Akan people
Encyclopedia
The Akan people are an ethnic group found predominately in Ghana and The Ivory Coast. Akans are the majority in both of these countries and overall have a population of over 20 million people.
The Akan speak Kwa languages
Kwa languages
The Kwa languages, often specified as New Kwa, are a proposed but as-yet-undemonstrated family of languages spoken in the south-eastern part of Côte d'Ivoire, across southern Ghana, and in central Togo...


Origin and ethnogenesis

The Akan are believed to have migrated to their current location from the Sahel
Sahel
The Sahel is the ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition between the Sahara desert in the North and the Sudanian Savannas in the south.It stretches across the North African continent between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea....

 between the 11th and 13th Century. The kingdom of Bonoman
Bonoman
Bonoman is a term used to describe the trading State created by the Abron people which culminated in bringing wealth to the Akan people.Bonoman was a Middle Ages Akan Empire in what is now Brong-Ahafo region of Ghana and Eastern Ivory Coast...

 was established as early as the 11th century as a trading state between the Akan and their neighbors, especially those from Djenné
Djenné
Djenné is an Urban Commune and town in the Inland Niger Delta region of central Mali. In the 2009 census the commune had a population of 32,944. Administratively it is part of the Mopti Region....

, Timbuktu
Timbuktu
Timbuktu , formerly also spelled Timbuctoo, is a town in the West African nation of Mali situated north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The town is the capital of the Timbuktu Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali...

, Bornu
Bornu
Bornu may refer to:* Bornu Empire, a historical state of West Africa* Borno State, Nigeria...

 among others.
A gold boom in the Akan area between the 12th and 13th centuries brought wealth to numerous Akan peoples. During different phases of the Kingdom of Bonoman
Bonoman
Bonoman is a term used to describe the trading State created by the Abron people which culminated in bringing wealth to the Akan people.Bonoman was a Middle Ages Akan Empire in what is now Brong-Ahafo region of Ghana and Eastern Ivory Coast...

 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
Akwamu
The Akwamu was a state set up by the Akan people in Ghana which existed in the 17th century and 18th century. Originally immigrating from Bono state, the founders settled in Twifo-Heman. The Akwamu created an expansionist empire in the 16th and 17th century...

 which stretched all the way to modern Benin
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...

 and ultimately led to the rise of the most powerful Akan empire, the Empire of Ashanti.

Brief recent history

From the 15th century to the 19th century the Akan people dominated gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

 mining and trading in the region and, from the 17th century on, they were among the most powerful groups in west Africa. They fought against European colonists to maintain autonomy
Autonomy
Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...

. By the early 1900s all Akan lands were colonies or protectorates of the French and British. On the 6th of March 1957 Akan lands in the Gold Coast
Gold Coast (British colony)
The Gold Coast was a British colony on the Gulf of Guinea in west Africa that became the independent nation of Ghana in 1957.-Overview:The first Europeans to arrive at the coast were the Portuguese in 1471. They encountered a variety of African kingdoms, some of which controlled substantial...

 rejected British rule and, led by Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966. Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana...

, were joined to British Togoland
British Togoland
British Togoland was a League of Nations Class B mandate in West Africa, under the mandatory power of the United Kingdom. It was effectively formed in 1916 by the splitting of the occupied German protectorate of Togoland into two territories, French Togoland and British Togoland, during the First...

 to form the independent nation of Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

. The Ivory Coast became independent on 7 August 1960.

Akan subgroups

The Akan people includes the following subgroups: Ashanti, Akwamu
Akwamu
The Akwamu was a state set up by the Akan people in Ghana which existed in the 17th century and 18th century. Originally immigrating from Bono state, the founders settled in Twifo-Heman. The Akwamu created an expansionist empire in the 16th and 17th century...

, Akyem
Akyem
The Akyem are an Akan people. The term Akyem is used to describe a group of three states: Akyem Abuakwa, Akyem Kotoku and Akyem Bosome. These nations are located primarily in the eastern regions of modern-day Ghana. The term is also used to describe the general area where the Akyem ethnic group...

, Akuapem
Akuapem
The Akuapem are an Akan people who predominantly occupy the Eastern region of Ghana.-History:The original inhabitants of the Akuapern Hills were predominantly Guan. The towns of Akuapem are in the Eastern Region of Ghana and situated between longitude 0°15 W - 0°00 and latitude 5°45 - 6°00 N...

, Denkyira
Denkyira
Denkyira was a powerful nation of Akan people that existed in southern present-day Ghana from 1620. Like all Akans they originated from Bono state. Before 1620 Denkyira was called Agona. The ruler of the Denkyira was called Denkyirahene and the capital was Jukwaa...

