around Kwaku Ananse, a trickster spirit, often depicted as a spider, human, or a combination thereof.
The traditional Akan economic and political organization is based on matrilineal lineages, which are the basis of inheritance and succession.
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.
"[38] "The principles governing inheritance, generation, and age – that is to say, men come before women and seniors before juniors."
