|
Tribe Snapshots Kwahu |
| Location: |
Southern Ghana |
| Population: |
65,000 |
| Language: |
Kwahu (Akan cluster of Twi) |
| Neighboring
Peoples: |
Anyi, Asante,
Fante |
| Types
of Art: |
The Kwahu are well known for the funerary ceramics
found by archaeologists. Woodcarving includes
stools, which are recognized as "seats" of power,
and wooden dolls (akua ba) that are associated
with fertility. There are also extensive traditions
of pottery and weaving throughout Akan territory.
Kente cloth, woven on behalf of royalty, has come
to symbolize African power throughout the world. |
| History: |
Kwahu are an Akan people living in southern
Ghana. The rise of the early Akan centralized
states can be traced to the 13th century and is
likely related to the opening of trade routes
established to move gold throughout the region.
It was not until the end of the 17th century,
however, that the grand Asante Kingdom emerged
in the central forest region of Ghana, when several
small states united under the Chief of Kumasi
in a move to achieve political freedom from the
Denkyira. The Akan confederacy was dissolved by
the British in 1900 and colonized in 1901. Although
there is no longer a centralized Akan confederacy,
Akan peoples maintain a powerful political and
economic presence. |
| Economy: |
Early Akan economics revolved primarily around
the trade of gold and enslaved peoples to Mande
and Hausa traders within Africa and later to Europeans
along the coast. This trade was dominated by the
Asante who received firearms in their role as
middlemen in the slave trade. These were used
to increase their already dominant power. Local
agriculture includes cocoa cultivation for export,
while yams and taro serve as the main food staples.
Along the coast, fishing is very important. The
depleted forests provide little opportunity for
hunting. Extensive markets are run primarily by
women who hold considerable economic power, while
men engage in fishing, hunting, and clearing land.
Both sexes are involved in farming. |
| Political
Systems: |
Royal membership among Akan is determined through
connection to the land. Anyone who traces descent
from a founding member of a village or town may
be considered royal. Each family is responsible
for maintaining political and social order within
its confines. In the past, there was a hierarchy
of leadership that extended beyond the family,
first to the village headman, then to a territorial
chief, then to the paramount chief of each division
within the Asante confederacy. The highest level
of power is reserved for the Asanthene, who inherited
his position along matrilineal lines. The Asantahene
still plays an important role in Ghana today,
symbolically linking the past with current Ghanaian
politics. |
| Religion: |
Akan believe in a supreme god who takes on various
names depending upon the particular region of
worship. Akan mythology claims that at one time
the god freely interacted with man, but that after
being continually struck by the pestle of an old
woman pounding fufu, he retreated far up into
the sky. There are no priests that serve him directly,
and people believe that they may make direct contact
with him. There are also numerous gods (abosom),
who receive their power from the supreme god and
are connected to the natural world. These include
ocean and riverine spirits and various local deities.
Priests serve individual spirits and act as mediaries
between the gods and mankind. Nearly everyone
participates in daily prayer, which includes the
pouring of libations as an offering to both the
ancestors who are buried in the land and to the
spirits who are everywhere. The earth is seen
as a female deity and is directly connected to
fertility and fecundity. |
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