ANLO-EWE

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Category: History

Created on Saturday, 23 May 2009 00:00

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ANLO-EWE 

Location

The Anlo-Ewe people are today in the southeastern corner of the Republic of Ghana.

History

According to oral history, the Anlo-Ewe people settled at their present home around the later part of the 15th century (1474) after a dramatic escape from Notsie, an ancestral federated region currently within the borders of the modern state of Togo. The escape and subsequent resettlement are commemorated in an annual festival known as Hogbetsotso Za.

Earlier settlements were established along seamless stretches of white sandy beaches of the Atlantic ocean, from what is now the international border between Togo and Ghana and due west to the eastern shores of the Volta river. Names assigned to some of the settlements - Keta, which means "the head of the sand," Denu, which means "the beginning of palm trees" etc. - echoed the natural endowment and beauty of the landscape they were to call home.

The close proximity of the settlements to the sea, however, offered no safety from the frequent raids for slaves by European slave traders who would navigate their ships easily to the shores of the ocean for their human cargos. The memory of these raids and the loss of entire settlement populations have been deeply imprinted on the Anlo-Ewe consciousness through the holdings of oral tradition such as folklore, myths and songs. A mass migration northward and the establishment of lagoon island settlements begun as a necessary security against becoming a slave in some strange land.

The Keta lagoon became central to the early evolution of the Anlo-Ewe traditional state. Its shallow waters were not navigable by the large slave ships and provided a much needed buffer-zone between the settlers and the aggressive slave traders.

Development of small scale marine commercial activities for sustenance began immediately. These activities included the construction of canoes for fishermen who navigated the lagoon for usable fishing sites and canoe landings. Hunters used the canoes to explore other islands and the inlands north of the lagoon for games, drinking water, farm lands and new settlement sites. Farmers shuttled by the canoes between the islands and the fertile inlands to cultivate crops. The canoe shuttle became an important tradition and a major means by which commodities and information flowed freely between the settlement

Culture: Dance-drumming is an integral part of this community life and an important necessity in the pursuit of the collective destiny, perhaps the essence of their shared experience. Everybody participates. Non participation amounts to self excommunication from society as a whole and carries with it severe consequences in a similar manner as non performance of some civic obligations in other cultures of the world.

The most severe penalty for non participation is to be denied a proper burial. Receiving a good burial is extremely important to the Anlo-Ewe. In contrast to other societies of the world that demonstrate the importance of having a good burial by buying funeral insurance from commercial funeral homes, the participation of the Anlo-Ewe in the collective and shared experiences of the community is the only insurance towards receiving the proper burial.

The degree of participation by each individual, however, varies and reflects a hierarchy of relative importance among the performers. This hierarchy has the elders at the top representing the chiefs and the leadership of the community. The male elders are called vumegawo and the female elders are called vudadawo. Their principal role is to provide a source of authority and advice insuring an orderly and systematic performance according to the shared traditions of the community and the entire traditional state.

The second level of the hierarchy is held by the composer (hesino), the master arts man, who is responsible for the creation of the distinct texture that forms the characteristic dance-drumming style. He is followed directly by the lead drummer (azaguno), another master arts man, who guides the entire ensemble in performing the various shared traditions of good dance-drumming.

The next level of the hierarchy includes: (a) Tonuglawo (ring-leaders), consisting of some more experienced participants with leadership potentials, who inspire and exhort the performers along the performance arena and provide them with examples that they emulate. (b) Haxiawo (supporting song leaders), who assist the composer in leading and directing the singing. (c) Kadawo, the whips of the musical community who enforce discipline and secure the attendance of the community members at every performance.

The fifth level of the hierarchy is occupied by the supporting drummers who assist the lead drummer in the performance of the various musical guidelines. The rest of the ensemble occupies the lowest level of the hierarchy. Their main roles are to sing, dance, and at times accompany themselves with rattles and hand claps.

**Information and image kindly provided by CK Ladzekpo

Credit Africaguide.com

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Akwamus Brief History

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Category: History

Created on Saturday, 25 April 2009 00:00

Hits: 3917

Akwamu Brief History

By Baafuor Ossei-Akoto

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- 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 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 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.

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 Asantes but rather the Akwamu Stool became the wife of the Asante Stool during the reign of Nana Odeneho Kwafo Akoto l. That is the reason why during the Golden Anniversary of Nana Kwafo Akoto ll Nana Opoku Ware ll crossed the Pra river to spend two days at Akwamufie.

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. Sadly and unfortunately the Akwamus have however lost most of their lands to Akuapems, Akyems, Kwahus, Fantes and Krobos. I would like recall that the Kingdom of Akwamu was one of the most powerful among the Akans.

Rulers of Akwamu

Nana Addo - 1699

Nana Akwamu Panin - 1702


Nana Ansa Sasraku aka Ansa Kwao - 1726

Nana Obuaman Darko - 1730

Nana Darko - 1772

Nana Akoto - 1815

Nana Kwaafo Akoto - 1830

Nana Kwaafo Akoto ll - 1936

Nana Kwaantwi Barima ll

Odeneho Nana Kwaafo Akoto lll

- not very sure of when he ascended the throne

Nana Owusu Agyare ll - 1997

Nana Ansah Sasraku lV – 1999

Source: GHP

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Award For Akuoko Sarpong

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Category: Culture & Tourism

Created on Wednesday, 29 April 2009 00:00

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Award For Akuoko Sarpong

Nana Akuoko Sarpong, Omanhene of the Agogo Traditional Area, has been conferred with the Global Hero Earth Award” by the Citrix Systems Incorporated, a computer company based in Fort Lauderdale, the One Village Planet, a green earth movement and the Honey Project Group, all in the USA. 

A 15-man delegation led by Mrs. Jo Moskowitz, Vice President Citrix Systems, was in here recently to inform President John Evans Atta Mills about the honour at the Castle.

During the delegation’s interaction with the President, they informed him about their activities in the past five years in the Agogo Traditional Area as part of their corporate responsibilities in supporting deprived communities in conjunction with the traditional leadership. Under the auspices of the Sister-Cities Systems Incorporated, the Citrix Systems Incorporated created the first Cyber Sister Cities Project and a computer training school in the Agogo Traditional Area of the Ashanti Region and the One Village Plant is providing support for a huge aforestation project to arrest deforestation and supporting a fish farming project to train the youth in the area in fish farming methods.

The award carried with it an amount of $15,000 for the expansion of the scope of the ICT Centre to reach other areas and to support the computer training school.President Mills expressed the hope that with their success story in Agogo, it might be possible for them to extend their services to other rural areas in the country to support poverty alleviation.

He described Nana Akuoko Sarpong as an inspirational traditional ruler and an icon using education as a tool to transform his area.

Credit Daily Guide

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'BE A GENERATIONAL THINKER'

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Category: Religion

Created on Saturday, 25 April 2009 00:00

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'BE A GENERATIONAL THINKER'

..Pastor Mensa Otabil preaches

Today, the 1st of March, 2009, climaxed the week – long celebrations of the 25th Anniversary of the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC).

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