, Abron
Abron
The Abron or Bono are an Akan people of West Africa. They speak the Abron language.In the late sixteenth century, the Abron founded the Gyaaman kingdom as extension of Bono state in what is now Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire.-References:...

, Aowin
Aowin
The Aowin are an Akan people. They live Predominantly in the Ivory Coast. Their population was estimated at around 40,000 in 1998....

, Ahanta
Ahanta
The Ahanta are an Akan people who live to the north of the Nzema. Ahanta literally means the land of Twins. The Ahanta land has been historically known as one of the richest areas on the coast of what is now Ghana....

, Anyi
Anyi people
The Anyi people are an ethnic group in southeast Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana.. They are an Akan people who speak the Anyi language.-History:...

, Baoule
Baoulé
The Baoulé are an Akan people and one of the largest groups in the Ivory Coast. The Baoulé are farmers who live in the eastern side of Côte d'Ivoire . The Baoule people are represented by religion, art, festivals, and equal society . There are more than sixty-five different Akan-speaking ethnic...

, Chokosi
Chokosi
The Chokosi are an Akan people who trace their origin to an area in the Ivory Coast in a place they call Anou or Ano. Thus, they refer to themselves and their language as Anufo "people of Anu"...

, Fante, Kwahu
Kwahu
Kwahu is a region in south-central Ghana, on the west shore of Lake Volta. There are two common spellings, Kwawu and Kwahu. The "w" spelling is the official spelling from the African Studies Centre, University of Ghana, and more resembles the pronunciation...

, Sefwi
Sefwi
The Sefwi are an Akan people.They live predominantly in the Ivory Coast....

, Ahafo, Assin
Assin
The Assin are an Akan people who live in Ghana. The capital of the Assin district is Fosu....

, Evalue, Wassa, Adjukru, Akye, Alladian, Attie, M'Bato
M'Bato
The M'Bato are an Akan people who live in the Ivory Coast....

, Abidji, Avikam, Avatime
Avatime
The Avatime are an Akan people who live in Volta region of Ghana. History has it that they are Ahanta people who migrated to the Volta region....

, Ebrie
Ebrié
The Ebrié are an Akan people people living in the Abidjan region of Côte d'Ivoire.The lagoon separating the Plateau neighborhood from the rest of the city is often called the Ebrié lagoon. The Ebrié represent approximately 0.7% of the country's population....

, Ehotile, Nzema, Abbe
Abbe
-People:*Cleveland Abbe , American meteorologist*Cleveland Abbe, Jr. , American geographer*Ernst Abbe , German physicist*James Abbe , American photographer...

, Aboure, Coromantins, Ndyuka people
Ndyuka people
The Ndyuka people, also known as Aukan people or Okanisi, are a Maroon ethnic group who live in the Eastern part of Suriname and speak the Ndyuka language...

 and other peoples of both modern day Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

 and Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...

 or of origin in these countries.

Culture

Akan culture is one of the traditional Matrilineal cultures of Africa. Akan art
Akan art
Akan art is an art form that originated among the Akan people of west Africa. Akan art is known for Akan goldweights, as well as cultural jewelry. The Akan people are known for their strong connection between visual and verbal expressions...

 is wide-ranging and renowned, especially for the tradition of crafting bronze gold weights, which were made using the lost-wax casting method. The Akan culture is the most dominant and apparent in present-day Ghana.

Some of their most important mythological
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...

 stories are called anansesem, literally meaning 'the spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...

 story', but can in a figurative sense also mean "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
Anansi
Anansi the trickster is a spider, and is one of the most important characters of West African and Caribbean folklore.He is also known as Ananse, Kwaku Ananse, and Anancy; and in the Southern United States he has evolved into Aunt Nancy. He is a spider, but often acts and appears as a man...

, a trickster
Trickster
In mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior. It is suggested by Hansen that the term "Trickster" was probably first used in this...

 spirit
Spirit
The English word spirit has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body.The spirit of a living thing usually refers to or explains its consciousness.The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap,...

, often depicted as a spider, human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...

, or a combination thereof.

Elements of Akan Culture also include but are not limited to:
  • Adamorobe Sign Language
    Adamorobe Sign Language
    Adamorobe Sign Language is an indigenous sign language used in Adamorobe, an Akan village in eastern Ghana. It is used by about 30 deaf and 1370 hearing people.”...

