The Akan are a nation and indigenous ethnic group residing on the Gulf of Guinea in the
southern regions of the Gold Coast region in what are today the republics of Ghana and
the Ivory Coast in West Africa. Akans are the largest ethnic group in both
countries and have a population of roughly 20 million people. Akans are not a racially
homogeneous ethnicity and they encompass a range of phenotypes. The Akan language is
a group of dialects within the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo language family. Also included
under the term "Akan" are the Bia languages. Subgroups of the Akan proper include: Asante,
Akuapem and Akyem, Agona, Kwahu, Wassa, Fante and Brong. Subgroups of the Bia-speaking groups
include: the Anyin, Baoulé, Chakosi, Sefwi, Nzema, Ahanta and Jwira-Pepesa. The Akan
subgroups have cultural attributes in common, notably the tracing of descent, inheritance
of property, and succession to high political office.
Origin and ethnogenesis
The Akan people are believed to have migrated to their current location from the Sahara
desert and Sahel region of West Africa into the forested region around the 6th century,
and many Akans tell their history as it started in the forested region of West Africa as this
is where the ethnogenesis of the Akan as we know them today happened.
Oral traditions of the ruling Abrade Clan relate that they originated from ancient Sudan.
As a result of the introduction of Islam in the Western Sudan, and the zeal of the Muslims
to impose their religion, their ancestors left for Kong. From Kong they moved to Wam
and then to Dormaa. 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. Around
the 6th century, they moved from Dormaa South Eastwards to Twifo-Hemang, North West Cape
Coast. This move was commercially motivated. The kingdom of Bonoman was established as
early as the 11th century, and between the 12th and 13th centuries a gold boom in the
Akan area brought wealth to numerous Akans. During different phases of the Kingdom of
Bonoman groups of Akans migrated out of the area to create numerous states based predominantly
on gold mining and trading of cash crops. This brought wealth to numerous Akan states
like Akwamu, and ultimately led to the rise of the most well known Akan empire, the Empire
of Ashanti,(1700-1900), the most dominant of the Akan states.
History
From the 15th century to the 19th century the Akan people dominated gold mining and
trading in the region and, from the 17th century on, they were among the most powerful groups
in west Africa.
This wealth in gold attracted European traders. Initially the Europeans were Portuguese but,
eventually the Dutch and British joined in the quest for Akan gold. Akan states waged
wars on neighboring states in their geographic area to capture people and sell them as slaves
to Europeans who subsequently sold the enslaved people along with guns to Akans states in
exchange for Akan gold. Akan gold was also used to purchase slaves from further up north
via the Trans-Saharan route. The Akan purchased slaves in order to help clear the dense forests
within Ghana. About a third of the population of many Akan states were enslaved people.
The Akans went from buyers of slaves to selling slaves as the dynamics in the Gold Coast and
the New World changed. Thus, the Akan people played a considerable role in supplying Europeans
with slaves for the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Ghana later apologized to the descendents
of slaves for the role some of its people may have played in the slave trade.
Akan people, especially the Ashanti, fought against European colonists to maintain autonomy
including many Anglo-Ashanti wars: the war of the Golden Stool, and other similar battles.
By the early 1900s all of Ghana was a colony or protectorate of the British while the lands
in the Ivory Coast was under the French. On 6 March 1957, following the decolonization
from the British under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah, the Gold Coast was joined to British
Togoland, and the Northern region, Upper East region and Upper West region of the Gold Coast
to form Ghana. Ivory Coast gained independence on 7 August 1960.
Akan subgroups and ethnic identity The Akan people comprise the following subgroups:
Ashanti, Abbe, Abidji, Aboure, Adjukru, Ahafo, Ahanta, Akuapem, Akwamu, Akye, Akyem, Alladian,
Anyi, Aowin, Appollo, Assin, Attie, Avatime, Avikam, Baoule, Brong, Chokosi, Coromantee,
Denkyira, Ebrie, Ehotile, Evalue, Fante, Kwahu, M'Bato, Ndyuka, Nzema, Sefwi, and Wassa.
The identity of an Akan nation or ethnicity is expressed by the term Akanman. The Akan
word ɔman which forms the second element in this expression has a meaning much of "community,
town; nation, state". It has been translated as "Akanland".
Akan language
Akan refers to the language of the Akan ethnic group and the Akan language in which was and
is the most widely spoken and used indigenous language in the Ghana. Akan is officially
recognized for literacy in Ghana, at the primary and elementary educational stage K–12 level,
and studied at university as a bachelor degree or masters degree program. The Akan language
spoken as the predominant language in the Western, Central, Ashanti, Eastern, Brong
Ahafo regions of Ghana . A form of Akan Ndyuka is also spoken in South America, notably Suriname,
French Guiana, Guyana and Jamaica with the Akan language coming to these South American
and Caribbean places through the trans-Atlantic trade and Akan names and folktales are still
used in these South American and Caribbean countries. With the present state of technology,
one can listen to live radio broadcasts in Akan from numerous radio stations and receive
mass media and public broadcasts in Akan from numerous multimedia and media broadcasting.