  • Adinkra
    Adinkra
    Adinkra are visual symbols, originally created by the Akan of Ghana and the Gyaman of Cote d'Ivoire in West Africa, that represent concepts or aphorisms. Adinkra are used extensively in fabrics, pottery, logos and advertising. They are incorporated into walls and other architectural features. ...

  • Akan art
    Akan art
    Akan art is an art form that originated among the Akan people of west Africa. Akan art is known for Akan goldweights, as well as cultural jewelry. The Akan people are known for their strong connection between visual and verbal expressions...

  • Akan Calendar
    Akan calendar
    The Akan calendar is based on what the Akan call 'forty days'; Adaduanan . Close examination of the cycle reveals 42 different days, with the 43rd being the same as the first.-Nanson:...

  • Akan Chieftaincy
    Akan Chieftaincy
    In many parts of West Africa, there is an old chieftaincy tradition. The Akan of Ghana have developed their own hierarchy which exists aside the democratic structure of the country. The Akan word for the ruler is nana. In colonial times, Europeans translated it to “chief”, which is not equivalent....

  • Akan goldweights
    Akan goldweights
    Akan goldweights were used as a measuring system by the Akan people of West Africa, particularly for weighing gold dust which was currency until replaced by paper money and coins. They are referred to locally as mrammou and the weights are made of brass and not gold. Used to weigh gold and...

  • Akan names
  • Akan religion
    Akan religion
    The Akan people of Ghana and Ivory Coast believe in a supreme god who takes on various names depending upon the region of worship.The highest god is called by some to be Brekyirihunuade , Otweidiampon, Okokroko, Onyame, Awurade, Odomankoma...

  • Kente
  • Oware
    Oware
    Oware is an abstract strategy game of Akan origin. Part of the mancala family, it is played throughout West Africa and the Caribbean. Among its many names are Ayò , Awalé , Wari , Ouri, Ouril or Uril , Warri , Adji , and Awélé...

  • Sankofa
    Sankofa
    Sankofa can mean either the word in the Akan language of Ghana that translates in English to "go back and take" or the Asante Adinkra symbols of a a bird with its head turned backwards taking an egg off its back, or of a stylised heart shape...


Akan philosophy and inheritance including

  • Abusua
    Abusua
    Abusua is the name in Akan culture for a group of people that share a common maternal ancestor. The Abusua line is passed through the Blood.There are several Abusua which transcend the different ethnic subgroups...

     (Modja) – What an Akan inherits from his mother
  • Ntoro
    Ntoro
    The Ntoro is the genetic aspect of the father which the Akan people believe is passed on to this children. The Akan believe that the Ntoro does not die with the father instead it goes down to the man’s children or if the children are not alive to his nephews and nieces...

     – What an Akan gets from their father but, one does not belong to their Ntoro instead, they belong to their Abusua
  • Sunsum
    Sunsum
    Among the Akan people the Sunsum is one's Spirit. The Sunsum is what connects the body to the soul . The Sunsum comes from ones interaction with the world and is the unique means of existence which makes each person an individual...

     – What an Akan develops from their interaction with the world
  • Kra
    Kra (Mythology)
    In the mythology of the Akan the kra is the soul of a person it is of divine origin. That is to say, one gets their "Kra" from God .An Akan conforms to the abusua/ of his mother, and receives the Ntoro from his father. These maternal and paternal bonds follow the Akan wherever he travels...

     – What an Akan gets from Onyame (God)

Matrilineality

Many but not all of the Akan still (2001) practice their traditional matrilineal customs, living in their traditional extended family
Extended family
The term extended family has several distinct meanings. In modern Western cultures dominated by nuclear family constructs, it has come to be used generically to refer to grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins, whether they live together within the same household or not. However, it may also refer...

 households, as follows. The traditional Akan rural 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 chief and 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
Abusua
Abusua is the name in Akan culture for a group of people that share a common maternal ancestor. The Abusua line is passed through the Blood.There are several Abusua which transcend the different ethnic subgroups...

, similar to clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...

s
in other societies: 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 (or abusua) is forbidden, a taboo
Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...

 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 and/or marriage. Note that members and their spouses thus belong to different abusuas, mother and children living and working in one household but their husband/father living and working in a different household.

According to this source of further information about the Akan, "A man is strongly related to his mother's brother (wɔfa) 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 (his sister's son) (wɔfase) will have priority over his own son. Uncle-nephew relationships therefore assume a dominant position."

"The principles governing inheritance stress sex, 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
Ntoro
The Ntoro is the genetic aspect of the father which the Akan people believe is passed on to this children. The Akan believe that the Ntoro does not die with the father instead it goes down to the man’s children or if the children are not alive to his nephews and nieces...

 (which means spirit) groups, and everyone belongs to their 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 does inherit their Ntoro
Ntoro
The Ntoro is the genetic aspect of the father which the Akan people believe is passed on to this children. The Akan believe that the Ntoro does not die with the father instead it goes down to the man’s children or if the children are not alive to his nephews and nieces...

 from their father but, they do not belong to their father's family.

A recent (2001) book provides this update on the Akan: Some families are changing from the above abusua structure to the nuclear family
Nuclear family
Nuclear family is a term used to define a family group consisting of a father and mother and their children. This is in contrast to the smaller single-parent family, and to the larger extended family. Nuclear families typically center on a married couple, but not always; the nuclear family may have...

. 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 of the world.
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 common or were common for example among the Coromantins of Jamaica and the descendants of the Akwamu in St. John
1733 slave insurrection on St. John
The 1733 slave insurrection on St. John in the Danish West Indies, started on November 23, 1733 when African slaves from Akwamu revolted against the owners and managers of the island's plantations. The slave rebellion was one of the earliest and longest slave revolts in the Americas...

.

Famous Akan Peoples

  • Felix Houphouet Boigny
  • Kofi Annan
    Kofi Annan
    Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...

  • Anton Wilhelm Amo
    Anton Wilhelm Amo
    Anton Wilhelm Amo or Anthony William Amo was born in what is now Ghana, taken to Europe, and became a respected philosopher and teacher at the universities of Halle and Jena in Germany. He was the first African known to have attended a European university.-Early life and education:Amo was a Nzema...

  • Meiway
  • Laurent Pokou
    Laurent Pokou
    Laurent Pokou is a former footballer from Ivory Coast, who works for Académie de Sol Beni as Head Coach.-Career:He was a notable striker for French club Stade Rennais.-International career:...

  • Salomon Kalou
    Salomon Kalou
    Salomon Armand Magloire Kalou is an Ivorian footballer who plays as a striker for Chelsea in the Premier League.He is often used on the wings at Chelsea. He has a preference for playing on the left wing as this gives him opportunities to cut inside and take shots with his favoured right foot...

  • Gervinho
    Gervinho
    Gervais Yao Kouassi , more commonly known as Gervinho, is an Ivorian footballer who plays as a forwardor as a winger for English Premier League club Arsenal.-Youth career:...

  • Jackie Appiah
  • Kofi Siriboe
    Kofi Siriboe
    Kofi Siriboe is an American actor whose works have spanned theatre, film, and television. He is most notable for his role as Javy Hall in the Fred Durst directed movie The Longshots. Most recently he appeared as JJ in the ABC Family show Lincoln Heights during the fourth season in the episode...

  • Boris Kodjoe
    Boris Kodjoe
    Boris Frederic Cecil Tay-Natey Ofuatey-Kodjoe , better known as Boris Kodjoe, is an Austrian-born German actor and former fashion model who works primarily in the United States...

  • Amos Zereoué
    Amos Zereoue
    Amos Zereoué is an African-born former American football player in the National Football League, who last played for the New England Patriots...

  • Idris Elba
    Idris Elba
    Idrissa Akuna "Idris" Elba is a British television, theatre, and film actor. He has starred in both British and American productions. Elba grew up in Canning Town, East London. One of his first acting roles was in the soap opera Family Affairs. He has worked in a variety of TV roles including ...

  • Kevin-Prince Boateng
    Kevin-Prince Boateng
    Kevin Prince-Boateng , is a German-born Ghanaian footballer, who plays as a Midfielder for Serie A club A.C. Milan. He won nine caps from The Black Stars of Ghana after appearing for Germany's under-15s to their under-21s; he retired from international football on 4 November 2011.-Club career:A...

  • Kwame Nkrumah
    Kwame Nkrumah
    Kwame Nkrumah was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966. Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana...


See also

  • Empire of Ashanti
  • Gyaaman
    Gyaaman
    Gyaman also spelled Jamang was a medieval African state of the Akan people, located in what is now Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. Gyaman was founded by the Abron, a branch of the Akan, in the late 15th century...

  • 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 Asante
    The Akan state of Asanteman comprised part of present-day southern Ghana and portions of present-day eastern Côte d'Ivoire....

  • Rulers of the Akan state of Akyem Abuakwa
    Rulers of the Akan state of Akyem Abuakwa
    -List of Rulers of the Akan state of Akyem Abuakwa:-See also:*Ghana*Gold Coast*Lists of Incumbents...


External links

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