Akan is studied in major universities in North America and United States, including Ohio
University, Ohio State University, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Harvard University,
Boston University, Indiana University, University of Michigan, and the University of Florida.
The Akan language has been a regular language of study in the annual Summer Cooperative
African Languages Institute program and the Akan language is regulated and administered
by the Akan Orthography Committee. Akan has some unique linguistic features like
tone, vowel harmony and nasalization. Culture
Akan culture is one of the traditional matrilineal cultures of Africa. Akan art is wide-ranging
and renowned, especially for the tradition of crafting bronze goldweights, using the
lost-wax casting method. The Akan culture reached South America, Caribbean, and North
America. Some of their most important mythological
stories are called anansesem, literally meaning "the spider story", but in a figurative sense
also meaning "traveler's tales". These "spider stories" are sometimes also referred to as
nyankomsem: "words of a sky god". The stories generally, but not always, revolve around
Kwaku Ananse, a trickster spirit, often depicted as a spider, human, or a combination thereof.
Elements of Akan culture also include, but are not limited to:
Concepts of Akan philosophy and inheritance These are the basic concepts of Akan philosophy
and inheritance: Abusua – What an Akan inherits from his
mother Ntoro – What an Akan gets from his father,
but one does not belong to a Ntoro; instead one belongs to one's Abusua
Sunsum – What an Akan develops from interaction with the world
Kra – What an Akan gets from Onyame Matrilineality
Many but not all of the Akan still practice their traditional matrilineal customs, living
in their traditional extended family households. The traditional Akan economic and political
organization is based on matrilineal lineages, which are the basis of inheritance and succession.
A lineage is defined as all those related by matrilineal descent from a particular ancestress.
Several lineages are grouped into a political unit headed by a council of elders, each of
whom is the elected head of a lineage – which itself may include multiple extended-family
households. Public offices are thus vested in the lineage,
as are land tenure and other lineage property. In other words, lineage property is inherited
only by matrilineal kin. Each lineage controls the lineage land farmed by its members, functions
together in the veneration of its ancestors, supervises marriages of its members, and settles
internal disputes among its members. The political units above are likewise grouped
into eight larger groups called abusua: Aduana, Agona, Asakyiri, Asenie, Asona, Bretuo, Ekuona
and Oyoko. The members of each such abusua are united by their belief that they are all
descended from the same ancient ancestress – so marriage between members of the same
group is forbidden, a taboo on marriage. 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. Members and their spouses thus belong to different abusuas, with mother and
children living and working in one household, but their husband/father living and working
in a different household. According to one source of information about
the Akan, "A man is strongly related to his mother's brother but only weakly related to
his father's brother. This must be viewed in the context of a polygamous society in
which the mother/child bond is likely to be much stronger than the father/child bond.
As a result, in inheritance, a man's nephew will have priority over his own son. Uncle-nephew
relationships therefore assume a dominant position."
"The principles governing inheritance, generation and age – that is to say, men come before
women and seniors before juniors."... When a woman’s brothers are available, a consideration
of generational seniority stipulates that the line of brothers be exhausted before the
right to inherit lineage property passes down to the next senior genealogical generation
of sisters' sons. Finally, "it is when all possible male heirs have been exhausted that
the females" may inherit. Certain other aspects of the Akan culture
are determined patrilineally rather than matrilineally. There are 12 patrilineal Ntoro groups, and
everyone belongs to his or her father's Ntoro group, but not to his family lineage and abusua.
Each Ntoro group has its own surnames, taboos, ritual purifications and forms of etiquette.
A person thus inherits one's Ntoro from one's father, but does not belong to his family.
A recent book provides an update on the Akan, stating that some families are changing from
the above abusua structure to the nuclear family. Housing, childcare, education, daily
work, and elder care etc. are then handled by that individual family, rather than by
the abusua or clan, especially in the city. The above taboo on marriage within one's abusua
is sometimes ignored, but "clan membership" is still important, with many people still
living in the abusua framework presented above. Akan influence
Elements of Akan culture can generally be seen in many geographic areas. Specific elements
of Akan culture are especially seen in neighboring West African peoples and some Central African
populations. Akan culture has also been historically important in the New World, where Akan names
are or were common, for example among the Coromantins of Jamaica, and the descendants
of the Akwamu in St. John. Kofi, the leader of the 1763 slave revolt and violent revolt
against the Dutch people in Guyana was an Akan.
Akan names
Akan Given-names Akan system of giving names to their Akan
children is unique. Each Akan child is sometimes given his/her own personal name irrespective
of the surname of the Akan father. The Akan first-names are usually derived from the day
an Akan child was born. For an example an Akan male born on Monday is called Kwadwo/Kojo
derived from the day Monday which is called Dwoada in the Akan language, the language
of Akans. An Akan female born on Monday is called Adwoa. Here are the rest of the days
and their various names: Tuesday/Benada - Kwabena for Akan males and Abena for Akan females,
Wednesday/Wukuada - Kwaku for Akan males and Akua for Akan females, Thursday/Yawoada - Yaw
for Akan males and Yaa for Akan females, Friday/Fiada - Kofi for Akan males and Afua for Akan females,
Saturday/Memeneda - Kwame for Akan males and Ama for Akan females and finally Sunday/Kwasiada
- Kwasi/Akwasi for Akan males and Akosua for Akan females. Sometimes an Akan baby male
born on Wednesday might be called Kofi instead of Kwaku because the Akan person after whom
he is named was a Kofi and not a Kwaku. Akan Surnames
The Akan surnames are always given after close Akan relatives and sometimes Akan friends.
Since the Akan names are always given by the Akan men if an Akan couple receives a son
as their first born- Akan baby he is named after the Akan father of the husband and if
the Akan baby is a female she will be named after the Akan mother of the husband. As a
result if an Akan man called "Osei Kofi" and the Akan wife gives birth to a female as their
first born the Akan female might be called "Yaa Dufie" even if she was not born on Friday.
The reason is the fact that the Akan mother of the Akan man "Osei Kofi" is called "Yaa
Dufie". Akans usually give these Akan names so that the names of their close Akan relatives
might be maintained in the Akan families to show how they cherish the love for their Akan
nationality. In the olden days it was a disgrace if an Akan man was not able to name any child
after his Akan father and/or Akan mother because that was the pride of every Akan home. Most
of the Akan names given to Akan males could also be given to Akan females just by adding
the letters "aa" to form the female names. Some of these Akan surnames can be given to
both Akan males and females without changing or adding anything. However there are others
that are exclusively Akan male names whilst others are exclusively Akan female names.
Individuals of Akan origin
Among the individuals of Akan origin are Kwame Nkrumah, who started the pan-African movement
which liberated many states from European colonialism; Kofi Annan, is the first black
man to head the United Nations organization and was awarded the Nobel Prize; Arthur Wharton,
the first black professional footballer in the world; and Paul Cuffee, who built a lucrative
shipping empire and by the first years of the nineteenth-century was one of the wealthiest
men in the United States. Gallery
See also Empire of Ashanti
Gyaaman List of rulers of the Akan state of Adanse
List of rulers of the Akan states of Akwamu and Twifo-Heman
List of rulers of the Akan state of Bono-Tekyiman List of rulers of the Akan state of Denkyira
List of rulers of the Akan state of Gyaaman Rulers of the Akan state of Asante
Rulers of the Akan state of Akyem Abuakwa Tacky's War
References
Further Reading
Antubam, Kofi, Ghana's Heritage of Culture, Leipzig, 1963.
Kyerematen, A. A. Y., Panoply of Ghana, London, 1964.
Meyerowitz, Eva L. R., Akan Traditions of Origin, London, c. 1950.
Meyerowitz, Eva L. R., At the Court of an African King, London 1962
Obeng, Ernest E., Ancient Ashanti Chieftaincy, Tema, 1986.
Bartle, Philip F. W., "Forty Days; The AkanCalendar". Africa: Journal of the International African
Institute, 48: 80–84. For the Akan, the first-born twin is considered
the younger, as the elder stays behind to help the younger out.
"Kente Cloth." African Journey. webmaster@projectexploration.org. 25 September 2007.
Effah-Gyamfi, Kwaku, Traditional History of the Bono State, Legon: Institute of African
Studies, University of Ghana. Effah-Gyamfi, Kwaku, Bono Manso: an archaeological
investigation into early Akan urbanism Calgary: Dept. of Archaeology, University of Calgary
Press. ISBN 0-919813-27-5 Meyerowitz, E. L. R., "Bono-Mansu, the earliest
centre of civilisation in the Gold Coast", Proceedings of the III International West
African Conference, 118–20. External links
Kasahorow Akan Dictionary The Dictionary of Standard Written Akan
Akan gold trade Akan Philosophy of the Person, Stanford Encyclopedia
of Philosophy ISSN 1095-5054